Slugs in your house or garden? Would you like to know what attracts slugs and snails? If so you’re in the right place!
Have you imagined waking up to a beautiful morning, the birds are chirping, the sun is shining, and plants are looking lush?
You remove the curtains and go to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee. While you sip on to your much-needed dose of morning coffee from the cup, you suddenly feel something wet and slimy under your feet?
You almost slip down because you stepped on it. Ewww! Now that sounds and feels disgusting.
Slugs can enter your house from anywhere. They ooze out a slimy liquid, and it sticks like glue.
They leave trails everywhere they move; wooden floor, marble floor, carpets, walls, you name it, and the trail is there.
The worst thing happening to anyone can be stepping on a slug with bare feet. Slugs are sticky and gooey, and no one wants to step on them.
Especially at night when you try to make a trip to the kitchen for that midnight snacks. Or worse yet invading your garden!
Slugs and snails are from the family of gastropods. The only difference is that slugs don’t have a shell as snails have.
They exude trails and that liquid is super sticky. It can get difficult to clean it off if it dries.
Slugs can get into your house and eat your food and even your pet’s food.
What attracts slugs and snails?
Slugs and snails have a distinctive sense of smell, and they get attracted to food, whether it’s cooked or not.
They usually eat fruits and vegetables, but once they enter your house, they can eat your pet’s food. Anything lying in the pantry or even the compost in the dustbin.
Leave a slice of pizza out on the kitchen counter for the night during monsoon and the next day you’ll see slugs endeavoring it.
Slugs love to be in dark and damp places. Moisture is the thing they look for. Even in the outdoors, slugs are found under rocks, at the roots of trees and under logs.
Other than the food, if you have indoor plants in your house, slugs are most likely to be seen under the planters or even on the wet soil.
If you have moisture in the walls of your home, slugs will be attracted there easily. They will be found in creeks where the dampness is, and they will come out when they want to find food for themselves.
How do slugs and snail enter your house?
Slugs have no bones or even a shell like snails. They can enter through tiny creeks and cracks easily by squeezing themselves.
They can climb stairs and even walls. It’s effortless for them to move on a vertical surface in any position. Because of their flexible body with no bones, they usually enter through space under doors.
Water and gas pipes, holes drilled in the walls and floors for wiring and piping and through cracks in the walls of old houses.
Slugs have the ability to expand themselves 20 times to their normal size.
They can stretch and enter through the tiniest crack or hole in the wall. So if you wonder how they manage to come in, well they are God gifted!
How to get rid of slugs?
The main solution for getting rid of slugs is to seal the gaps through which they come inside.
Slugs leave a sticky trail which is transparent in color just like crystal. It shines when the light hits it.
During night time, turn off all the lights and take a flashlight to spot the trail.
Follow that trail and find the gap from where the slugs enter. Once you have located the entry points, you have to use different materials to seal the gap like silicon sealants and expanding foam.
Following are a few sealants which can be used to prevent the slugs from coming inside:
1. Fix and Fill Expanding Foam:
This is a perfect sealant to fill in larger gaps and holes. This polyurethane foam can expand up to 55 times its original volume.
It is water-proof and pest-proof and is ideal for reaching and filling in gaps where other sealants fail.
It can seal out noise and has insulating feature as well. Be extremely careful while applying it because it sticks to almost everything. Wear gloves and a cover your hair properly because once it gets stuck to something, it’s impossible to take it off.
Apply it on the entry points of the slugs and say goodbye to them forever. It also keeps other insects and rodents away from your home.
To purchase, click here.
2. Corry’s Slug & Snail Copper Tape Barrier:
This is another effective method to prevent slugs and snails coming into your house.
Reason being is because it creates a barrier which repels slugs and snails with a natural electric current.
Very easy to apply to and handle. It acts as a barrier and doesn’t let the slugs and snails enter the space which you wish to protect.
Excellent to use in areas which are prone to infestation. The slime which the slugs extrude reacts to the copper on the tape, and it gives them an unpleasant sensation which is mild.
It keeps them away from coming near to it again.
To purchase, click here.
3. Twin Draft Guard:
This product is to be placed under the doors which have big gaps and make it easier for the slugs to come inside.
This device is for insulating doors with larger gaps. Keeps the cold air away during winters and keeps heat away from coming inside during summers.
Also glides easily across wooden floors and tiles and works well on carpets as well. It helps in keeping other insects away from coming inside.
To purchase, click here.
4. Silicone sealants:
These are suitable for filling in smaller gaps which are less than 0.5 inches wide. Helps to creates a tight seal which is waterproof.
Guaranteed that no mold would develop on it for a good five years. It is usually used for fixing tubs, sinks, pipes and tiles.
If you any small gaps in the wall or door trims, just put on this silicone sealant and you are safe from slugs and snails.
To purchase, click here.
How to get rid of slugs naturally?
There are some natural repellents for slugs.
Home remedies are not a guaranteed solution to the slug problem, but they help reduce the slugs in number and protect your house and garden.
Ducks that go quack!
Ducks love to eat slugs. They look for slugs, find them and suck them right from the ground. Get yourself a pair of ducks and set them free in your backyard. They will make sure they eat every slug that is hiding in your garden.
2. Salt is dangerous for slugs:
Salt is poisonous for slugs.It kills them if they come in contact with it. Put salt in front of your doorway and in all the creeks and cracks from where the slugs enter.
This method is not recommended because it will result in a lot of salt wastage.
3. Beer trapping:You like your beer cold right? Well, slugs like it too. They cannot resist the smell of beer.
You can set a trap of beer in your backyard. You need to take a disposable cup and bury it half in the ground.
Fill the cup half with beer and wait for the slugs to fall in it. Take out the cup the next day and dispose of the beer along with the slugs fallen in it.
4. Empty eggshells:Empty eggshells are also an excellent remedy for repelling slugs.
You need to crush the egg shells and put them at the entrance from where the slugs come inside. They don’t like to move on sharp objects; hence, they go away.
You can also put broken eggshells on your plants, flowers and the kitchen garden. Broken eggshells are a great fertilizer for the soil as well.
5. Seaweed:Seaweed is also a great repellent of slugs. Due to the amount of salt available in it, slugs hate seaweed just like they hate salt.
Both fresh seaweed and powdered seaweed work as a slug repellent. You have to put seaweed around the house and in your garden to make slugs go away.
What causes slug infestation?
People wonder how slugs have infested their houses and gardens. Slugs look for moisture and cold temperatures.
When we over water our plants or at an odd time like at evening or at night; it creates a perfect environment for the slugs to enter our space.
Hence watering the plants at night is one of the causes of what attracts slugs. Slugs require darkness and moisture to survive.
They love wet soil, so water your plants during day time so that the soil can get dried by nightfall. They come out at night, eat up the roots of the plants and anything available inside the house as well.
Slugs also come out after a torrential downpour. People usually witness slugs roaming around during monsoon season.
There are areas where slugs are inhabitants, and they live and roam around freely.
There is nothing much which can be done to avoid slug infestation at such places or during monsoon season.
Best snail baits for gardens:
Snail baits are used to control slugs and snails in gardens, kitchen gardens, home lawns, greenhouses, vegetable gardens, fruit gardens and crop plants.
The bait is to be scattered on the soil around the places where slugs and snail control is required. These baits are not harmful to the plants, but they keep them safe from the slugs and snails.
Following are the best snail baits for gardens:
1. Garden Safe Slug and Snail bait:
Garden safe slug and snail bait is an amalgamation of phosphate and iron which are plant nutrients along with slug bait additives.
This is a pet-friendly bait; hence, it can be used around animals; it won’t harm them. It kills the slugs and baits within 3 to 6 days.
This is to be applied at evening time because slugs and snails come out at night time to feed themselves.
For purchase, click here.
2. Natria Snail and Slug killer bait:
Natria snail and slug killer bait are specially formulated to eradicate slime trails. The granules are specially designed to absorb the slime of the slug and snails and to protect the plants and gardens from them.
The twist cap pouch is easy to use and store. The granules remain active even after watering the plants or torrential downpour.
The granules are useful for vegetable gardens, citrus and fruit plants. They are pet-friendly hence can be used easily if you have animals around.
For purchase, click here.
Conclusion:
Slugs and snails are a part of the world, just like any other animal and insect. When you are planning to adorn your garden for the season, make sure to select slug-resistant plants. We hope this post on what attracts slugs and snails has proven useful! Also, try the methods and products for avoiding slugs and snails infesting your garden.
Happy gardening!
