Thursday 23 January 2020

Wanted - volunteers to monitor Britain's growing slug population

23 January 2020

Citizen scientists are being sought to help carry out the first survey in decades of Britain's slug populations.

To take part, all that's required is curiosity, a garden, and a willingness to go out after dark to search for the likes of the great grey or yellow slug.

The year-long research project will identify different slug species and the features that tempt them into gardens.

The last study conducted in English gardens in the 1940s found high numbers of just nine species of slug.

Many more have arrived in recent years, including the Spanish slug, which is thought to have come in on salad leaves. Less than half of the UK's 40 or more slug species are now considered native.

Research assistant, Imogen Cavadino, who is leading the study by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and Newcastle University, said people will be surprised by the variety of slug species that can be found.

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