Help with slugs please

Question

Hi

Please can you help. Every night about 11pm there are 1-2 (different) slugs crawling around on my kitchen floor.

My partner has cemented all the holes in the wall outside the kitchen but still they are coming in.

How can they be getting in? How can i stop it? (i have a toddler so nothing dangerous please). Also, there is an old stone wall between our house and our neighbours and they seem to think the slugs & snails live in there in the cracks. Could this be the case?

(nb: i only have a problem with the slugs as the snails don't come in our house)

Thanks for any help with this

Answer 1

You could follow the slime trail to see where they're coming in.  You could then put down either salt, or GARDEN diatomaceous earth, to block them.

Of the two, salt is probably safer.  DE is inert, but abrasive to slugs (and lung tissue, if inhaled.

Answer 2

I'm not sure but if you put salt on them they'll die.

Answer 3

Lots of salt will do the trick to keep them from entering.  But if they manage to crawl past it, it'll be a yucky mess to clean up!

Answer 4

We have this problem too... What we do is we line all the cracks outside our house with salt. When the slugs get to it they dissolve. It is a safe and natural way to be rid of slugs!

Good luck!

=]

Answer 5

Slugs will not walk across sand.  So get some sand and make a line of it - one inch wide will do around where you think they are coming in.  

Answer 6

put out a dish of beer and they will be drawn to the beer then you can put them outside

Answer 7

Thanks for asking this question, i have been having the same problem recently and i darent go into the kitchen past 9.30 just incase i stand on one and it makes a 'splat' on my foot.

I did same as you, checked round exterior for holes, cracks etc and couldnt see any. I didnt want to use poison as i have a dog who could have eaten it.

Sorry i couldnt help you myself i just thought it was a good question and i didnt want you to think it was just  'you vs slugs' on your own - im battling them too

I think i will definately try the salt put it infront of the door

hope you get it sorted

Answer 8

lol. when reading the title... I replaced the G from slugs with a T...

Answer 9

that sucks. thats disgusting. knock the wall down

Answer 10

just salt em

Answer 11

just put bowls of beer near the wall and in the kitchen, the yeast from the beer will atract them and they will drown in it. Unfortunately the poor snails will drown to.

Answer 12

You need to know how they are getting into your house, cos they ARE getting in somehow or somewhere (remember, slugs can also be carried in on muddy boots, sticks, even on the cat`s fur  - I have even `brought` them in on the bottom of our cat`s dish).

.........................................

But if you are seeing them regularly, there is an open crack somewhere in the brickwork  - the crack might be hidden behind the kitchen unit, or behind anywhere else.  You`ll just have to have a good think where it could be, and check. Remember too, that slugs need a damp place to be able to move well.

Answer 13

salt by the sides can be one way, but my advice is to contact someone in pest control especially if there is a child involved.

Answer 14

Salt,as everyone mentioned, does work miracles. I, too, have a gigantic slug problem on my porch. They creep out at night, and I have found that there are two sure fire ways to rid yourself of them. (Salt kills them gone, and it makes me sad, so I resort to these other methods)...

put a small cup of beer somewhere hidden by where they show up. This will make them flock like alcoholics to a bar!

Second, believe it or not, they LOVE dried cat food. (safer for your toddler).. They will sworm to it incessantly.

When I find them on my porch dining on the cat food, I simply pick up the bowl and walk them up the other block and let them go. (I'm a sap.. we salted one once, it it broke my heart)

Another trick too, egg shells or sand! They won't be able to 'slime' over them. Which ever works best for you!

Answer 15

umm  i suggest calling a professional pest control unit

Answer 16

If you take some garlic and boil it for a while then mop your floors with it and empty the remains outside they should stay away, can be used on your plants to.

Answer 17

They are probably coming under the door.  Buy some adhesive copper strip from the garden centre and stick that across the door threshold - they won't cross it, but it doesn't make them puke.

Answer 18

pour salt in front of the door ways

Answer 19

We live in a rural area and get them coming in our back porch all the time. My husband just picks them up with tongs and puts them out in the fields. We cant figure out either how they get in and think its the space between the door and frame.

The suggestion about the beer is a good one as they like sweet smelling liquid.