Winter is Banana Slug Season in Santa Cruz County

Fall and winter are banana slug seasons in Santa Cruz County. Santa Cruz County is known for its redwood forests which are home to a species of mollusk known as the "banana slug." Banana slugs are large, yellow ground slugs that inhabit the floors of the redwood forests in and around Santa Cruz County. Like all slugs, banana slugs thrive in a moist environment, which means that the onset of the rainy season in Santa Cruz is the best time to go for a redwood forest hike and to go banana slug spotting.

Also present in Santa Cruz's redwood forests are bay trees, which drop elongated yellow leaves in the fall. These yellow bay leaves are similar in appearance to banana slugs, and it is probable that the presence of these yellow bay leaves played a strong role in the evolution of the distinctive appearance of the banana slug. Because the banana slugs will tend to blend in with the bay leaves covering the forest floor, banana slugs can be very difficult to spot. In a bed of yellow bay leaves, the human eye will tend to glaze over the banana slugs, thinking that a banana slug is just another bay leaf. As such, it is crucial that you proceed slowly and cautiously when searching for banana slugs. If you search too quickly, you may possibly miss the banana slugs altogether or may even injure or kill them if you trample upon them accidentally.

Since banana slugs will tend to emerge from hiding when the weather is moistest, a mildly rainy day is the perfect weather in which to go searching for banana slugs. You will need good weatherproof hiking boots as well as a rain poncho to stay dry, but these efforts will be well rewarded with the discovery of many banana slugs as you hike through the forest floor. On a very good day of banana slugging you can see tens or hundreds of banana slugs, depending on how carefully you look and how long you spend looking.

I have had excellent luck finding banana slugs in the redwood forests on the campus of the University of California, Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz County is also home to the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, which contains excellent local hiking and is home to many banana slugs on its forest floor. Since there are so many bay trees on campus at UC Santa Cruz, the campus location is most interesting to observe the camouflage of the banana slug in surrounding yellow bay leaves.

If you plan to visit Santa Cruz County in the rainy months, be sure to plan a little time in your visit to go for a hike in search of banana slugs. It is tradition in Santa Cruz to kiss a banana slug when you find one for the first time. But while the banana slug is harmless to humans, do not handle banana slugs since the salt from our skin can cause injury to a banana slug. Likewise, if you are brave enough to kiss a banana slug, be sure to rinse your mouth and lips with water first so that you do not get salt on the banana slug.

In conclusion, Santa Cruz County is home to the famous banana slug. The banana slug is so steeped in local tradition that the University of California, Santa Cruz has a banana slug as its mascot. A simple hike into the redwood forests of Santa Cruz County on a rainy or moist day will allow you to find and observe many banana slugs in their natural habitat; just be sure to plan for the weather and take the ordinary hiking precautions for your own safety and comfort. You have not truly seen Santa Cruz until you have seen the banana slug in its natural splendor.