Slug trouble ... but not in the garden!!
We have slug trails across the lounge and kitchen floor every morning
(haven't seen one in the garden for ages). No idea where they're coming in -
any thoughts anyone?

On May 29, 2:38*pm, Janet wrote:
In article ,
says...



Slug trouble ... but not in the garden!!
We have slug trails across the lounge and kitchen floor every morning
(haven't seen one in the garden for ages). No idea where they're coming in -
any thoughts anyone?

* We had the same problem in the previous house (very old cottage with
thick stone walls built direct on earth, no foundations). The slugs were
coming up from underneath the house, and because the woodwork was all very
uneven against stone, they could find tiny gaps to squeeze through. (So
could mice. We could hear mice skittering around deep inside the stone
walls at night, where there must have been gaps and cavities).

* *The answer to slugs, is nocturnal hunting and destruction.. and maybe a
shake of slugpellets pushed down any cracks where the slime trails *
disappear down under floorboards, skirtings etc.

Don't leave *petfood dishes lying on the floor because any slugs will make
a beeline for them

* *Janet.

Had a large Leopard slug making its way through the cat flap.

On Sun, 29 May 2011 11:17:35 +0100, "Eurofeeds"
wrote:

Slug trouble ... but not in the garden!!
We have slug trails across the lounge and kitchen floor every morning
(haven't seen one in the garden for ages). No idea where they're coming in -
any thoughts anyone?

There are slugs that will live indoors if the conditions are right.
They can actually be useful in indicating a problem such as damp. I've
traced a trail back to a bit of skirting in someone's house and then
found that there's damp behind it. So it's always worth checking for
that.

Otherwise, they like kitchens (there are usually gaps to get behind
the kick boards or under the units) and they lie low in the day and
come out at night to feast.

Non damp-sorting solutions are clean up, particularly under the dining
table! Don't leave pet food down overnight and give the kitchen a good
clean, particularly removing kick boards if you can and getting under
units. You may actually find the culprit (good chance it's only one!).

Then if you have no pets or children, or can keep them out of the
rooms, put some slug pellets down around the trail "ends". Make sure
all pellets are removed in the morning before pets or children can
access the areas. Sweep them up onto something and then reuse them in
the night. With luck you'll sort the problem within a week. If it
persists longer, then damp becomes a more likely issue.

Some people suggest salt but that's messy and is unlikely to catch the
blighters - they'll recoil from it and take another route.

On Sun, 29 May 2011 15:36:31 +0100, Janet wrote:

We get giant Leopard slugs here :-( Ugh.

Janet.

There was an article in some magazine my wife was reading about a
young man dialling 999 to get help to remove a big slug. The same
article mentioned that 999 has also been used to rescue a snail that
had climbed "too far" up the house wall.

Steve

On May 29, 3:37*pm, Jake Nospam@invalid wrote:
On Sun, 29 May 2011 11:17:35 +0100, "Eurofeeds"

wrote:
Slug trouble ... but not in the garden!!
We have slug trails across the lounge and kitchen floor every morning
(haven't seen one in the garden for ages). No idea where they're coming in -
any thoughts anyone?

There are slugs that will live indoors if the conditions are right.
They can actually be useful in indicating a problem such as damp. I've
traced a trail back to a bit of skirting in someone's house and then
found that there's damp behind it. So it's always worth checking for
that.

Otherwise, they like kitchens (there are usually gaps to get behind
the kick boards or under the units) and they lie low in the day and
come out at night to feast.

Non damp-sorting solutions are clean up, particularly under the dining
table! Don't leave pet food down overnight and give the kitchen a good
clean, particularly removing kick boards if you can and getting under
units. You may actually find the culprit (good chance it's only one!).

Then if you have no pets or children, or can keep them out of the
rooms, put some slug pellets down around the trail "ends". Make sure
all pellets are removed in the morning before pets or children can
access the areas. Sweep them up onto something and then reuse them in
the night. With luck you'll sort the problem within a week. If it
persists longer, then damp becomes a more likely issue.

Some people suggest salt but that's messy and is unlikely to catch the
blighters - they'll recoil *from it and take another route.



I think that the slugs could be less trouble than the Kids and pets.

"Eurofeeds" wrote in message
. com...
Slug trouble ... but not in the garden!!
We have slug trails across the lounge and kitchen floor every morning
(haven't seen one in the garden for ages). No idea where they're coming
in - any thoughts anyone?

Slug killer!

Alan

"Janet" wrote in message
...
In article bac976ae-f460-4059-bc2b-
,
says...

On May 29, 2:38 pm, Janet wrote:
In article ,
says...



Slug trouble ... but not in the garden!!
We have slug trails across the lounge and kitchen floor every morning
(haven't seen one in the garden for ages). No idea where they're
coming in -
any thoughts anyone?

We had the same problem in the previous house (very old cottage with
thick stone walls built direct on earth, no foundations). The slugs were
coming up from underneath the house, and because the woodwork was all
very
uneven against stone, they could find tiny gaps to squeeze through. (So
could mice. We could hear mice skittering around deep inside the stone
walls at night, where there must have been gaps and cavities).

The answer to slugs, is nocturnal hunting and destruction.. and maybe a
shake of slugpellets pushed down any cracks where the slime trails
disappear down under floorboards, skirtings etc.

Don't leave petfood dishes lying on the floor because any slugs will
make
a beeline for them

Janet.

Had a large Leopard slug making its way through the cat flap.

We get giant Leopard slugs here :-( Ugh.

What is the difference between a Leopard slug and an ordinary slug?

Alan




Janet.

Got the pellets down behind the dishwasher and washing machine )side by side
against damp north facing wall) - no kids - no pets.

Thanks all

"Jake" Nospam@invalid wrote in message
news
On Sun, 29 May 2011 11:17:35 +0100, "Eurofeeds"
wrote:

Slug trouble ... but not in the garden!!
We have slug trails across the lounge and kitchen floor every morning
(haven't seen one in the garden for ages). No idea where they're coming
in -
any thoughts anyone?

There are slugs that will live indoors if the conditions are right.
They can actually be useful in indicating a problem such as damp. I've
traced a trail back to a bit of skirting in someone's house and then
found that there's damp behind it. So it's always worth checking for
that.

Otherwise, they like kitchens (there are usually gaps to get behind
the kick boards or under the units) and they lie low in the day and
come out at night to feast.

Non damp-sorting solutions are clean up, particularly under the dining
table! Don't leave pet food down overnight and give the kitchen a good
clean, particularly removing kick boards if you can and getting under
units. You may actually find the culprit (good chance it's only one!).

Then if you have no pets or children, or can keep them out of the
rooms, put some slug pellets down around the trail "ends". Make sure
all pellets are removed in the morning before pets or children can
access the areas. Sweep them up onto something and then reuse them in
the night. With luck you'll sort the problem within a week. If it
persists longer, then damp becomes a more likely issue.

Some people suggest salt but that's messy and is unlikely to catch the
blighters - they'll recoil from it and take another route.

I have found that putting salt on a slug kills it!

Alan

On Sun, 29 May 2011 21:42:21 +0100, "alan.holmes"
wrote:


"Jake" Nospam@invalid wrote in message
news
On Sun, 29 May 2011 11:17:35 +0100, "Eurofeeds"
wrote:

Slug trouble ... but not in the garden!!
We have slug trails across the lounge and kitchen floor every morning
(haven't seen one in the garden for ages). No idea where they're coming
in -
any thoughts anyone?

There are slugs that will live indoors if the conditions are right.
They can actually be useful in indicating a problem such as damp. I've
traced a trail back to a bit of skirting in someone's house and then
found that there's damp behind it. So it's always worth checking for
that.

Otherwise, they like kitchens (there are usually gaps to get behind
the kick boards or under the units) and they lie low in the day and
come out at night to feast.

Non damp-sorting solutions are clean up, particularly under the dining
table! Don't leave pet food down overnight and give the kitchen a good
clean, particularly removing kick boards if you can and getting under
units. You may actually find the culprit (good chance it's only one!).

Then if you have no pets or children, or can keep them out of the
rooms, put some slug pellets down around the trail "ends". Make sure
all pellets are removed in the morning before pets or children can
access the areas. Sweep them up onto something and then reuse them in
the night. With luck you'll sort the problem within a week. If it
persists longer, then damp becomes a more likely issue.

Some people suggest salt but that's messy and is unlikely to catch the
blighters - they'll recoil from it and take another route.

I have found that putting salt on a slug kills it!

Alan

Yep! Guaranteed - the salt draws out the mucus and ultimately the slug
dehydrates. My favourite method is a bucket of salty water which I
carry round the garden late in the evening. Any slugs or snails I find
go in the bucket (save for a few which go into my hedgehog feeder but
that's another story of which I must post a pic somewhere) and sizzle
away, or is it froth? They bubble nicely anyway.

But unless the OP wants to stay up all night, salt won't be the answer
- you need to drop it on the slug or totally surround it with the
stuff. If it hits some on the ground, it will simply shift into
reverse gear and change direction. But slug pellets should do the
trick.

Incidentally, Eurofeeds, DON'T sprinkle the slug pellets too closely.
The slug killer element can be detected (smelt) by slugs and they will
turn away from them. Only a small percentage of each pellet (less than
10%) is killer, the rest is something to attract them/cover the scent.
A single pellet, maybe two at most, placed carefully across a trail
would probably be enough. Half a dozen would be too many. I know this
sounds daft but so many things in life are.

Cheers
Jake

Are they the pretty ones with yellowy-green splodges?

There was an article in New Scientist a couple of years back suggesting slugs can be useful in keeping down mould growth in bathrooms. We moved one into our grotty shower (the one we haven't got round to replacing) but he didn't seem interested.

When we moved into an old farmhouse several years ago, we also were suprised by how much food our pets were eating ? Until shortly after moving in, i replaced the kitchen only to find that behind the sink unit were a colony of huge leopard slugs and a weeping waterpipe connection, so they had both the dampness and the food they needed as has been previously poiinted out !
Lannerman

On May 29, 9:41*pm, "alan.holmes" wrote:
"Janet" wrote in message

...
In article bac976ae-f460-4059-bc2b-
,
says...







On May 29, 2:38 pm, Janet wrote:
In article ,
says...

Slug trouble ... but not in the garden!!
We have slug trails across the lounge and kitchen floor every morning
(haven't seen one in the garden for ages). No idea where they're
coming in -
any thoughts anyone?

We had the same problem in the previous house (very old cottage with
thick stone walls built direct on earth, no foundations). The slugs were
coming up from underneath the house, and because the woodwork was all
very
uneven against stone, they could find tiny gaps to squeeze through. (So
could mice. We could hear mice skittering around deep inside the stone
walls at night, where there must have been gaps and cavities).

The answer to slugs, is nocturnal hunting and destruction.. and maybe a
shake of slugpellets pushed down any cracks where the slime trails
disappear down under floorboards, skirtings etc.

Don't leave petfood dishes lying on the floor because any slugs will
make
a beeline for them

Janet.

Had a large Leopard slug making its way through the cat flap.

*We get giant Leopard slugs here :-( Ugh.

What is the difference between a Leopard slug and an ordinary slug?

Alan

* Janet.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I always understood that Leopard slugs only feed on dead and decaying
vegitation

No thanks - she won't match our colour scheme ;-) But thank her kindly for her offer.

"alan.holmes" wrote in message
...

"Janet" wrote in message
...
In article bac976ae-f460-4059-bc2b-
,
says...

On May 29, 2:38 pm, Janet wrote:
In article ,
says...



Slug trouble ... but not in the garden!!
We have slug trails across the lounge and kitchen floor every morning
(haven't seen one in the garden for ages). No idea where they're
coming in -
any thoughts anyone?

We had the same problem in the previous house (very old cottage with
thick stone walls built direct on earth, no foundations). The slugs
were
coming up from underneath the house, and because the woodwork was all
very
uneven against stone, they could find tiny gaps to squeeze through. (So
could mice. We could hear mice skittering around deep inside the stone
walls at night, where there must have been gaps and cavities).

The answer to slugs, is nocturnal hunting and destruction.. and maybe a
shake of slugpellets pushed down any cracks where the slime trails
disappear down under floorboards, skirtings etc.

Don't leave petfood dishes lying on the floor because any slugs will
make
a beeline for them

Janet.

Had a large Leopard slug making its way through the cat flap.

We get giant Leopard slugs here :-( Ugh.

What is the difference between a Leopard slug and an ordinary slug?

Alan

There's no "L" in "ordinary".....sorry :-))

Either way Yuck !!!!

Bill