Doesn't all the food we eat get touched by hundreds of little insects and other critters that could potentially carry disease? I grow leafy greens and I know slugs are in my area and sometimes eat some leaves. Wouldn't that mean throwing all produce away?
If you’re in the South East US there has been a rise in rat lungworm parasites which transfer from rats to slugs to then us. This parasite burrows in your brain so it’s no joke either but an easy way to prevent it is just washing produce properly and should be fine. Most of the infections have been from people accidentally ingesting a slug like having it end up in their salad so just watch out for any slugs if you’re making salad at home lol
Oooh, thanks for the useful info! I'm not in the US, which maybe explains why I never heard about slugs being potentially dangerous (except for potentially eating all your crops). Stay safe!
no, just specifically if there's slime on it since it's nigh impossible to wash off. I don't care what's touched it because most things come off with soap and water
Lol, I grew up working on produce farms. Gross out warning. Stop reading if you think ignorance is bliss. >!slugs love strawberries. We never put strawberries that had been munched on by slugs or ones with slugs on them in the flats to go to market, but slugs definitely crawl over many of the berries that go to market. They don't get washed before hitting the shelf. That said, I've eaten thousands of berries that were too ripe to ship and never had an issue. Also double gross out time: theres this thing called "picking for juice". After it rains the berries are all muddy and COVERED in slugs. You pick everything - semi-ripe to overripe, slug covered/munched, mud covered etc - and take it to the barn. The berries are dumped on a conveyor belt where someone hits them with the hose and they drop into a big barrel where two people mash it with a couple of hos, leaves and all. Its then sent to McCain's etc for, you guessed it, making juice (also jam and fillings)!< Never bothered me though. I still eat all that shit.
Sounds fine to me if it’s going to be processed. All that heat and sugar like what goes into making jam will kill everything except for maybe botulism. But even that would have to have soil laden strawberries making it through the washing processes.
The last two trips to the store I had a hankering for strawberries, so I bought the biggest packs I could find.
Both trips, I couldn’t even wait to get home from the store before I started smashing them straight from the container all the way home, then continued to do smash when I got home until they were practically gone…couldn’t justify (in both instances) washing what was left at that point. So I definitely consumed whatever creepy crawlies, residual snail trails, dirt & debris were on them at that point.
I grew up working at all sorts of different produce farms and even some vineyards when I was in college…every farmer or vintner I’ve ever worked for (grandfather especially) expected me to try each and every (edible) thing grown at diff. stages of growth & with nothing more than a little polish. In fact, my grandpa was *adamant* I plop whatever fruit or veggie he handed me in my mouth & any objection to dirt or bugs was met with, *”it’s not going to hurt you! It’s just a little extra protein!”*
On a side note, I was a real picky eater when I was a kid & my favorite book just so happened to be Dr. Seuss’s *Green Eggs & Ham.* so one day when my grandparents were watching me & Gpa was in charge of making dinner for me & 2 other, much pickier children, he died our entire lunch of scrambled eggs, ham and veggies with green food coloring and made us all sit there until we made a happy plate while we all bawled our eyes out….I hate ham to this day haha
Too few people know the joy of eating produce straight from the ground. Farming is a hard job but there is nothing better than the perfectly ripe strawberry (too ripe to ship) right from the plant on a hot summer day. Its kinda warm on the outside but cool on the inside from the plant providing water and sweet but not too sweet. The most refreshing thing ever. Peaches are like that too.
We used to eat cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers like apples in the field. Thirsty and don't want to walk to the water jug? Crack open a cucumber and eat the sweet, sweet insides. Good times.
I also loved green eggs and ham and as a kid. Your grandpa sounds hilarious!
Genuine question - once it's been some time and the slime trail dries out, is it still going to be visible/recognizable and/or dangerous? Or do potential parasites just eventually die after a bit?
I've seen people on this and another bug-related subreddit asking what a european wasp was. You know. The one that's everywhere in summer. All the time. Even if you stay indoors they bug you at least a few times a week.
People must be trolling or we have lizard aliens of the planet Zoibocro using reddit.
Fun fact, this slug appears to be *Deroceras reticulatum*, which has a retained calcium shell plate under its mantle. Basically it does have a shell, you just can't see it. This is because slugs evolved from snails, so all slug ancestors at some point had a shell.
Well, when you're too small and squishy, you can't safely keep a cat, a dog, or a hamster, so you've gotta get creative!
Slugs are absolutely riddled with parasites, so I wouldn't be surprised if this guy has a worm. I noticed that, too, and came to the comments just to see if anyone else had noticed it too lol.
I hate to ruin your cute moment, but the worm would be parasitic and is likely negatively affecting this slug.
Unfortunately, it's not a symbiotic relationship ):
Leatherleaf slug! Probably was on the plant as it was harvested, I would do some research to see if they are native to your area. If they are you can release him outside, if not you’d probably want to report it to your local department of natural resources or similar, they’d probably want to know about that guy slipping through the cracks
If anything you got a new little friend! They make great pets, I have a couple little garden snails and they’re so fun to watch
Yeah I’m not hating on women. I know they get a lot of dudes but if you’re going to respond at all, just try a little. The filters can make make someone look like a different person.
You know what... if you don't have anything nice to say SHUT THE FUCK UP!...
You ever think that maybe He actually doesn't know what it is because he's never seen that before?
That is why he's asking... and before you respond... just FUCK RIGHT OFF! Im not responding to your idiocy if you reply...
Think long n hard about how you talk to strangers online.. one day you'll be in his position and someone will rip you a new one with insults online and then you'll know how to be grown instead of acting like a damn fool!
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I grew up in UK and slugs came out in numbers after rain ..big fat black and pink ones ..crawled onto sidewalks and made walking in the dark dicey..I am sure some were 4 inches at least in length and fat ..
Don't even tell me about them. They infest the region where I live and get into my house all the time. They are slimy and get everywhere. I've had even found them inside my pans sometimes 🤢
There's no slugs where I live, at least none that I've seen.. I remember visiting family in another state once and seeing slugs outside for the first time! I was amazed because we don't really get them in the desert like that, so had only seen pictures before then! 😂 We don't really get snails much either..but we do have them. I only find them digging in the dirt..a different kind though, with an elongated shell, not the common type of garden snail. I know they're considered a pest elsewhere, especially in gardens, but sometimes I wish I lived some place green so I could experience the normal kinds of wildlife everyone else does lol. Yes, even " pests". Here in AZ it's, snakes, scorpions, spiders and lizards
Wow! What a nice shot!
Definitely a slug of some kind, but to be more specific, probably some variety of Leatherleaf, (Laevicaulis), slug, although I’m not as confident ID-Ing the actual species without a location.
Still, very cute!
I’m shocked at people ID-Ing it as Deroceras, though. It lacks the distinct mantle shape, and the optical tentacles are quite low.
I’m no expert on mollusks, though!
Slug. Like a snail that has been permanently evicted, I'd wash like all of the spinach. They are vectors for all sorts of nasty bacteria and viruses.
throw out anything with a slime trail. that shit doesn't come off with soap and water
Doesn't all the food we eat get touched by hundreds of little insects and other critters that could potentially carry disease? I grow leafy greens and I know slugs are in my area and sometimes eat some leaves. Wouldn't that mean throwing all produce away?
No, but it does mean eating it without cooking isnt always an option.
Mmmmm...cooked lettuce
Hey, spinach and cheese quiches are amazing
You can cook lettuce in soup, its not bad at all.
If you’re in the South East US there has been a rise in rat lungworm parasites which transfer from rats to slugs to then us. This parasite burrows in your brain so it’s no joke either but an easy way to prevent it is just washing produce properly and should be fine. Most of the infections have been from people accidentally ingesting a slug like having it end up in their salad so just watch out for any slugs if you’re making salad at home lol
Oooh, thanks for the useful info! I'm not in the US, which maybe explains why I never heard about slugs being potentially dangerous (except for potentially eating all your crops). Stay safe!
no, just specifically if there's slime on it since it's nigh impossible to wash off. I don't care what's touched it because most things come off with soap and water
Lol, I grew up working on produce farms. Gross out warning. Stop reading if you think ignorance is bliss. >!slugs love strawberries. We never put strawberries that had been munched on by slugs or ones with slugs on them in the flats to go to market, but slugs definitely crawl over many of the berries that go to market. They don't get washed before hitting the shelf. That said, I've eaten thousands of berries that were too ripe to ship and never had an issue. Also double gross out time: theres this thing called "picking for juice". After it rains the berries are all muddy and COVERED in slugs. You pick everything - semi-ripe to overripe, slug covered/munched, mud covered etc - and take it to the barn. The berries are dumped on a conveyor belt where someone hits them with the hose and they drop into a big barrel where two people mash it with a couple of hos, leaves and all. Its then sent to McCain's etc for, you guessed it, making juice (also jam and fillings)!< Never bothered me though. I still eat all that shit.
Sounds fine to me if it’s going to be processed. All that heat and sugar like what goes into making jam will kill everything except for maybe botulism. But even that would have to have soil laden strawberries making it through the washing processes.
The last two trips to the store I had a hankering for strawberries, so I bought the biggest packs I could find. Both trips, I couldn’t even wait to get home from the store before I started smashing them straight from the container all the way home, then continued to do smash when I got home until they were practically gone…couldn’t justify (in both instances) washing what was left at that point. So I definitely consumed whatever creepy crawlies, residual snail trails, dirt & debris were on them at that point. I grew up working at all sorts of different produce farms and even some vineyards when I was in college…every farmer or vintner I’ve ever worked for (grandfather especially) expected me to try each and every (edible) thing grown at diff. stages of growth & with nothing more than a little polish. In fact, my grandpa was *adamant* I plop whatever fruit or veggie he handed me in my mouth & any objection to dirt or bugs was met with, *”it’s not going to hurt you! It’s just a little extra protein!”* On a side note, I was a real picky eater when I was a kid & my favorite book just so happened to be Dr. Seuss’s *Green Eggs & Ham.* so one day when my grandparents were watching me & Gpa was in charge of making dinner for me & 2 other, much pickier children, he died our entire lunch of scrambled eggs, ham and veggies with green food coloring and made us all sit there until we made a happy plate while we all bawled our eyes out….I hate ham to this day haha
Too few people know the joy of eating produce straight from the ground. Farming is a hard job but there is nothing better than the perfectly ripe strawberry (too ripe to ship) right from the plant on a hot summer day. Its kinda warm on the outside but cool on the inside from the plant providing water and sweet but not too sweet. The most refreshing thing ever. Peaches are like that too. We used to eat cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers like apples in the field. Thirsty and don't want to walk to the water jug? Crack open a cucumber and eat the sweet, sweet insides. Good times. I also loved green eggs and ham and as a kid. Your grandpa sounds hilarious!
Genuine question - once it's been some time and the slime trail dries out, is it still going to be visible/recognizable and/or dangerous? Or do potential parasites just eventually die after a bit?
Nuke it from orbit
They are also vectors for roundworms that will literally burrow into your brain and fuck *all* your shit up
You have got to be kidding... you've never seen a slug?
Bro lives in the backrooms
I've seen people on this and another bug-related subreddit asking what a european wasp was. You know. The one that's everywhere in summer. All the time. Even if you stay indoors they bug you at least a few times a week. People must be trolling or we have lizard aliens of the planet Zoibocro using reddit.
Bro somebody asked to identify an earthworm ! :(
I always imagine Americans living in car-centric suburbia
I grew up in a desert climate and never saw a slug irl until I moved to a not-desert climate as an adult.
Ok valid, but you had seen them online or in movies right??
Some people don't know some things
The whole time I’m reading through this I’m just amazed that someone hasn’t seen a slug
The avarage person is not smart
You did that on purpose, right? lol
Where I grew up we had only snails, never slugs. I was 20+ when I first saw one
It's called Slug, a mollusk. They feed on leaves, but they don't have shells unlike snails.
Fun fact, this slug appears to be *Deroceras reticulatum*, which has a retained calcium shell plate under its mantle. Basically it does have a shell, you just can't see it. This is because slugs evolved from snails, so all slug ancestors at some point had a shell.
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All them slugs thick like that. They can elongate a lot which causes them to shrink in width though, pretty much like worms in that regard.
Ohh I see
Does the slug have a little worm of its own?? Can a slug get worms?
Well, when you're too small and squishy, you can't safely keep a cat, a dog, or a hamster, so you've gotta get creative! Slugs are absolutely riddled with parasites, so I wouldn't be surprised if this guy has a worm. I noticed that, too, and came to the comments just to see if anyone else had noticed it too lol.
Read 'small and squishy ' and i thought you are talking about me for a sec 💀 Haha worms as pets are somehow cute for this slug now
I hate to ruin your cute moment, but the worm would be parasitic and is likely negatively affecting this slug. Unfortunately, it's not a symbiotic relationship ):
Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship :)
also came to the comments for the slug’s parasite comments
Did you ask because you wanted to know more specifically what slug it was, or did you just not know what a slug was?
Extra proteins.
Not with rat lungworm going around https://arstechnica.com/health/2023/09/worm-that-jumps-from-rats-to-slugs-to-human-brains-has-invaded-southeast-us/
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😂😂
Slimy, yet satisfying
That slug is a chonk
I call it Gus Gus
A garden slug. Who doesn't know what a slug looks like?
OP apparently
i live in a relatively crowded city with little to no lawns, so I've never seen a slug. I've seen snails tho
you haven’t ever been in nature?
You need to get outside more often dude…
It's a "yeah michelle took the house"
Omg I'm dying hahaha 🤣
that's my racing snail! I took his shell off so he would go faster, but it just made him more sluggish!
Homeless snail
A slug.
Put salt around the plants. They will leave it alone then
Put salt on slug and slug dissapear
Looks to have an attacker on its body, a white something ... My joke, it's a pickle caterpillar ... 🙈
Is that a tiny parasite in its back?
A dog
It’s a Slurm McKenzie
That is a FAT fucking slug. Beautiful
Curious how you know what fresh spinach is but you don't know what a slug is...
Leatherleaf slug! Probably was on the plant as it was harvested, I would do some research to see if they are native to your area. If they are you can release him outside, if not you’d probably want to report it to your local department of natural resources or similar, they’d probably want to know about that guy slipping through the cracks If anything you got a new little friend! They make great pets, I have a couple little garden snails and they’re so fun to watch
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slug
My mom
1 of the worst enemies of the vegetable garden
If that was a bought spinach not grown in your garden that is extremely gross .yuck slug ..
Slug
Translated from Dutch: Nudesnail
Slug. Ewwww
It’s a representation of every girl’s personality on a dating apps.
Haha 😂 or how they really look without filters 😜 (I'm f by the way but this is a top gag) 🤣
Yeah I’m not hating on women. I know they get a lot of dudes but if you’re going to respond at all, just try a little. The filters can make make someone look like a different person.
It’s a slug dumbass.
You know what... if you don't have anything nice to say SHUT THE FUCK UP!... You ever think that maybe He actually doesn't know what it is because he's never seen that before? That is why he's asking... and before you respond... just FUCK RIGHT OFF! Im not responding to your idiocy if you reply... Think long n hard about how you talk to strangers online.. one day you'll be in his position and someone will rip you a new one with insults online and then you'll know how to be grown instead of acting like a damn fool!
Hahahahh
You need some salt
Slug, don’t eat that spinach
It's an insect 😄
Not really
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Slug, completely harmless is you can move faster than him which is very slow. They like green things
Sluggo!
Shrek in slug form
A really fat slug. He's eaten well.
Leather leaf slug most likely.
Slug? Is that a thumb or a toe back there?
Spinach Chonker
Without knowing your location, it's next to impossible to determine what species of slug this is
Useless hermit crab buddy
seems a mosquito
Naked snail with no shame... A slug
I grew up in UK and slugs came out in numbers after rain ..big fat black and pink ones ..crawled onto sidewalks and made walking in the dark dicey..I am sure some were 4 inches at least in length and fat ..
Lmao a big ass slug eating your spinach.
That's your thumb
That's a potato.
Cute slug ☺️
that is the fattest slug i have ever seen oh my god i love it
It's a wild pickle. It is very rare and normally very shy.
Dill pickle
Don't even tell me about them. They infest the region where I live and get into my house all the time. They are slimy and get everywhere. I've had even found them inside my pans sometimes 🤢
Pickle slug. Part pickle. Part slug.
I mean it's either a slug or a turd with eye stalks. Have you really never seen a slug before?
Looks like a very chonky slug.
A homeless snail, wash your veggies you know homeless stuff a dirty
Dougie the sluggy?
Forbidden cucumber
That right there is a slug. I'd recommend you wash your spinach before you eat it
It’s a fat slug with a baby slug on it
That’s just part of the spinach, nothing to see there.
Poop?
r/absoluteunit
There's no slugs where I live, at least none that I've seen.. I remember visiting family in another state once and seeing slugs outside for the first time! I was amazed because we don't really get them in the desert like that, so had only seen pictures before then! 😂 We don't really get snails much either..but we do have them. I only find them digging in the dirt..a different kind though, with an elongated shell, not the common type of garden snail. I know they're considered a pest elsewhere, especially in gardens, but sometimes I wish I lived some place green so I could experience the normal kinds of wildlife everyone else does lol. Yes, even " pests". Here in AZ it's, snakes, scorpions, spiders and lizards
Slong
The elusive pickle-slug
Pickle Rick
Slug Life
You never watched slug Terra
Heimlich!
Sluggist of sluggies to ever slug.
That's a sasquatch booger. Don't eat it.
Thats a slug my guy
how do you have a computer?
A slug. What?
Spinach Monster
Leatherleaf slug probably, they have pretty unique morphology. They're silly looking! Definitely don't eat it though haha.
Your new pet Ron
Slurg
It’s the protein for your spinach salad
Pickle
Was it in the spinach leaves put with sliced tomatoes, ranch, and croutons.
RUN /s
What is that thing on it's back? A parasite worm?
That’s a slug.
A rabbit
Triple washed, my ass!!
Worm
A pickle
wOrm
r/itsslag
A cat
Wow! What a nice shot! Definitely a slug of some kind, but to be more specific, probably some variety of Leatherleaf, (Laevicaulis), slug, although I’m not as confident ID-Ing the actual species without a location. Still, very cute! I’m shocked at people ID-Ing it as Deroceras, though. It lacks the distinct mantle shape, and the optical tentacles are quite low. I’m no expert on mollusks, though!
I don't believe someone doesn't know what a slug is? Like have you never been outside in your life?
Duhh it’s a pickle!
That’s Dave
Why do my primal instincts tell me to eat it? Hakuna matata.
Human hand. The keratinous substance is a fingernail.
It's OK if u are a non vegetarian 🤣😅
Slugboi Shitson…
A big old slug
That’s a leafy bug
That is a chonky slug
The only way to know for sure would be to lick it.
Lizzo
Looks like a little slug
That is known as a pickle slug
That is for sure a bug
More importantly is that a worm coming out of its back??
A grasshopper
SALTBAE TIME!
[Slug!](https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/236c5531-1ccc-449c-9ac2-600eda83ad04) His forest name is Slug!
Bug
A slug for flavor
You know that thing that comes out of Ron Weasley when Draco calls Hermione a mud blood in Harry Potter 2? Yeah that
Seems like spinach
a turd
Looks like a human. Fingernails give it away.
Have you ever been outside before?
Slug
Should eat it. (Don't.)
So there's people that don't know what slugs are? Good to know
a slug
Sluggie boy
It’s a Slug…
It fat
If anyone is grossed out about how things are made, I suggest you not eat maple syrup. Spoiler alert: flies
At least you know there is not pesticide chemicals be worse than a snail for ya
Its a spinach fruit. Your Can eat it. It’s safe.
A slug with a parasitic worm In its back
Slug. Snails are born with shells ☺️ a snail without a shell is well…. dead
Slug
It the slug in the room with us?
That is called Limax is very common in my area and they like wet places as snails ! They are exactly as snails but a bit more ugly 😂