This is our third update on slugs in Ohio, funded by the United Soybean Board. Slug activity continues to increase slowly as the weather warms up and fields are planted. As a reminder, please take a look at our new “Slug Biology and Management” card that can be viewed here: “Slug_Biology_and_Management”. In addition, more information can be found on this slug fact sheet: Slug_Fact_Sheet.
For our third report we monitored from May 4th to May 10th. During this time, we had 17 counties monitoring a total of 144 shingle traps. Six of the counties reported slug activity over the past week (Figure 1). The number reported is the average number of slugs found under the traps. Only one county had an average greater than 1 slug per field this week and that was Crawford County. Additionally, where slugs are being reported seems to be random and not isolated to a specific region. This slight increase in slug numbers tells us that slugs are continuing to be active in Ohio and over the next couple of weeks we expect these numbers to continue to increase. I do want to mention that each county is only monitoring 1-2 fields, so even if your county is reporting a zero, slugs are very sporadic and may be absent from one field and present in another. Make sure you are scouting your fields and looking for evidence of slug feeding (damage to newly emerging plants and slime trails are things to look for). Slugs are nocturnal and depending on when you scout, slugs may not be present in the field. Stay tuned for more slug updates!
Slugs in Ohio
May 4th to May 10th, 2026
Figure 1. Average slugs found from May 4th to May 10th. The bold number on the left indicates the average slug count for the week, followed by the standard number on the right which indicates the total traps set up in that county. Each field monitored has a total of 6 traps.