When I was a connoisseuse of slugs I would part the ivy leaves, and look for the naked
jelly of those gold bodies, translucent strangers glistening along the stones, slowly, their
gelatinous bodies at my mercy. Made mostly of water, they would shrivel to nothing if they were
sprinkled with salt, but I was not interested in that. What I liked was to draw aside the ivy,
breathe the odor of the wall, and stand there in silence until the slug forgot I was there
and sent its antennas up out of its head, the glimmering umber horns rising like
telescopes, until finally the sensitive knobs would pop out the ends, delicate and
intimate....the slow elegant being coming out of hiding and gleaming in the dark air, eager
and so trusting you could weep.
-Excerpted from Sharon Olds, The Dead and the Living
By Alyssa Weskoski in Gig Harbor,WA
If you find a fish tank larger than 10 gallons with a fitting screen top, place about an inch of rocks in the bottom to build up moisture and put in 2 to 3 inches of dirt, and put in some moss, a 3 inch slab of tree bark and a tree branch to fit diagonally standing up wide enough for the slug to climb on. They like to eat sliced tomato, peeled banana, lettuce, and strawberries. You can try out different fruits and veggies. When you close the tank don't forget to put a piece of cardboard that covers half of the top of the tank.