Cannibal Slugs Invade Ryazan Region Village

In the village of Pavelkovo in the Mikhaylovsky district of Russia«s Ryazan Region, residents have encountered an unexpected and highly unpleasant problem — huge slugs have massively invaded their plots, roads, and even forest paths. As one local woman, Yekaterina, told YA62.RU, several years ago a neighbor brought in seedlings that were apparently infested with the eggs of these mollusks. Since then, the population has grown to threatening proportions.

Why large slugs are dangerous to people and whether they can reach Ryazan — in this YA62.RU report.

Slugs Attack Vegetable Gardens and Roads in the Village

At first, residents of Mikhaylovsky district noticed slugs only on a few plots, but in the summer of 2026 the problem became widespread rather than localized, Yekaterina says.

“They spread very quickly. I read that one individual lays many eggs, and most importantly, they don«t die in winter,” Yekaterina explains.

According to the woman, summer residents are trying to fight the scourge on their own: sprinkling the slugs with grass, collecting them by hand, and poisoning them with chemicals. But it is impossible to cope alone. Most plot owners visit only occasionally — coming for a couple of days — while the slugs spread every day.

The woman was especially horrified by a scene her children witnessed after rain:

“They say, ‘Mom, the whole roadside along the road is simply strewn with slugs.’ I rode my bicycle there the next evening and saw it myself — these pests are already crawling onto the next street,” the Ryazan woman recalls.

Now, according to Yekaterina, the pests are spreading far beyond the infected plots. Around Pavelkovo there are forests, abandoned dachas, and fields. The slugs are crawling across a vast territory, and every day there are more of them. Plot owners are in despair:

“What can we do on our plots? We kill them — they breed. It«s already at such a scale that we can»t handle it on our own,” people lament.

Particularly alarming is the fact that near the village there is a pond where children and adults from neighboring villages swim. In addition, the fields, forests, and meadows where locals gather berries and mushrooms are also at risk.

“Everyone gathers and eats these berries, especially children. And how do you wash off the slime? There«s no way to wash it off. And animals can not only suffer from this but even die,” the woman says.

She notes that the problem has existed for several years in other regions as well:

“The entire Moscow Region has already faced them; they«re even in the capital itself. But we never had slugs here. Here it»s a stone«s throw from village to village — if we don»t stop it now, the problem will grow to such a scale that an ecological catastrophe will occur,” our interlocutor worries.

Yekaterina is certain: if measures are taken now, the situation can still be brought under control. For example, by treating the territory before the slugs crawl further.

Why Are Spanish Slugs Dangerous?

Nadezhda Ozerova, a leading researcher at the Institute of the History of Natural Science and Technology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAN), commented specifically for YA62.RU on the situation with the appearance of orange slugs in Mikhaylovsky district.

According to Nadezhda Ozerova, the information available online generally corresponds to reality. Spanish slugs are omnivorous and extremely voracious. They eat practically everything: potato and tomato foliage, leaves, flowers, including marigolds, and they are not averse to carrion either.

There are known cases of slugs eating even their smaller relatives.

The main danger to humans and domestic animals is connected not with the mollusks themselves but with the bacteria they accumulate.

“If a slug has been sitting in a compost pit or feeding on a dead animal, pathogenic microbes remain on its surface and in its slime. Therefore, it«s best not to pick them up,” Nadezhda Ozerova advises.

“This also contributes to the spread of bacteria. As for berries and vegetables, they must always be washed, and if such individuals are found in the garden, then as thoroughly as possible,” the expert explains.

Owners of domestic animals should be especially careful. If a dog or cat swallows a slug or simply licks its slime, it can lead to an infectious disease.

Transmission of helminths is also possible if the slugs have come into contact with the excrement of infected animals.

How to Distinguish a Spanish Slug from an Ordinary One?

Spanish slugs are much larger than their counterparts. They reach 10–15 centimeters (3.9–5.9 inches) in length and fit easily on an adult«s palm. Their coloration varies from bright orange and brick red to dark brown, sometimes almost black.

These slugs can often be seen after rain, when they mass-crawl onto paths and roadsides, leaving characteristic slime trails behind. If the population is small, they are hard to notice — in that case, the expert recommends setting up control traps.

What to Do If Slugs Appear on Your Plot?

The main advice Nadezhda Ozerova gives is not to try to fight the invasion through mass treatment of territories with pesticides. This can be dangerous for domestic animals, birds, and children. Instead, the expert recommends using safe traps.

“The most effective and safe method is to make a hermetic trap. You need to take a container with a tightly fitting lid and cut an opening the size of a slug in it, put a cloth soaked in beer inside, and pour a slug repellent inside. The container must be pressed down firmly with a stone on top so that animals cannot knock it over and accidentally eat the contents,” Nadezhda Ozerova advises.

Such traps should be placed in places where slugs congregate. For example, near a compost heap or in shaded, damp areas of the plot.

Why beer? Spanish slugs are very sensitive to its smell; it attracts them like a magnet. Alternatively, containers of water with beer added can be used. The slugs will crawl in and drown.

Important: if the trap has worked, its contents must be disposed of in the manner recommended by the manufacturer of the slug repellent. All manipulations are best done with gloves, and after contact with slugs, wash your hands thoroughly.

Where Did the Cannibal Slugs Come from in Ryazan Region?

The Spanish slug is an invasive species that has been actively spreading across the European part of Russia in recent years. Its homeland is the Pyrenees Mountains in Spain, from where it traveled with planting material and rolled turf to garden centers in Europe and then to Russia.

According to Nadezhda Ozerova, the dangerous slugs were presumably brought to Moscow during urban landscaping, when rolled turf was purchased from European countries. And from there, along with seedlings and saplings that Muscovites bring to their dacha plots, the mollusks may have reached the Ryazan Region.

A single fertilized individual is enough to start the formation of an entire population, Nadezhda Ozerova asserts. One individual lays up to 200 eggs at a time, and under favorable conditions, the population grows rapidly.

Will the Slugs Spread to Ryazan?

Undoubtedly yes, Nadezhda Ozerova asserts. Spanish slugs actively disperse, and if no measures are taken, they will crawl beyond the first infected plots. The only hope is weather conditions. During dry and hot periods, slugs feel uncomfortable, and their activity decreases.

But relying only on the weather is not worth it, Nadezhda Ozerova is certain.

“If slugs are already present, it«s better to try to contain them. This is a favorable year for them, and it»s better to start fighting before they spread completely,” Ozerova urged.

What Should Dacha Owners Do?

According to the expert, residents of the village should not mass-treat territories with chemicals.

“If you start sprinkling pesticides everywhere, it can harm domestic animals and children who walk outside. It«s much more reasonable to fight the pests yourself with safe traps,” Nadezhda Ozerova notes.

The YA62.RU editorial team contacted the administration of Mikhaylovsky district with a request to comment on the situation. Officials responded that they had not received any official appeals from residents regarding slugs and fighting them, so no measures were taken.

The administration added that assessing the danger of slug spread and the threat to the environment is not within their competence and recommended addressing this issue to the Rospotrebnadzor (Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing) office for the Ryazan Region.

The YA62.RU editorial team sent a request to the agency. As of publication time, no response has been received.

Meanwhile, residents hope that they will be heard and helped to cope with the invasion, because not only harvests but also the health of people and animals, as well as the ecological well-being of the Ryazan Region, depend on it.