What Happens When You Put Salt On A Slug

Rather than by a complex chemical reaction salt acts as a snail and slug s kryptonite by dehydrating its slimy exterior.

I would compare pouring salt on a slug as being in some ways similar to a banned abortion method where salt was injected into the womb and a fetus would die from lung damage from inhalation and having it s skin burned off by the salt. It s true that slugs will dehydrate if you pour salt on them although i must say that the thought of standing there watching while the slug shrivels up seems uniquely unappetizing. That solution has a higher salt concentration than the inside of the slug so osmosis occurs and water from the slug s skin cells passes through the membranes to dilute the solution and even things. When you put salt on the skin of a slug osmosis means that the water held inside the slugs body is dragged out because in basic terms there has to be a balance between the amount of water.

Salt essentially draws the water out of their skin an osmosis effect and they die within minutes of dehydration says dr gordon port senior lecturer at newcastle university. However the slugs don t scream for the simple reason that they don t have any vocal apparatus. The life story of a slug. When salt is put on them the concentration of salt outside their body is higher than the concentration inside their body water diffuses through semipermeable membranes from a higher concentration.

If you ve ever poured salt over an unlucky gastropod you ve probably watched aghast as they bubble appear to melt and eventually shrivel up and die. The salt causes water to leave their bodies and they shrivel up fast of course i ve also seen postings about shriveling screaming shrieking oozing etc so we may be talking more of wicked witch type of thing here lol.