Usually slugs are not particularly popular with gardeners, after all, these pests like to eat the beds bare. An exception, however, is the tiger snail, also known as the tiger snail, because this predator prefers to eat other snails.
What is the tiger snail and how can it help in the garden?
The tiger snail (Limax maximus) is a useful garden resident that eats other slugs, mushrooms, dead plant parts and carrion. It is nocturnal, has a characteristic light brown color with black spots and can grow up to 20 cm long. Purchasing and introducing tiger snails can help reduce pest populations.
- The tiger snail or tiger snail looks like a slug, but is a snail-eating beneficial insect in the garden.
- The spot pattern that gives it its name is characteristic and makes it easy to recognize the species.
- Tiger snails are nocturnal and can therefore only be discovered very rarely. They are omnivores and also feed on dead plant material, carrion, algae and fungi.
- You can buy the animals from specialist retailers - for example from a special snail farm - and plant them specifically in the garden. However, they are not suitable as a sole measure against slugs.
The tiger snail – a voracious beneficial insect in the garden
Tiger snails only eat dead plant parts, carrion and pests
If you see the tiger snail - or tiger snail - for the first time, you will probably first classify it as a slug and therefore a pest. The opposite is the case, because the mollusc with the characteristic appearance is related to the well-known slugs, but also likes to eat them. The animals are very effective and even hunt specimens that are larger than themselves. Tiger snails also like to eat
- Mushrooms
- dead plant parts
- Carrion
- Snail eggs
Tiger snails, however, rarely go to fresh greenery. The animals have a high protein requirement, especially as young animals, and only reach sexual maturity if they can meet their needs. Young tiger snails that were fed a purely vegetarian diet for experimental purposes were all soon received.
Ergo, it's a good idea to bring a few tiger snails into the garden to combat the slug plague. For this purpose, you can collect the animals in forests and parks or buy them from specialized dealers.
Excursus
Is the tiger snail poisonous?
Tiger snails are not poisonous. Therefore, you don't have to worry if your dog or cat accidentally eats one of these. However, you should refrain from touching the snails - not because they could be poisonous, but because this puts the animals under extreme stress and harms them. After all, the tiger snails in your garden should be doing well so that they can diligently eat other slugs.
Recognizing tiger snails and distinguishing them from other species
“Tiger snail eats snail – have you ever seen that? These molluscs prefer to eat other slugs and are therefore very useful.”
As a rule, tiger snails can be easily distinguished from other slugs due to their characteristic appearance. The species has its name for a reason, after all, the light body is adorned with striking markings with black spots and stripes. In contrast to the name, this is more reminiscent of the typical leopard pattern.
The tiger snail in the profile:
- Latin name: Limax maximus
- Alternative names: Tiger Snail, Large Snail, Large Leech Snail
- Origin: originally Southern Europe
- Distribution: almost worldwide in temperate climate zones, often in Europe
- Occurrence: moist and rather warm habitats, needs moisture for breathing
- Size: adult animals average 13 centimeters, up to 20 centimeters possible
- Coloring: different, mostly light brown, light gray or yellowish, underside cream-colored
- Patterning: black or brown spots that can condense into regular stripes
The tiger snail originally comes from southern Europe
In addition to these, there are also spotless, plain dark and white varieties, which are, however, very rare. The latter are tiger snails with albinism. Also typical of the tiger snail is the cone-shaped body, which is tightly rounded at the rear edge. The mantle shield covers about a third of the body length, but there is a special feature here: tiger snails have a calcareous shield about 13 to 15 millimeters long, which is the evolutionary remnant of a shell.
To make it easier for you to differentiate from other slugs, we have put together an overview for you here.
| Black Slug | Spanish slug | Netted field snail | Gray field snail | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latin name | Arion ater | Arion vulgaris | Deroceas reticulatum | Deroceras agreste |
| Alternative names | Large Slug, Large Black Slug | Red slug, large slug, nasturtium snail | none | Single-colored field snail |
| Size | 10 to 13 centimeters | 7 to 12 centimeters | 4 to 6 centimeters | 3 to 4 centimeters |
| Coloring | deep black with dark sole | various, mostly reddish to light brown | various, mostly light brown to cream colored | various, mostly light gray |
| Patterning | none, monochrome | none, monochrome | dark spotted, reticulated | none |
| Alternative colorings | rarely dark brown or gray | also dark brown to black specimens | also dark brown to slate gray, sometimes the net pattern is missing | Yellow to dark brown colors also possible |
One thing all slugs have in common is that they all need a rather moist habitat with numerous hiding places to survive.
Lifestyle and reproduction
Tiger snails are nocturnal and prefer to come out of hiding around midnight. This means that you will rarely see the animals - after all, they hide out during the day and only hunt at night. So you can already have the snail hunter in your garden and not know anything about it.
The animals are hermaphrodite, meaning they have both male and female sexual characteristics. During mating, two individuals exchange their sperm packets and thus fertilize each other. However, self-fertilization has also been observed in captive specimens, so these slugs are not dependent on a partner for reproduction.
Egg laying and young animal development
A single snail can lay up to 1000 eggs
The subsequent laying period lasts almost a year, during which a single snail lays up to four clutches of between 100 and 300 eggs each. The first egg is usually laid between July and August of the first year, while the second is not laid until June or July of the following year. The eggs are quite small, averaging four to five millimeters in size. The small, still white and inconspicuous tiger snails hatch after around 19 to 25 days, i.e. around three weeks. They gradually darken as they develop and develop the typical pattern until sexual maturity at around one and a half years. The first spots and stripes appear about a week after hatching.
Tiger drumsticks live for around two and a half to three years, provided they do not fall victim to a predator or illness beforehand. The clutches are also very susceptible to parasites and predators, such as beetles, nematodes or mites. That's why only a few eggs actually hatch into tiger snails. However, you can specifically increase the reproduction rate by breeding in a terrarium and thus ensure plenty of offspring for your own garden.
Excursus
The unusual behavior during mating
Tiger snails show quite interesting mating behavior: The hermaphrodites - that is, each animal is both male and female - mate wrapped around each other, dangling in the air and only hanging on a mucous thread up to 40 centimeters long. However, it will take some time until this happens. First of all, an animal crawls behind its chosen one for hours. If he is finally convinced by this expression of interest, the snails circle each other and finally look for a higher place for the actual act.
How to settle the tiger snail in the garden
In suitable habitats, tiger snails are loyal to their location and form real colonies over time. In order to settle and keep the animals in your garden, it is important to set up suitable shelters. The nocturnal animals retreat into these during the day. Ideal for this purpose are:
- moist, shady places under bushes and other trees
- Pile hollow-hole bricks and old wooden boards here
- shower them with leaves and sticks
Since the animals always stay within five to ten meters of the roost, you should, if possible, create the shelter near endangered beds or centrally in the kitchen garden. It also makes sense to create several “nests” in order to cover larger areas. If you offer the tiger snails good living conditions - i.e. a naturally managed garden with sufficient wet areas - then they will reproduce well and form a stable population over time. You can also feed newly settled specimens using protein-rich food. These include, for example, mushrooms such as champignons from the supermarket, which you cut into slices and distribute at your home.
Tip
To establish tiger slugs in the garden, you should avoid slug pellets. This not only kills the slugs but also the useful snails.
This article shows what else helps against voracious slugs in the garden.
Can you also buy the tiger snail?
If you want to add the tiger flail to your garden, you can buy the animals in specialized online shops or from specialist retailers. The best time for this project begins in spring, when it gets warmer outside and frosty nights are less likely. Depending on the region, you can purchase the snails between mid-March and mid-April and into October and put them straight into the garden. The cold-blooded animals spend the winter well hidden under piles of leaves, in compost or in rotten wood.
However, you need a lot of patience, especially if you have lots of slugs in your garden. In order to combat these effectively with the help of tiger snails, you would also need a lot of them. However, you cannot buy all of them, but rather purchase some of the animals, which will then gradually multiply thanks to your careful care and attention. However, it can take a few years for a snail population to grow. In addition, factors beyond your control (such as the weather) can decimate or benefit your tiger snail population.
In any case, tiger snails are not suitable as sole snail fighters, as the omnivores also eat other food and do not constantly hunt their own species. For effective control, you should use a mix of tiger snails, other predators and other, naturally non-toxic, measures.
Tiger snail in the aquarium?
The tiger snail described in this article is a garden dweller and does not feel particularly comfortable in an aquarium filled with water (whether fresh or sea water). On the contrary, the rural dweller would simply drown there. However, some aquatic predatory snails are also called tiger snails because of their strikingly colored shells. However, the correct name is Clea helena. Sometimes these animals are also available in stores under the names robber tower snail or Helene.
Frequently asked questions
Can you also confuse the tiger snail?
Basically, it is not possible to confuse the “normal” colored tiger snails with other slugs. The distinction is only problematic for the rare, darkly colored individuals, which can sometimes look very similar to the black slug (Arion ater). A distinction can be made by the sole, which is usually light in tiger snails and dark in slugs. At the latest when you place a suspected black tiger snail next to another slug, you can make a precise distinction - the tiger snail will sooner or later nibble on its fellow slug, but the slug - because it is a vegetarian - will not.
It is also possible to confuse it with the reticulated field snail, because this species of slug is also light brown to grayish in color and has a characteristic reticulated pattern - you sometimes have to look very closely.
Does the tiger snail have natural enemies?
The tiger snail has many enemies
Now the tiger snail is one of the natural enemies of other slugs, but it is not safe from predators. Many birds and mammals such as hedgehogs and shrews, but also frogs, toads, slowworms, lizards and snakes feast on the large and easy-to-prey snails. Insects and parasites such as fungi can also be dangerous to the eggs.
How can I still fight the Spanish slug?
The best remedy against voracious slugs such as the black slug and the Spanish slug is still one that is inviting for all kinds of beneficial insects such as songbirds, blackbirds, crows, magpies as well as hedgehogs, shrews, ground beetles, frogs, toads and slow worms Natural garden. You can also protect garden beds with particularly endangered plants by taking appropriate security measures. These include a snail fence or mulching the soil with coarse material, such as straw or chopped bark. Even in a raised bed, plants are usually stored quite safely.
Does the tiger snail actually eat snails with shells?
In general, the tiger snail mainly preys on other slugs. Shelled snails such as the garden snails or even the large snails are generally uninteresting - after all, they can quickly retreat into their houses and are therefore at least safe from predatory relatives (but not from birds, hedgehogs, etc.) secure. Only when these animals are dead do they become interesting to the scavenging snail.
Tip
By the way, the Roman snail loves to eat the eggs of slugs, which is why it is also welcome in the garden. In any case, shell snails cause little damage to beds and plants - in complete contrast to shell-less snails.
