SNAILS AND SLUGS
Snails and slugs are related to clams, oysters, scallops, abalone, octopi andsquid. Other pests that belong to this group are the shipworms (shipworms boreinto wood that is in contact with salt or brackish water) and the pholads,

PHYLUM - Mollusca
CLASS - Gastropoda;. Subclass - Pulmonata
ORDER - Stylommatophora
TYPE OF MOUTHPARTS - Rasping

DESCRIPTION
Snails - Color varies but is often gray. Head with two pairs oftentacles or feelers. The larger pair bear eyes at the tip. Mouth is inthe center of the head below the tentacles. Encased in an evergrowing hard rounded shell. The eggs are generally round, white andcovered with a limy shell and laid in one mass of about 10 - 200 eggsin a cavity about 1" in the ground.

Slugs - A "snail" without a shell. Vary in color from whitish yellow togray to black and some are mottled. They are similar to snails instructure; slimy creatures up to 4" long. Often leave a mucus-like trailon surfaces. Lay 25 or more oval translucent eggs under a dampprotected location. They reach maturity in 3 - 12 months.

LENGTH OF LIFE CYCLE
Snails - 1 to 3 years. May seal off their shell and become dormant for up to 4 years.
Slugs - Approximately 1 year.
HABITAT - Snails and slugs are most active at night or dark days when they come out of damp areas,soil litter, foliage of plants and other protected hiding areas to feed. They prefer damp, dark hiding placessuch as under flat stones, old decaying timbers, damp refuse, boards or logs, in damp basements, amongivy, dense shrubbery, in rock piles and under trash piles and damp plant debris, or in drain piles, greenhouses and storage pits. They will often return to the same resting area each day unless the areabecomes too dry or has been disturbed.

Web Mistress Note:  A little license was taken with title and some emphasis.  However, the content is correct as it appears in "The Best Control)

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