Where are all the slugs?

[ParrotsAteThemAll]

Just been out to my garden on my nightly hedgehog hunt and realised that I’ve not seen a slug in a very long time. I used to have an array of slugs, regular black ones and those big orange ones almost the size of a bar of soap (?spanish slugs).

Has the heatwave shrivelled them all up? Is this a worry for our eco system? What will the hedgehogs eat??

They are in my pots eating my flowers. I think it’s because it’s the only source of water. I watered a pot the other night and when I’d finished, a massive slug was stuck to the watering can nozzle.

I haven't seen many since the hot weather started. They do go for a drink in the early morning, in my birdbath, on the way to eat my delphiniums.

This is my theory too. When it's dry, slugs are incredibly tiny so you can't see them, but when it rains they swell up massively to the size of a finger.

I saw a slug the other day on my doorstep and I realised it was ages since I'd seen one and we do have quite a lot. We sometimes get them in the house, they hitch a ride on one of the cats.

This thread has reminded me of the time we were visiting a relatives house and when it rained there were hundreds of huge slugs in their back garden, it was horrible.

hedgehogs inly eat slugs if they are desperate - and can die from lungworm if they do.

Slugs can flatten themselves to fit under doors, thats how they get in. I've had slugs in virtually every house I've lived in until you put that tape stuff down (can't remember its name).

Put copper tape on your floor where the door is and around plant pots etc, if you have plants. They dont like it and so will stay away, no need for the killing business.

I bet you like blackbirds and frogs. They are partial to a slug.

Just done a walk around the lawn picking up slugs.🤢
They were on their way home into the borders so I pick them up with poo bags and pop them into the dog-poo bin (which contains slug pellets).

V.early in the morning is the best time to spot them unless you want to go around at night with a torch (done that!).

Honestly leave them be!

The BBC recently did a series called Life Without presented by Alan Davies, it included worms and rats but not slugs.

It showed that even unpleasant things are often a vital part of the ecosystem, supporting much more attractive and essential aspects. Slugs would likely fall into this category if they do another series.

Oh, the timing of this is so funny to me, as I also hadn't seen any for what felt like ages. Buuut, this morning very early, in the garden here, when letting the dog out for a wee, there were dozens of them, maybe 100s! No rain, but the first night of dew in ages, and the slugs held a party!
I've no idea where they've been in the interim, during the heatwave. This is East Sussex. The funny thing is, the temperature change isn't nearly as drastic as London. We had a height of about 27°C on Friday, 26°C yesterday, and it's set to be 23°C today. But, it's the dew. During the heatwave there didn't seem to be dew, so even at 5am you wouldn't see slugs. The dew has brought them out to play. I know there was dew, as my washing left on the line is a little damp. I'd got so used to not needing to take it in during the heatwave that it didn't occur to me they'd get dewed on last night! It's good to see it though.
Anyway, after being shocked by the amount of slugs I saw just a few minutes ago, after a long absence, it was funny to click on Mumsnet and find this thread! I can see it waa started last night, so maybe the slug kingdom responded to me call!

i will tell you - they are all rubbing their bellies after chomping their way through my brassicas in June and July - they are sooooo stuffed they cannot move.

I’m in Scotland too and there’s plenty. My patio late at night is like something in a horror film 😱

*the call, not me call!

They're in my garden! You are welcome to them all. The garden is littered with them. Why are they not getting eaten though, that's more the question?

In my kitchen too, I’m currently one step away from taking a flame thrower to it,

hate them

Hopefully you’ve read that a supply of clean water and dry kitten biscuits (where meat is first ingredient) is good Yor hedgehogs. Leaving areas of the garden a bit wild so they can forage for insects (beetles, caterpillars, worms) - I may have overdone this… and gaps in the fence to access neighbours gardens. I have a minimum of 4 regular hedgehogs visiting my garden all year round. Probably nearer 10.
Good luck!

I wonder if molluscs migrate? Genuine question. If you've got some southern slugs there as well as your indigenous population? Don't blame them if so. As climate change ramps up, I'm considering a move to the Scottish Highlands, as it sounds like you/they were spared it entirely there.
The most recent heatwave wasn't too bad where I am. Nothing like as bad as London; but the June one was horrific, not far off London. I guess it'll only get worse, so I'm seriously considering a move. I was actually born in Northern Ireland, but I grew up in England from age 2. I love NI too, but struggle with the politics there, so Scotland might well be part of my near future. Sorry to derail! 🤭

We had a slug in kitchen problem last year, had to take all the kickboards off and we found a hole in the wall behind the oven that we assume they came up through. We filled it and they stopped coming in. I also liberally dusted under the counters with diatomaceous earth. Thought we’d cracked it, then we found one the other night! So back to square one!

That is where we are too - an endless rearguard action. It's an old house and the kitchen is in the basement, some are entering the kitchen itself and some are coming across the hall from the light wells. You block one entry point, they find a hundred more.

We've finally stopped the hall-slimers from getting to the kitchen by putting copper tape onto the threshhold bar. There's copper and crushed eggshells behind all the kickboards, the last entry point seems to be under the sink, which is difficult to fill adequately. I thought I had pulled it off, but no - another slug.

I used to, but they came back! Of late I've been putting them in a takeawatytub (with a lid) and dumping them further afield - that has cut the numbers a bit.

Oh i would have to just leave the house to the slugs 😂

Slugs serve a very important purpose. They help to decompose matter in the soil and they are part of the food chain for birds and other creatures.

Slugs get into my kitchen too. I just leave them to it but there was a nice family with baby slugs there recently.

They have a homing instinct…