Slugs on the lawn - should I treat?

[LupoLoopy]

Quick query, if I may?

When I walk across our lawn, my feet come up covered in baby slugs.

I know. Gross, right?

Should I be treating the lawn for these critters? Guess I'm especially interested as I have a phobia of the little slime sacks.

Thanks,

I sympathise with your slug loathing and would maybe consider an application of nematodes.

However, the lawn shouldn't really be that damp that they are living in those numbers there. Maybe there's an underlying drainage issue? Sorting that out will stop them returning! Also, keeping it close mown will help. Don't cut it really low initially or you'll be chopping into the dead brown bit at the bottom of the grass, which looks terrible - work up (or rather, down) to a really sort cut on a weekly or twice-weekly basis over the next month.

Don't use slug pellets, they can be harmful to wildlife.

Treating the lawn will not get rid of them anyway, more will keep coming. Slugs are just a fact of garden life. Just wear shoes outdoors.

This doesn t happen to me and sounds horrid
Are you walking across at dusk when they are out in their numbers ?

I suggest

-encourage slug eating birds eg blackbirds. Play blackbird song from the iphone and make sure you have evergreen plants they can nest in
-discourage cats and dogs as they discourage the slug eating birds
-encourage hedgehogs look up hedgehog hotel)
-set beer traps for the slugs (look up slug beer traps) usually a plastic carton filled with beer sunk into the lawn at intervals then upend drowned slugs into the compost. Renew beer nightly.
=improve lawn drainage with aeration and sand

It is important to try and control slug numbers as they will multiply

I forgot to say that nice slug eating birds really like people who sit still for ages and chat to them when they try and make friends
Polite bird chat is generally preceded by a slight nodding of the head once or twice with a nod back when they have nodded to you
Just thought yo might like to know

Crows and magpies also like chatting but we ignore those as they dont eat as many slugs

I have read somewhere that copper deters slugs. Raid your penny jar and hot glue some to a polystyrene ball. Stylish and practical

But shirley how would that treat a whole lawn?