Edmonton researcher wants your garden slugs

Lien Luongwants yourgarden slugs.

The Edmonton ecologist needs live specimens for her research on the slimy species.

Luong is studying parasites like roundworms that could help quash populations of slugs, eliminating the need for harmful chemicals and pesticides.

Edmonton gardens will soon be overrun with the creepy-crawlies, said Luong,an assistant professor of biological sciences at the University of Alberta.

"They can eat probably 10 to 20 times their weight in one day," she said."And they reproduce quite rapidly so your small problem can quickly turn into a large problem."

'I'm looking for a natural enemy'

In some European countries, alternatives to pesticides are already widely used to suppress slug populations.

The treatments rely on roundworms, which are natural parasitic enemies of slugs.

The microscopic roundworm also known as a nematode enters a slugthroughan orifice on its backside and lays its eggs inside.

"First it suppresses the slug's feeding," Luong said in an interview with CBC Radio's Edmonton AM."And then, within a week, the slug will die."

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While effective elsewhere, the solutions can't be applied in Alberta, said Luong.

Roundwormspecies used overseas could be invasive and may cause further problems for the local environment.

"The parasite that they use, we simply don't know if they are here in Canada," Luong said. "No one has actually done that work, and that's where[the slugs] come in."

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By dissecting hundreds of Edmonton slugs, Luong hopesto find a local parasite that could help gardeners and farmers protect their crops.

"I'm looking for a natural enemy," she said. "We would like to find that species of nematode or find another species that will be just as a effective."

'They will meet their fate'

Luong had a reminder for potential slug donors. Only live specimens will be accepted.

"Do not send in slugs that have been trapped and killed," she said. "Gardeners often use beer cans as traps to drown them. That won't work for this."

"What people can do, they can hand-pick them off the plants either at dawn before the dew dries up, or at dusk. They can email me at the university and arrange for a pick-up.

"And then they will meet their fate in my lab."