Mr. Banana Slug

The Pacific Northwest is home to one of the most unusual animal species: the banana slug.
These slimy creatures are a snail cousin, but they don’t have a shell and they can be as long as ten inches. They usually live on the floor of temperate coniferous rainforests or other equally rainy-foggy-damp habitats. Interestingly, they can live up to seven years—unless you step on it during your trek through the woods.

You’ll recognize Mr. Banana Slug by his signature slime trail, but their slimy mucus coating serves several purposes: it keeps him hydrated, assists his ability to slide along the ground; provides protection against skin punctures when crawling across sharp objects, and not surprising, it discourages predators. Apparently they have a particularly foul taste and have the extra fascinating quality of numbing the mouth of predators with an anesthetic-like effect. They also leave their sliminess on your skin if you are silly enough to pick one up.

But not everyone is disgusted with this slimy little creature. No, the banana slug is the official sports mascot for UC-Santa Cruz. There is also a festival that celebrates this slimy guy—the Russian River Banana Slug Festival about an hour north of San Francisco. If you ever wanted to see a slug race and to participate in a slug recipe contest—this would be your chance. But you’ll have to wait for the 2014 festival—you just missed this year’s celebration on June 28th.

Still not disgusted? Want to know more about this long slug? They eat dead leaves, animal droppings, mushrooms, lichens, seeds—all kinds of stuff that you would find on a forest floor. Their multiple tentacles are advanced sensory organs, serving as ears, eyes, and their touch-sensors. There is a tiny dot on the end of the longest tentacles that are their eyes.

Harsh winters prove to be deadly to these strange gastropods that are hermaphrodites –possessing both female and male reproductive organs. They can climb walls, move about upside down, and squeeze into small openings. These little fellows are typically nocturnal, but they can be day-time nuisances as well—especially if you step on one. Ugh! Their slime isn’t fun to feel squishing between your toes so be sure you don’t wear your flip-flops when wandering around in the forests in the marine climates.

A couple years ago I took some of my Kansas friends camping near the Pacific Ocean, and when a banana slug was discovered in our camp site, he truly fascinated my friends from the dryer climate far from the rainforests of Washington. His photo is the one you see at the top of this blog—we used the spoon to show just how long he truly was.

I confess—I am a slug killer. I’ve been known to put slug bait in my garden to stop their invasion. I’ve even successfully baited them with a shallow dish of beer—it really works. They are attracted to the yeasty scent, and once they get a snootful, they expire. Occasionally I still see their tell-tale glistening slime trail on my concrete patio that tells me they are still winning. But these are the garden variety two to three inch fat brown slugs—not the oddball bright yellow or tan spotted banana slugs. I have been known to photograph them when I spot one, and walk way around it—I don’t want any part of squashing one of them between my toes and sliming my flip-flops.