The Gumby Legacy

  • Home
  • Loving Nature
  • Living Life
  • Accepting Death
  • Blog
  • Grief Happens Podcast
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / Blog / Why do slugs come into my house?

September 15, 2014 by Bronwen Warner 12 Comments

Why do slugs come into my house?

Maybe that's why they want to go in mine?
Maybe that’s why they want to go in mine?

Yuck, yuck, yuck!!

I honestly can’t think of anything more disgusting than standing on a slug with bare feet in the middle of the night.Actually picking one up to get rid of it also gives me the creeps.

For the last month or so there have been slug trails on the lounge floor, on the couch, stairs, my flip-flops and even on the babies car seat. As we have been up quite late the last few nights, we have spotted the little bugger and it really does appear to be the same one. I am too much of a wuss to pick it up and chuck it out but husband has once or twice. But the persistent, slimy, snail without a shell just keeps coming back.

It really could be the same one as slugs leave their own individual scent trail so they can find their way home.

Apparently one of the reasons slugs may venture into the house (particularly an old house) is because they are likely to be cool, dark and moist so if you have a damp problem that could be one reason.

Another is pet food. Slugs have a great sense of smell so will make a beeline for it especially if it’s a rainy night. Or they could be after some plants you have placed artfully in your living space.

Well, we don’t have any animals, I haven’t seen them anywhere near the window sill which is where I have 2 herb pots and as far as I’m aware we don’t have a damp problem.

I do know however that the front door does not fit very well at all and because slugs have no bones, they can stretch up to 20 times their normal length which enables them to squeeze through the tiniest gaps.

These facts lead me to deduce that the poor thing just wants to be cooled down after the lovely warm weather we have been having lately. But that doesn’t really make sense as only 5% of the slug population is above ground at any one time.

The rest is apparently underground doing things that slugs do like eating seedlings, laying eggs, and feeding on roots and seed sprouts. I would have thought that would be much more appealing than my house.

P1020405 (Small)
Our resident slug

Anyway, it cannot stay.

I found quite a few interesting suggestions…

How to get rid of slugs in the house:

  • Laying down a salt path – this actually causes the slugs to dry out and seems extremely cruel, uncomfortable and messy so I won’t try this one
  • Using a copper barrier tape across door thresholds, around pots etc – apparently copper reacts with slug slime and disturbs their nervous system, basically giving them an electric shock (at least they don’t die I guess)
  • Slug pellets/bait– always go for the newer type bait based on iron phosphate which is only toxic to snails and slugs, not the old style baits based on a chemical called metaldehyde which is dangerous for pets, wildlife and children. These also kill the slug after a few days so a bit of a slow process poor things
  • Eggshell experiment. The ones in the eggshell were even more appealing than the ones that weren't.
    Eggshell experiment. The ones in the eggshell were even more appealing than the ones that weren’t.

    Crushed up eggshells – a common suggestion which apparently is totally useless and untrue as this picture from an experiment shows. The snails actually were attracted to the shells with some egg residue on them and the sharpness of the shells on their bellies was no bother. Kind of glad this one doesn’t work as eggshells around the house may be even more disturbing than the slug trails!

  • Beer – by far the most common suggestion that appears to have good results is to use a beer trap. Here is a great description of how to make a trap. Thinking about it now I remember this is what my dad used and it definitely did work. Gross but the whole lot can go on the compost bin every few days or be fed to chickens (Pims for lucky chickens!!)

Unbelievably, in my trawl on the internet this morning for information about how to get rid of slugs and why they want to party in my house, I found not one but two brilliantly informative websites totally dedicated to slugs!

”Slug off!” has some truly bizarre facts about slugs. My favourite one is that a slug has approximately   27 000 teeth which is more than a shark and that, like sharks, they routinely lose and replace their teeth.

‘All About Slugs’  even has Slugapalooza – a page totally dedicated to poetry and stories about slugs for a totally random 5 minutes of your life!

”Time sometimes flies like a bird, sometimes crawls like a snail; but a man is happiest when he does not even notice whether it passes swiftly or slowly” – Ivan Turgenev

How do you cope with unwanted slugs in your garden and home? I’d especially like to know if you’ve ever fed your chickens slugs that have been soaked in beer??

Take care & have a happy day! xx

P.S. This post contains affiliate links which means that if you buy something through my link, Gumby Legacy gets a tiny commission on it. Doesn’t cost you any extra & helps us help others so much appreciated!

Related

Filed Under: Blog, Loving Nature Tagged With: natural pest control, slugs

Comments

  1. Doug says

    January 11, 2019 at 4:07 am

    When I find the buggers I wrap then in tissue paper and send them down the loo!! Can they swim as my Mum reckons they are all coming back via the loo. Almost put my hand on one this morning! It was atop the bedside table and one was on its way up a leg. They appeared to be trying to colour themselves to the bamboo of the table.

    Reply
    • Bronwen Warner says

      February 1, 2019 at 9:43 pm

      eeww!! that’s so gross! I hope they don’t swim!! also that you got rid of them Doug! thanks for commenting xx

      Reply
  2. Manjunath says

    September 25, 2018 at 7:08 am

    Useful Information..

    Thank you so much

    Reply
    • Bronwen Warner says

      November 19, 2018 at 10:44 am

      You’re welcome! thanks for stopping by x

      Reply
  3. Frances B Baggett says

    March 18, 2018 at 6:06 am

    How do you make a beer trap?

    Reply
  4. Anonymous says

    November 25, 2017 at 4:38 am

    I have a very old house with a crawl space and old wooden floors. They come in and go straight towards the dog food. I noticed where they were coming in and put a little salt there. No more slugs for now!

    Reply
    • Bronwen Warner says

      December 5, 2017 at 12:57 pm

      Hope that worked! thanks for reading xx

      Reply
  5. Janis says

    July 1, 2017 at 5:05 am

    I have lived in my current home for over four years. The home is built on a crawl space.
    I’ve never even seen any bugs, save for the occasional fly, in the entire four years, that is, until tonight.
    After googling a “slimey thing with antennas”, I pretty much figured that I was in the company of a slug.
    Long story short, I wrapped him up in paper towels and looking like a slug mummy, out the back door he went.
    Your great advice will hopefully keep him and his kin folks away.
    Thank you so much

    Reply
    • Bronwen Warner says

      July 4, 2017 at 4:43 pm

      Slug mummy! love it Janis 🙂 thanks for taking the time to comment and I hope he doesn’t keep making his way back in!

      Reply
  6. Anonymous says

    May 27, 2017 at 7:40 pm

    Helpful

    Reply
  7. K says

    February 7, 2017 at 12:41 pm

    Wow thank you for the very informative post.

    I was in the garage and noticed a snail. Like you, I don’t want no party in my house.

    What a funny picture of your slug resident .

    Mine is also staying unfortunately but now I know a lot more about slugs. I am very appreciative of your written work.

    Best,
    K

    P.s.was yours really necessary? Is it not TMI? Does the reader need a disclaimer?

    P.p.s. I can’t wait to get lost in your blog for hours.

    Xo

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Minutes before bed time - The Gumby Legacy says:
    August 17, 2017 at 9:33 pm

    […] visiting every day and brilliantly, the post that gets the most views every day is the one about slugs! I love that! Stats are that there have been almost 79000 views on the blog since I started […]

    Reply

What do you think? Leave your opinion below Cancel reply

Loving nature. Living life. Accepting death.
Welcome! Gumby Legacy explores these topics while celebrating and remembering a much loved and missed Gumby. Grab a brew (or beer!) and stay a while to learn more about the Gumby Legacy and the great projects we're fundraising for xox Read More…

Latest on the blog:

  • Going ‘public’
  • Minutes before bed time
  • Of course there are still nice people!
  • One Day At A Time
  • Lemonade Please. No Sugar
  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest

Your support makes a difference!

CLICK THE PIC TO DONATE

Top Posts & Pages

  • Why do slugs come into my house?
    Why do slugs come into my house?
  • 10 reasons why you should care about what happens to rubbish
    10 reasons why you should care about what happens to rubbish
  • Writing letters to people who have died
    Writing letters to people who have died
  • 17 facts about bats (without them there would be no chocolate!)
    17 facts about bats (without them there would be no chocolate!)
  • You Are a Superhero! But even Superheroes need help sometimes
    You Are a Superhero! But even Superheroes need help sometimes
  • A Brief History of Desiderata
    A Brief History of Desiderata
  • Waves of Grief
    Waves of Grief
  • Earwigs
    Earwigs
  • Wondering about weasels
    Wondering about weasels

Categories

  • Accepting Death (27)
  • Blog (35)
  • Gumby (18)
  • Living Life (46)
    • Bron's Musings (4)
  • Loving Nature (77)
    • Plastic free experiment (5)
  • Projects (21)
    • Fundraising (20)
    • Surfing (9)
Follow Gumby Legacy's board 365 Nature days on Pinterest.

New on the blog

  • Going ‘public’
  • Minutes before bed time
  • Of course there are still nice people!
  • One Day At A Time
  • Lemonade Please. No Sugar
  • Talking about our feelings
  • Musings #1
  • New? Start here
  • T’s & C’s plus Disclosure
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2019 · Executive Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in