Grumble Thread

[Petrushka]

The seemingly incessant rain in these parts has had the unfortunate side effect of bringing out the slugs and, even more unfortunately, one or two of them have thought it a good idea to venture indoors leaving their slimy trails all over the carpet.

When I last had this problem, slug pellets were highly effective in getting rid. However, since then metaldehyde, which was used in those pellets, has become a banned substance in the UK as it is harmful to birds, hedgehogs and dogs. The pellets that have replaced them are complete rubbish and are totally ineffective.

Can anyone recommend a way of getting rid of these creatures that does actually work indoors?

[oddoneout]

The seemingly incessant rain in these parts has had the unfortunate side effect of bringing out the slugs and, even more unfortunately, one or two of them have thought it a good idea to venture indoors leaving their slimy trails all over the carpet.

When I last had this problem, slug pellets were highly effective in getting rid. However, since then metaldehyde, which was used in those pellets, has become a banned substance in the UK as it is harmful to birds, hedgehogs and dogs. The pellets that have replaced them are complete rubbish and are totally ineffective.

Can anyone recommend a way of getting rid of these creatures that does actually work indoors?

That takes me back to visiting family members in basic terrace house accommodation in Manchester decades ago - the kitchen floor played host to large black slugs during the night. Not pleasant to come down to in the morning but a real issue for the house that had an outside toilet so nocturnal relief meant having to cross the floor, avoiding the slugs, to get to the back door . They squeezed in under the door, and also came up under the sink where water and waste pipes made a bridge between outside and in. That could be plugged more or less effectively, but the back door was wooden and so needed a certain amount of "ease". One housemate tried laying a trail of salt along the bottom of the door each night but that just made a horrid mess everywhere, worse than picking up the live ones.
If you know where they are coming in, but can't close the gap, perhaps some form of trap might work - half grapefruit skins? Garden beer traps are part buried, which doesn't work for a house floor and I don't know if a saucer or lid of beer would work as well - might need a weight to keep it in place.

[french frank]

Can anyone recommend a way of getting rid of these creatures that does actually work indoors?

How do they get in? I used to have a problem with them getting in through an air brick and crawling up through the bare floorboards. I smeared vaseline round the air brick and swept blue pellets down through the floorboards near the air brick. I now have a fitted carpet so there's no problem.

[Serial_Apologist]

I would have thought a thin line of salt for the duration, sprinkled around the perimeter of the area you want to keep slugs and snails out of, would probably work. We get a lot of slugs and snails along the pathway approaches to the two common entrances to the flats here, especially at night; I and my neighbour are however fortunate in having our entrance doors set back under a common porch, when means the critters having to slide a considerable distance over dry concrete, many of them dying of dehydration before reaching us.

[pastoralguy]

I can’t be the only person who has complained but yesterday I drove from Edinburgh to Peebles, a lovely town just over 20 miles from where I live. It’s a journey I’ve done literally hundreds of times. However, I don’t think I’ve ever known the road to be in such a poor state of repair. Almost dangerous in several places.

[Petrushka]

How do they get in? I used to have a problem with them getting in through an air brick and crawling up through the bare floorboards. I smeared vaseline round the air brick and swept blue pellets down through the floorboards near the air brick. I now have a fitted carpet so there's no problem.

I'm pretty sure they get in via the air brick but I've read that blocking it up can prove to be useless as slugs can get in through very small spaces. The old style green pellets were highly effective but they are no longer on sale. Salt is said to very messy and I'm not keen to risk damage to the carpet.

I had a flat in Bristol many years ago (near the SS Great Britain in Jacob Wells Road) and the slugs in the kitchen were a complete nightmare, absolutely awful.

[oddoneout]

I'm pretty sure they get in via the air brick but I've read that blocking it up can prove to be useless as slugs can get in through very small spaces. The old style green pellets were highly effective but they are no longer on sale. Salt is said to very messy and I'm not keen to risk damage to the carpet.

I had a flat in Bristol many years ago (near the SS Great Britain in Jacob Wells Road) and the slugs in the kitchen were a complete nightmare, absolutely awful.

Salt is messy, as it makes the slugs exude a great deal of mucus to try and protect themselves, definitely not what you want on carpet. Slug slime is difficult enough to clean off at the best of times.
Vaseline might be worth a try if they are coming in through an airbrick. I used to smear it round the top of pots that I had hostas in and it was very effective, so long as there wasn't anything providing a bridge, such as a droopy leaf, or contact with another, non-greasy, surface.

[Andrew Slater]

You could try my (unwitting) method: keep a bucket of pre-compost (kitchen vegetable waste) just outside the back door or near the air brick. It successfully draws the slugs away from the garden, and I certainly don't get any inside (but then I didn't before the advent of the bucket, either!)

[smittims]

On another tack :

Watching an episode of the The Brothers last night we saw a man come downstairs , collect his morning post, open his front door to collect the milk and newspaper from the step,and take a phone call from his estranged wife, telling him their daughter had chicken pox, but that the doctor had called and seen her.

How England has changed in fifty years.

[LMcD]

You could try my (unwitting) method: keep a bucket of pre-compost (kitchen vegetable waste) just outside the back door or near the air brick. It successfully draws the slugs away from the garden, and I certainly don't get any inside (but then I didn't before the advent of the bucket, either!)

Thanks for the tip - I shall certainly give it a try, although I might need a second bucket for the back door to the granny flat!

[oddoneout]

Thanks for the tip - I shall certainly give it a try, although I might need a second bucket for the back door to the granny flat!

But be wary of attracting other creatures that might be worse than the slugs? Mice can get in through very small holes such as in airbricks.
An airbrick in my current house had louvre type openings on the outside(somewhat ironically a modern replacement for the original airbrick) which were just big enough for a rat to get through, but as the inside was blocked off it couldn't get any further and died in situ - it may have already been ill, but the smell and the flies took a while to dissipate - and it took a while to find the source . Luckily I hadn't moved in, as the house was being renovated, but it did mess up a newly painted wall.

[cria]

Copper tape can help or solve the problem around doors, potted plants etc

[Petrushka]

Copper tape can help or solve the problem around doors, potted plants etc

I did look into copper tape. The idea behind it is that the slimy trail from the slug sets off a mild electric shock which deters them. Fine in the garden but impractical indoors where I'm afraid the only real option is to kill them.

When I had a slug problem some years ago I was astonished to find that it had climbed on to the top of my CD shelves and chewed into a couple of the boxes. Apparently, I learnt that they have a fondness for the glue.

[french frank]

I did look into copper tape. The idea behind it is that the slimy trail from the slug sets off a mild electric shock which deters them. Fine in the garden but impractical indoors where I'm afraid the only real option is to kill them.

This is where I was advised if the blighters are getting through an airbrick you smear vaseline all round it. If they try to cross it, they get stuck. Similarly, I've surrounded plants with pistachio shells. They deter them from crossing. (But I've rather gone off pistachios )

[smittims]

I was annoyed to receive an e-mail from my energy supplier which deceitfully implies (in fact, more or less tells me) that I must have a smart meter fitted.

I've always refused, for various reasons we needn't go into here, to have a smart meter. The wording of this e0mail in my opinion is as bad as an outright lie. It is well-known that we are not obliged to have a smart meter if our current meter is working and is not life-expired.

I shall complain strongly. This is only the latest ,and the worst , example of what I call 'corporate deceit' (i.e. them trying to trick us into doing what they want).

If you don't want one, refuse! you are quite entitled to do so.