Pests and Nuisance

Advice to householders

Slugs and snails are one of the most easily recognised pests and are common in most gardens.  They occur in every continent of the world and the vast majority of them are plant eating.

Their eggs are laid under soil where they find the necessary damp conditions.  Why slugs sometimes enter houses is something of a mystery as they cannot survive for more than a day or two indoors. Although they are quite harmless, excepting  damage to plants, their presence is most objectionable and the silvery slime trails unsightly.

To reduce slug nuisance the following steps can be taken:-

i) Examine under the kitchen sink and seal any gaps in external walls  or solid floors, around the sink waste pipe and the cold water supply pipe.

ii) Inspect the internal walls of the house at, and just above ground level. Any gaps in the pointing, gaps under door steps and around waste and gas pipes to be sealed with sand and cement or mastic.

(Air bricks must not be sealed as ventilation is required under the floor to prevent dry rot.)

It may be possible for slugs to enter through open joints in the brickwork below ground level, however, the cost of excavation to look for gaps that may not even be there cannot be justified.

An alternative method of attack is to use slug bait pellets to kill as many slugs as possible out of doors and so reduce the numbers available to enter the house, the pellets can be scattered thinly or placed in small heaps under tiles. The instructions on the packet regarding handling slug pellets and the protection of domestic animals should be followed.

The pellets can be purchased from garden centres or hard ware shops. However, a work of caution - the pellets not only kill slugs but attract them. They should not be used indoors.