How to get rid of slugs in bedroom

[Ihateslugs]

Obvious name change for this topic!

I have a recurring problem with slugs getting into my downstairs bedroom, I saw my first one tonight but I’ve been having them for several years. The one today was a baby one, very thin and only a couple of inches long. I spotted it squeezing between the edge of the carpet and the skirting board then sneaking up the wall - at which point I caught it and disposed of it! This is roughly the same place I have seen them in previous years although I have also seen full size slugs wandering across the carpet and leaving trails under the bed.

I had new carpets fitted about two months ago and while the fitter was here we had a look to see if there were any gaps between the floorboards, skirting boards or the radiator pipe which comes from under the floorboards - there is a five foot void under my house to take excess rainwater from the low lying garden but it’s dry for most of the year. I had this area inspected by a surveyor in the summer as I had some concerns about subsidence and he said there was no evidence of slugs or any other vermin!

I need advice on how I can prevent them coming in my bedroom, other than stay awake all night to remove them! I’ve found them in the kitchen as well but can cope with that as long as I wear slippers and look carefully when walking in at night. I did put a ring of salt around the kitchen units and back door a few years ago for a few weeks which seemed to help but also ruined the sill and screws of the door frame which went rusty from salt exposure and also made the paint bubble on the skirting boards!

I am tempted to put salt around the edges of my carpet but am wary of ruining the new carpet or paint, I lived in the house for 11 years with the old, cheap nasty carpets before affording to upgrade so they are rather precious!

Does anyone have any suggestions to stop the buggers from taking over my house?

To add to my woes and fear of going to sleep, while I was getting some tissues from a drawer to pick up the slug, a daddy long leg type spider dropped on my head and then scuttled away before I could grab the spider catcher! I did catch it, or another one, later above my bed so I’m also on high alert for spiders!

Copper tape

Salt.

Which you're reluctant to try! Sorry! I use salt if I see slugs. Sometimes sharp grit is recommended but not in the bedroom, perhaps.

Did you fill in all the gaps with foam filler or something? If you couldn't, could you lift the carpet at the edges and seal all the gaps with black tape to form a physical barrier? Behind the tape, I'd pack a load of slug pellets.

I’ve got some copper tape and also copper mesh so am going to see if I can create a barrier near the skirting board. There are no obvious gaps to fill but I’ll try sealant if the copper does not work - online research is split about how effective copper tape it is.

Ive got to work out how to get the copper tape in place under the carpet, I don’t want to stick it to the carpet or the skirting board but I’m going to try wedging it using the edge of the carpet to hold it in place. I can wrap the copper mesh around the radiator pipes in case the buggers try to sneak up them!

I also bought a slug deterrent spray which is safe to use indoors so sprayed that over the skirting boards and edge of carpet last night, smell almost made me throw up so it might put off slugs! Fingers crossed!

I don't think copper tape is that effective, to be honest. They don't like those pan scrubbers like brillo pads. So if you don't want to fill the gaps below the skirting for damp purposes, you could buy some brillo pads and cut them up and push that into the gap. And round the pipe holes.

There are not really any gaps below the skirting boards but the slugs I’ve seen so far this year are baby ones, very thin and I suspect able to get through a tiny slit! I have bought some copper mesh which is like Brillo pads but in a roll and a bit more bendy. I’m going to try to run that against the skirting board under the carpet tomorrow, I was out today and ran out of time.

Im making do with the foul smelling deterrent spray I bought in my panic buying spree, it is safe to use indoors on carpets as well as on plants but I’m sceptical about the likelihood of it working!

Good luck. It's a real pain. If you find something that seems to work, please report back, won't you?