Why do slugs come into my house?

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.

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

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  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

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