Using radio frequency identification technology to track the movement of slugs within domestic garden habitats

Slugs (Gastropoda: Stylommatophora) are common domestic garden inhabitants in the United Kingdom (UK) but few studies have explored the spatial behaviour of slugs within these habitats, largely due to limitations in available mark-recapture methodologies. Attempts to improve such methodologies for slugs have previously come at a high economic cost, short lifespan, and inability to detect slugs beneath the soil surface. The use of radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology has previously shown potential in overcoming these limitations, reducing the cost and impracticality of studying slug movement. However, this has yet to be applied to a domestic garden setting. This study explored the potential of RFID technology to track slug movement in a UK domestic garden. Both the common garden pests Deroceras reticulatum and Arion hortensis and the non-pestiferous Limacus maculatus were tagged with modest to no detrimental effects on survival at 62.5%, 25%, and 0% respectively. A novel method for the containment of D. reticulatum within a section of garden habitat was also assessed and found to be effective in containing 80% of slugs for a period of 67 days. RFID technology was able to identify the location of D. reticulatum amongst dense garden foliage and sub-soil for 67 days, enabling slug tracking within a domestic garden habitat. No homing instinct was identified in this study when attempting to induce a home territory over a period of 67 days for the species D. reticulatum. This study demonstrates the potential of RFID technology to track the locomotion of slugs in UK domestic garden habitats and provides an opportunity to update our knowledge on this subject by overcoming the methodological limitations associated with the high cost and impracticality of studying slugs.