Gardeners appear to spend more time and effort on slug control than almost any other pest, except perhaps vine weevil. Not all are as evil as they’re cabbage-painted. Are you trying to rid your garden of the wrong type of slug? Most gardeners imagine every slug is out to demolish their seedlings, let alone every snail, but there is a sizeable number of species which are blameless in their diet, feeding on dead vegetation alone. They’re valuable assets in the compost heap, helping decomposition: even surplus slime encourages a build-up of humus.