Our fifth week of reporting slug numbers was between May 18th – 24th and during this time, much of Ohio had cold and rainy weather, which resulted in higher slug numbers compared to the previous weeks. 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. The slug shingle project is funded by the United Soybean Board.
Overall, we had 18 counties monitoring a total of 144 shingle traps across Ohio. This week, 11 counties reported finding slugs under their shingles (Figure 1), which is an increase compared to last week where only six counties reported slugs. In addition, the statewide average went up to 0.7, and we had a number of counties reporting an average of 1.0 slug or higher. These counties include Crawford, Jefferson, Miami, and Washington. Please keep in mind, each county is only monitoring 1-2 fields, so even if your county is reporting “no slugs”, 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 18th to May 24th, 2026
Figure 1. Average slugs found from May 18th to May 24th. 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.