With the rainy weather bringing out all kinds of insects in search of higher ground you may have come across a snail in your path or maybe you have seen its slimy metallic trail dragging across the sidewalk. The mucus that they leave behind acts as a lubricant to reduce friction which allows them to move upside down and along corners. They are known to hibernate in the cold winter weather, and also in the summers that are accompanied with a drought, by covering themselves in a thin mucus to prevent drying out, which may explain why you have not seen them too much this year. We all know that snails and slugs are extremely slow, but ever wonder just how slow? Snails have a top speed of 50 yards per hour, they are one of the slowest insects alive. Surprisingly, snails have an average lifespan of 5 years and in unusual situations they can live up to 25 years! The biggest snail weighed in at 2 pounds and 12 inches long. Don't bother asking a slug to hurry up because they can't hear you they can only see.