Slug problems... anyone?

[phildo79]

As the title suggests, having a real issue with these pesky little critters ATM. Really starting to lose my patience. I have plugged every gap, inside and out, that I can find. Completely covered the floor under the kitchen units with salt. And still they appear. Hadn't seen one in a few days and one popped up in the kitchen last night. I have seen as many as six in the kitchen one night.

Moved house two years ago and didn't have any issues for at least the first 18 months. Now, the back garden area is alive with them and they just won't stop invading the house.

Anyone else had similar issues? And did you find a solution?

 

[Agentgonzo]

I can't help you with your kitchen dilemma unfortunately. But I did have issues for a while in my (external) brew store with a few slugs getting in. I now make sure all my brew kit is bone dry before putting it away. Haven't had a problem since.

I hope you can find a way to keep them out of your house.

 

[SMP Brewery]

Can’t help about indoors, we used to have snails and slugs galore until the hedgehogs turned up, now all we find is empty shells everywhere.

Perhaps you can tease a pair to live under the kitchen units

 

[foxy]

As the title suggests, having a real issue with these pesky little critters ATM. Really starting to lose my patience. I have plugged every gap, inside and out, that I can find. Completely covered the floor under the kitchen units with salt. And still they appear. Hadn't seen one in a few days and one popped up in the kitchen last night. I have seen as many as six in the kitchen one night.

Moved house two years ago and didn't have any issues for at least the first 18 months. Now, the back garden area is alive with them and they just won't stop invading the house.

Anyone else had similar issues? And did you find a solution?

You can buy rolls of thin adhesive copper strip from the hardware store which slugs will not cross.

 

[Sandimas]

Yes, I've had problems. Came home one night and sensed something odd, then spotted a slug at eye-level in our inner hall by the stairs. Old 1820s house with no foundations, they were coming in under the skirting board. We've been here for 17 years and it only started 5 years ago, no idea why.

We got a damp-proofing company in to fix it and, touch wood, haven't had a problem since. We'd had that wall treated before but it didn't last, we found a small family firm that really seemed to know what they're doing and they fixed a few damp issues around the house. I do wonder if the homebrew attracted then in as they do love beer.

 

[The Baron]

It is not a unusual problem with older houses. It will end up being a control system than generally a eradication but you have had a few control suggestions, I bet they like sweet wort so a mop for any spillages plus the usual slug pellets if you are able to use them in situ

 

[phildo79]

My house was only built in 2018. They seem to definitely be attracted to the beer. I plugged some gaps and didn't see one for three weeks. Then put a brew on and boom, 3 were in the kitchen that night. Coincidence? Unlikely.

I am tempted to go out at night, gather up all I can find and dump them somewhere far from my house. Then do the same the next night and so on. They are all relatively small and thin but I did see two the other night that were MASSIVE. It was like the mummy and daddy of them.

I've heard all sorts about egg shells, coffee, glass, copper tape etc. Basically, if they want to get to something, they will just go over all that stuff. I only put the salt down to try and deter them, not kill them. Having said that, if I could get hold of a hedgehog, I would unleash it. But that's just nature, innit.

 

[The Baron]

If you do not want to kill them Phil you are going to struggle without a natural predator.
As you mentioned Hedgehogs so maybe frogs if you have a pond and try to encourage birds without feeding them too much so they will scavenge

 

[Sadfield]

My house was only built in 2018. They seem to definitely be attracted to the beer. I plugged some gaps and didn't see one for three weeks. Then put a brew on and boom, 3 were in the kitchen that night. Coincidence? Unlikely.

I am tempted to go out at night, gather up all I can find and dump them somewhere far from my house. Then do the same the next night and so on.

Sounds like training racing pigeons. Perhaps a forum slug racing league could start? Who can brew the most slug enticing beer?

 

[phildo79]

If you do not want to kill them Phil you are going to struggle without a natural predator.
As you mentioned Hedgehogs so maybe frogs if you have a pond and try to encourage birds without feeding them too much so they will scavenge

I've heard about frogs and birds being possible solutions but I don't have a pond and my next door neighbour has about a half dozen bird feeders in his back garden. Was hoping the close proximity would help.

Going to round them up tonight and dump them by a stream about a hundred yards from my house. Hopefully they don't find their way back.

I'd had enough the other day and was going to buy pellets but you have to remove the dead ones so their decaying bodies don't attract other slugs. And it takes days for them to die. Eff knows where the dead bodies would be.

 

[phildo79]

Sounds like training racing pigeons. Perhaps a forum slug racing league could start? Who can brew the most slug enticing beer?

Well they definitely like stout, pale ales and IPAs...the bastids!

 

[SMP Brewery]

We were given a hedgehog house and it didn’t take long to populate it, give it a try.

 

[Sadfield]

Well they definitely like stout, pale ales and IPAs...the bastids!

Have you tried giving them an alternative destination?

StackPath

 

[phildo79]

Have you tried giving them an alternative destination?

StackPath

Tried it. Complete failure. Perhaps using beer moretti wasn't the best idea

 

[Rodcx500z]

Never had them in the house always the back yard, i got 2 the other night, also if you have a dog don't let it near them they carry lung worm which is bad for dogs

 

[Rodcx500z]

All you need to know about lung worm in dogs and treatment Lungworm in dogs

 

[phildo79]

Don't have a dog but it can also be very bad for humans. The lungworm attacks the brain, which can leave lasting damage.

 

[Rodcx500z]

Only if you live in the pacific basin

 

[Begbie]

My back garden is writhing in slugs at night time. Someone has recommended Nemaslug to me. It's available on your usual online markets but it's not cheap. Going to buy a box of it soon.

Has anyone in here used it?

 

[Haversham]

Never had them in the house but certainly in the garden, especially near hostas and veg. Don’t be sentimental about not killing slugs. They are a terrible pest. My wife is a keen gardener and hates slugs. She has campaigns where she goes out in the evening and grabs every slug she can find. She snips them in half with secateurs and/or throws them in a jar with salt in it, and puts the sealed jar in the rubbish. If she does this for several days in a row, and disposes of hundreds of them, she finds that the slug population goes right down for a few weeks before she has to have another campaign. We’ve found that simply deterring them with eggshells and copper strips etc is no good. You have to wage war and get rid of them.