MY NEIGHBOUR is very understanding. There I was one summer night, out in the backyard in my pajamas, armed with a flashlight and plastic yogurt container, and carrying a glass of wine in case of emergencies (like thirst). She glimpsed me over the fence and all she said was, "Slugs?" When it comes to the wildlife in my yard, I'm a "live and let live" person. I don't mind sharing blossoms and berries with birds and bugs, but the slug population in my garden had hit plague proportions. Helpless infant hostas were disappearing and an entire row of romaine had been aerated. Wherever I shone my light, there were shiny slime trails. So, it was slug patrol for me. Last summer I picked hundreds of slugs from my plants, and also used Safer's Slug Bait, which is non-toxic to people and pets. Hopefully I'll have fewer of them to contend with this year. I found the slugs fascinating despite their destructiveness, and even kept five of them in the kitchen for closer study. I named them Zippy, Speedy, Flash, Northern Dancer and Man O'War. (I know: I need to get out more.) Slugs are snails (mollusks) without shells. In British Columbia, I've seen and held giant banana slugs (pictured). This species, Ariolimax columbianus, may grow as long as 25 centimetres (10 inches). But I knew little about the smaller slugs found in my own backyard. Where did they come from? How, I wondered, did they survive the hot, dry summer and the bitterly cold winter? How did they find their way to the food plants? And what is the reason for all that slime? Those in my yard are grey garden slugs (Deroceras reticulatum), introduced to Canada in the 1800s. They are seldom longer than 2.5 centimetres (1 inch). They need damp places in which to live, so they seem happy in my heavily mulched perennial beds. Often only their eggs, which are resistant to cold and drying, make it through to spring. The closely related native marsh slug (Deroceras laeve) is much hardier. It has survived freezing experiments during which 65 percent of the slug's body turned to ice. For locating food and finding shelter, the slug relies on two sets of tentacles on its head. The upper, longer ones are optical tentacles, which sense both light and odours. They contain light-sensitive cells that can't distinguish colours but can tell the slugs when it is dark and time to go foraging. The shorter, lower pair of tentacles is also used for smelling and possibly for tasting. Nerves from the tentacle pairs stretch back through the rest of the body. A slug moves around on its single, large foot. If you place a slug on a glass plate and watch it from underneath, you can see dark and light bands of muscles moving. As a set at the front of the foot contracts and pulls the slug forward, a set at the rear expands and pushes the slug in the same direction. Slugs glide on a carpet of slime. This coating makes it easier for them to travel over rough objects. But mucus does more for slugs than smooth the way. There are two distinct types of mucus produced on the foot, and the slug exudes slime all over to prevent its shell-less body from drying out. During mating, two slugs will lower themselves on a slime cord to copulate in mid-air. (Slugs are hermaphrodites - each containing both male and female organs - but it takes two to tango.) Scientists are investigating the amazing water-absorbing properties of slug slime. There may be applications for water-based lubricants and new drug delivery systems, among other innovations. All that from a creature that makes most of us say, "EEWWWW!" - REBECCA L. GRAMBO By Noel Busse Slug's can be a problem for amateur gardeners and landscapers. Thankfully, there's a variety of methods one can use when dealing with these slimy pests. Sara Williams is a retired professional horticulturalist, and the author of several books, including the recently published Best Ground Covers and Vines for the Prairies, co-authored with Hugh Skinner. "The way most slugs enter prairie garden area's is with plant materials, as eggs," said Williams. She recommends inspecting all new plants brought into a yard for slug eggs. "Examine the root ball of the plant without destroying it," she said. The eggs are visible to an unaided eye, and can be identified by their gelatinous, round shape and off-white texture. In the event that slugs do make it into a yard, there are a number of ways to deal with them. "I've got to dispel one myth first," said Williams. "A lot of people say to put salt on them, but that's not a good idea because that gives your soil a high salt level and then plants won't grow." Instead, she recommended a variety of do-it-yourself methods. "When you have a very bad slug infestation you have to use every single method you can," she said. These techniques are usually inexpensive, and when used together, very effective at controlling a slug infestation. * "The best way to get rid of slugs is to put some sort of board down, and they'll gather under that during the night," said Williams. While slugs will usually scatter around the yard after a night of feasting, the dark underside of a board will usually attract them in droves. Once they're all gathered under the board, they can be disposed of en masse. * A mixture of yeast, sugar and water can be placed in small saucers around the yard. The smell will attract the slugs, and after eventually making their way to the saucer, they fall in and drown in the water. Beer is an effective alternative, but Williams didn't recommend it. "I wouldn't use it, because that's just a waste of beer," she said. * Slugs aren't fond of sharp, abrasive materials. Eggshells are effective, but need to be crushed up very well to have an effect. Diatomaceous earth has a similar effect. "It's very abrasive, and it lacerates their stomachs," said Williams. Diatomaceous earth should be replaced after rainfall. There are also many commercial slug baits and repellants available. Spencer Early is the president of Early's Farm and Garden Centre, a garden centre in Saskatoon that sells a variety of slug baits and poisons. "Metaldehyde is quite toxic to non-targeted things like animals," said Early, although he explained that it wasn't something that animals such as dogs and birds were usually attracted to. Early pointed out that a number of products were using iron sulphate instead of metaldehyde. "Iron sulphate is certainly not an issue, as far as being a poison goes," he said. "Iron is actually a good thing for plants... a lot of fertilizers will have iron in them anyways."