If a slug touches you, the most important thing is to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water to remove its slime and any potential parasites, especially if you live in a tropical/subtropical area where rat lungworm is a concern (though transmission usually involves ingestion). While most garden slugs are harmless to touch, their slime can carry bacteria or parasites, so avoid touching your mouth or eyes, and rinse any affected skin immediately.
Wash hands and any footwear, then disinfect surfaces the slug touched. If you notice persistent redness, swelling, increasing pain, or signs of systemic infection (fever, spreading redness), seek medical attention. Dispose of the slug and contaminated paper towel in the trash or flush if permitted locally.
Not all slugs or snails contain lungworm larvae, but according to an almost unbelievable Countryfile statistic, an average British garden is home to more than 20,000 slugs and snails. The risk of a dog encountering a lungworm host is therefore high.
Slugs and snails have rasping teeth. Letting a slug nom your finger won't hurt you. The specks on your finger are likely to be crumbs that were caught in the mouthpart of the slug.
Slugs are not known carriers of rabies, a virus that typically affects mammals and is spread through saliva.
The great majority of slug species are harmless to humans and to their interests, but a small number of species are serious pests of agriculture and horticulture. They can destroy foliage faster than plants can grow, thus killing even fairly large plants.
Even if you have been bitten a few days, weeks or months ago, it is never too late to start. The rabies virus can incubate for several years before it causes symptoms. If you wait until you get symptoms, it will be too late – there is no treatment for established rabies … rabies is fatal.
People can be infected when they deliberately or accidentally eat a raw snail or slug that contains the lung worm larvae or if they eat unwashed lettuce or other raw leafy vegetables that have been contaminated by the slime of infected snails or slugs.
There is no specific treatment for rat lungworm. Most infections resolve on their own as the parasite dies over time. Treating the symptoms may reduce the severity of headaches and how long other symptoms last.
Lungworm infections are less common than those of gut worms. Outbreaks of disease can be severe and difficult to predict, but are often associated with wetter summers and following periods of rainfall. Disease risk normally peaks between July and October.
This might seem like a strange answer, but slugs are only dangerous if you eat them. Considering that you are a rational human being who doesn't put slimy, gross bugs into your mouth, this shouldn't be a problem. It may, however, be an issue for your pets.
Test results confirmed a low-level presence of rat lungworm (a parasitic nematode) in both snail species. This parasite can be transmitted to people when snails or slugs are eaten raw or undercooked. The likelihood of becoming infected with rat lungworm is very low.
Make a natural spray
Slugs hate strong-smelling plants, and one of the most popular plant scents that is slug-resistant is lavender. Lavender has very low toxicity to humans, making it an ideal choice when it comes to repelling slugs from your home.
Slugs are nocturnal, typically feeding from dusk to dawn. They may also feed during rainy or overcast days. During the day, slugs hide in soil crevices and under crop residue, which is why reduced- and no-till fields are at greater risk for damage (Photo 4). They prefer high humidity and temperatures below 70°F1.
Here are five potentially deadly parasites you should keep on your radar.
All snails and slugs – even endangered native snails – can carry the parasite, although one slug, in particular, has been associated with increased incidence and severity of disease.
If the animal remains healthy during the 10 days, it's an indication that the animal did not have the rabies virus in is saliva at the time of the bite and the victim does not have to receive an expensive and unpleasant series of vaccinations to prevent rabies.
Rabies is fatal if it's untreated before symptoms start. Rabies spreads to people and animals through bites or scratches from infected mammals. Patients who encountered an animal that could have rabies should be assessed by public health professionals.