Venture out any evening in the warmer months in Florida and you are likely to see slugs slithering at a snail’s pace on the sidewalk, on the house and on the plants.

One species is the Florida leatherleaf slug. It was formerly native to the Caribbean and southern Florida but has expanded its range throughout Florida and is now found in Louisiana, Texas and Mexico.

It seeks shelter by day by burrowing into the leaf litter and emerges in the evening to eat plants so they can be a nuisance in your garden. Toads and some birds eat these, but a voracious predator is the rosy wolf snail. The wolf snail follows the slimy trails left behind by the slug and when it catches up, it will eat the slug. (See “The Flesh Eating Beast at Arbor Lakes” on this site.)

Anytime I go out at night, I always watch where I step because these slugs are everywhere. Yet, I have not seen damage to the plants in my yard so I tolerate these slimy creatures.