house slugs

[oldgreyknickertest]

Our house has no cellar, just a void above earth. So guess what, we get little slug trails where they come in through cracks. I have tried filling the obvious cracks, I have now got salt down by the skirting boards. I don't really want to use slug pellets in doors.

Anyone else got this problem? Anyone got an answer?
Oh, and they are nocturnal.

Have you tried washing the floor with vinegar? We get this too and it's the only thing that seems to slow them down. You have to do it about twice a week. I don't mind them that much per se except that when the DCs are up early you do sometimes tread in the odd one...

you mean they are walking about on the bare earth under the floorboards?

1. make it nice and dry by opening and clearing all the airbricks of the cobwebs and dust, not to mention any ill-advised blockages from flowerbeds or raised paths. Slugs like damp, they don't like dry. Cleran airbricks on all sides of the house will encourage a good flow of cool damp air. Rot and mould also like damp.

2. search for any additional sources of damp such as leaking pipes, drains, appliances or radiators especially in the kitchen, but also broken gutters and downpipes beside the house

3. you can put slug pellets under the floorboards. Slugs are nomadic, so after you kill the first 50, another 50 will gallop in from adjoining plots. You kill the second 50, and there will be fewer in the neighbourhood. Keep feeding them on pellets and you will reduce the population under and around your house.

We had them. Big fat slugs, sliming all over everything. It nearly finished me off when I saw trails on the side of our bed.

We tried salt, (organic) spray and a dehumidifier. The spray SAS slug repellant seemed to work for a while, but it's orange and sticky and makes a horrible mess.

We've moved now, but I'm still worried that I'm going to tread on a slug in the middle of the night. Anything left on the floor in our old place would be covered in slime by the morning. They used to climb up the curtains too. Urrrgh. I wish I didn't mind them.

They only good thing about the experience is that it has cured me of my fear of spiders because our new place has loads.

Good luck with getting rid.

Excuse my punctuation.

The spray is safe for pets and children. My brain is half asleep this morning.

Piglet I think the OP means they are coming up from the earth and wandering about the house.

yes, so drying out the subfloor and putting pellets down there will reduce the slug population that can climb up into the house.

I have a terrible slug problem in my kitchen and bathroom.

They only come out at night but some nights there can be at least 20 of them sliming around the kitchen floor .

My friend has suggested putting a shallow dish of sugared water just outside the back door and that will encourage them back outside.

I've also heard that copper tape is effective as they won't cross it but you'd have to know exactly where they're coming in.

The back of my house is very damp and I think my slugs are living in the rotting walls because I see them squeezing under the skirting boards.

Lots of people suggest putting salt down but I can't stand the thought of coming downstairs in the morning to be greeting by pile after pile of liquified slug.

hiccup

slugs like damp conditions.

kitchens and bathrooms both have pipes, drains and water. Do you think there is a source of damp, such as a leak? What is the floor made of?

The whole house is damp . There's a lot of condensation eventhough the windows are open constantly and the dehumidifier is on regularly. The back of the house is built up higher (I know it has an official name but can't remember it!) and I don't think there's a damp proof course.

My LL has well and truly buried her head and just keeps painting over any damp patches!

Both kitchen and bathroom floors are concrete with Lino on the kitchen floor and ceramic tiles in the bathroom.

I would be thinking then about them getting through the gaps where pipes go through the wall. Are there any?

Are you able to look behind the bath panel?

How old is the house, and is the floor original?

BTW when you run a dehumidifier, you have to close the doors and windows, or it will try to dehumidify the world.

The main part of the house is around 100 years old and the bathroom extension is probably around 30-40 years old (a bit of a guess and basing it on the fact that the toilet is concreted to the floor) so I assume the floor was laid then.

They often gather around an area between the original exterior wall and the extension. I can't see any obvious holes or gaps but the whole house could do with knocking down and being rebuilt .

Yes, I had heard that the windows needed to be closed when the dehumdifier was running...dehumidifying the world could be costly .

you could also scatter slug pellets under kitchen units, behind the fridge etc to keep the population down.

A dish of ale is also supposed to help. They're attracted by the smell, then they fall into the dish and drown - apparently.