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Suppose you have any type of vegetable or flower garden. In that case, you probably have a compost bin somewhere to reduce the amount of chemical fertilizer being used. A compost pile is a terrific idea
and is relatively easy to do, but one question always seems to creep up. Are slugs bad for compost?
As a general rule, slugs are not bad for compost piles. They are good. Slugs will devour most of the items added to the mound, helping the compost form faster. If no slugs are present, adding them to the mix would be good.
So “no” is the simple answer to the question, but it is not an all-inclusive response. Some variables can come into play, so read on to ensure that you are fully informed before deciding on a course of action.
Is It Bad To Have Slugs In Your Compost
Having slugs in your compost pile may gross you out and make you want to have them removed. Before you do that, though, you need to know that it may not be the best course of action to take. Slugs may be disgusting, and they are definitely slimy, but they are not going to cause you any issues.
There are no slugs on the planet that can cause harm to a compost bin. The pile that has been put aside to turn into compost will benefit from the slugs. The critters will crawl around inside the pile and help turn the items into usable fertilizer for your garden or flower bed.
It may seem that the pile would get overrun by the slugs because they will be laying eggs at the bottom of the pile. If this does happen, you can use a few solutions to reduce the amount of them, but you still want to leave some in there. As for the eggs they lay, you will not have to worry about them. Most will be eaten by the beetles that are present, and most of the rest will be flattened by the weight of the pile above them.
There are some positive aspects of having some slugs around. You will have to ignore the fact that you cannot stand to touch them, and you will also need to forget about how ugly they are. Let’s take a quick look at the benefits that they can offer to your compost pile.
- Slugs Devour Material – Slugs eat the dead and rotting materials in the compost pile, helping it turn from decaying matter to usable compost.
- Slugs Feed Predators – Slugs are a target for many other animals, such as birds and snakes. You may not want these animals and reptiles around your home, but they are all part of the circle of life.
- Slugs Plant Seeds – Slugs help spread seeds to allow plants and vegetables to grow. Much like other insects, birds, and animals that help Mother Nature do what it does.
You can see that slugs are actually helpful if they are kept out of the live plants and vegetables. You are probably all too aware that they destroy anything that is green. The younger the stalks and leaves are, the more appealing they become to the slugs.
Will Slugs Move to Areas of Live Growth?
One big problem that you may be worried about is the slugs’ movement from the compost pile over to your beautiful gardens. They love new growth because it is soft and easy for them to eat. It is the most critical time for the new plant. If a slug gets to it before it gains some stability, the seedling will die. That is what you are trying to avoid, to keep your gardens alive and healthy.
On average, once the slugs have gotten into the compost pile, they will stay. They have all the food that they could ever want where they are, so there is no need to worry about them getting into your gardens. The bottom line is the slugs will not move from compost to areas of live growth.
Slugs that are comfortable in the compost pile will not move of their own free will. One thing that you can do when you find a slug in your greens is to pick it up and move it to the pile of rotten items. They will be much happier in an area with unlimited food to chow on and good hiding spots to help avoid predators. Instead of fighting with the little critters, put them to work.
What Can I Do with Slugs in The Compost Pile?
Now that you understand that slugs are a good thing in your compost pile, you may think that an unlimited supply of slugs is excellent. But you need to make sure that your stack does not become overcrowded. It was already discussed above about eggs and how rare it is for babies to survive, so it will not be addressed again. You need to remember that even if only a few babies survive, your compost pile could soon be overrun.
When it comes to weeding out some of the herd, there are a couple of ways it can be done. Some of them may seem a little cruel to you, so if you are squeamish, pick a way that does not upset your stomach.
- Salt Water – Mix some salt into a bowl of water and place some of the slugs into the mixture. Slugs need to be moist at all times, which the salt sucks out of them. Be aware that this will kill the slugs.
- Relocate – You have to know someone else that makes their compost. Reach out to them and see if they could use a few of your slimy friends. It is always better to relocate them than to kill them off.
- Predators – Get yourself a new pet that likes to eat slugs. For instance, a duck that you can release into your gardens will gorge itself on the slugs that are not in hiding.
- Wait – The final option that you have is to wait. Once the compost pile is no longer moist and rotten, the slugs will not have any food, so they will die off or try to relocate themselves.
- Hot Composting – Turn your compost pile into a hot compost operation. This is a little more difficult to do, but slugs and their eggs cannot handle the heat produced when you do it this way.
Most of the time, you will never have to worry about the slugs becoming so large in number that you are in danger of losing all your green areas. Throughout the process, you may have to remove some here and there, but overall, you should be alright to let it go until the pile has become dry and usable.
Final Thoughts
It is commonly thought that any type of bug or critter that eats plants is a bad thing. That is not the case with slugs and compost piles. The slugs actually help the process that you are trying to complete. They may be ugly and slimy, but they have their uses, just like every other creature on Earth.
The best thing that you can do is to use the slugs in the way they were designed. They love to eat plants and such that are rotting away. Slugs may not be a pet that you can cuddle with, but they are helpful when you keep them fed.
Sources
- https://www.epa.gov/recycle/composting-home
- https://www.rhs.org.uk/biodiversity/slugs
- https://www.jic.ac.uk/research-impact/technology-research-platforms/entomology-and-insectary/slugwatch/all-about-slugs/