Merlyn
Well-Known Member
My house is currently under siege by .... Slugs. I live alone in a small detached three bedroom nine year old house on the edge of a North Suffolk village. My next door neighbour's have a 38 acre wildlife sanctury comprising 10,000, mainly hardwood, trees and areas of scrub brambles, etc. (It is a superb area and I have the muntjac stalking so no complaints in that direction).
The house is cut into a steep bank and is only eight yards from the start of the wildlife sanctury. The rear of the house faces north. On the north east corner is my backdoor and a paved patio but, particularly at this time of the year, it never gets the sun on it. It is always dank, damp and musty on this corner.
Slugs have always been present but, probably due to the wet weather we have had in these parts over the last few months, they have now proliferated to vast numbers.
They are not the huge black varienty but are grey and seem to grow to about 1.5 inches at maximum.
Along some of the walls of the house are shallow (4") gravel channels - Presumably to assist drainage. Most slugs emerge from this area.
Over the last two months the slugs have taken to climbing the plastered walls of the house on a nightly basis. On wet nights they go right up to the bedroom window level. I kill anything between fifty to a hundred of the little blighters every night when I let my dog out for a last run. Last night I did this at 18.30 and again at 22.30 with about 60 killed on each occasion. It is just endless as my endeavours do not seem to be reducing the numbers at all.
I have slug pellet trays and beer traps in profusion. The beer traps get diluted by the incessant rain but do work. The slug pellets leave no evidence to judge their effectiveness.
If anyone knows a sure fire way, that is safe to my dog and other wildlife, to kill these buggers I would be very glad to know of it.
I live in hope, and a maze of slug trails, and await your replies,
Merlyn.
The house is cut into a steep bank and is only eight yards from the start of the wildlife sanctury. The rear of the house faces north. On the north east corner is my backdoor and a paved patio but, particularly at this time of the year, it never gets the sun on it. It is always dank, damp and musty on this corner.
Slugs have always been present but, probably due to the wet weather we have had in these parts over the last few months, they have now proliferated to vast numbers.
They are not the huge black varienty but are grey and seem to grow to about 1.5 inches at maximum.
Along some of the walls of the house are shallow (4") gravel channels - Presumably to assist drainage. Most slugs emerge from this area.
Over the last two months the slugs have taken to climbing the plastered walls of the house on a nightly basis. On wet nights they go right up to the bedroom window level. I kill anything between fifty to a hundred of the little blighters every night when I let my dog out for a last run. Last night I did this at 18.30 and again at 22.30 with about 60 killed on each occasion. It is just endless as my endeavours do not seem to be reducing the numbers at all.
I have slug pellet trays and beer traps in profusion. The beer traps get diluted by the incessant rain but do work. The slug pellets leave no evidence to judge their effectiveness.
If anyone knows a sure fire way, that is safe to my dog and other wildlife, to kill these buggers I would be very glad to know of it.
I live in hope, and a maze of slug trails, and await your replies,
Merlyn.
