How do I get rid of large slugs from inside my house?

Question

I have been getting very big slugs (1.5 - 2.5+ inches long) in my house, in particular, the kitchen where my pantry (food cupboard) is. How can I get rid of them without using poisons or chemicals?
I have two cats, 7 months old and 8 weeks old. The 7 month old is always playing with them and I have seen her lick one once. Is this dangerous? Can she get sick?

Thanks for your responses.
*Serious answers only.

Answer 1

I'd concentrate on finding out how slugs are getting access to your house. Remove access, and problem solved. Humidity must be a problem there... slugs hate dry places. Maybe get a dehumidifier?

As for the slugs already there. Beer. Slugs are attracted to beer. They will get in a container of it they can get access to and drown. This is the reason why I refer to cheap, American beer as slug bait.

Salt works perfectly on the ones you can find... although the dissolved slug leaves a mess to clean up. A container of beer easily accessable to a slug will attract the slugs you can't see, and they will nicely deposit themselves in it, die and wait to be thrown out.

I hope this works for you... it certainly has for me. Make sure your cats can't lap up the beer... that might be bad.

Oh, to find out where the slugs are coming from... follow their slime trails. Maybe a barrier of salt could help you narrow the possible avenues of entry? Salt is something your cats will likely leave alone too. I can't spell it... but a gardening product called diatomaceous earth is possibly a help.... slugs won't cross it... it's like broken glass. It's made up of tiny microscopic plants that were fossilized and ground up for just such a product. It's totally inert, but can be a serious irritant to humans or animals if inhaled.

OK... finishing up for sure this time... hope this helps.

Answer 2

Large Slugs

Answer 3

Just to respond to a post about cleaning the house. Just because you have slugs does not mean your house is dirty. Only someone without any knowledge would post a comment like that without looking into why slugs come into a house. I live right next to a lake which means the house is damp at certain times in the year. We keep our house warm but it is humid especially in the kitchen.
The best course of action is to look at where they are coming from. Ours like to longer under the washing machine. We also have a dehumidifier running 24/7 in the autumn and spring which greatly reduces the slug issue.
Another option IS the beer but is not advisable if you have a curious pet. The yeast content can actually kill a cat.

Ideally we keep the heating on for half the day, on low, which leaches out any moisture and the dehumidifier whips it away. Should help if not solve the issue

Answer 4

I don't know about the slugs poisoning your cat, but on my property we have banana slugs (gross) and we have two different methods to keep the away. Saw dust works well, because for all those slimy soft slugs it's like walking (or slithering?) over splinters. And a trap we use is beer in a milk carton. Just pour some beer inside a milk carton and the slugs go in there and get stuck. Its gross, I know, but it works. I don't know if this helps, but good luck with your slug issue.

Answer 5

I agree with the salt answer. When I was growing up, we had slugs coming into the house through a small hole in the flooring, we sprinkled salt all around the hole and into the hole, after that we never saw another slug. If you have no idea how they are getting into your house, slugs leave a residue trail from where ever they come from, trace the trail back to the hole.

Answer 6

In apartment complex where I lived sometime ago, we used to have slugs everywhere. One sweet lady was feeding homeless cats there. Around midnight slugs used to come to feed on dried cat food.
They were able to cover it totally.We did not want to use chemicals . With big jar, gloves, salt and persistence we got rid of them in few weeks by picking them up and discarding them into trash in closed jars with salt in bottom. Our local cats did not contracted any disease from them. But I have heard that for example in Denmark are some red slugs which transmit salmonella and all vegetables from gardens where they are discovered has to be destroyed. The article recommended some traps - tubes with salt and beer. Beer to attract them ,salt to destroy their soft bodies. In every case you better get rid of them.

Good luck.

Answer 7

How are they getting in? this is a new one on me.We have banana slugs here and they are 4/6 inches long but I have never seen one in the house. I don't think it will harm the cat,check with the vet. Good luck.

Answer 8

I had them so bad, thought about moving! An exterminator told me to get cheap beer, put in a jar lid, everywhere that I had seen them in my house. He said, they love the beer, will crawl for a mile to get to the beer., they get in the lid and drink themselves to death.,funny but it worked, and then take rock salt(you know the kind for ice cream, or get huge bag at a feed store (known as stock salt) and sprinkle around every inch of your house. It won't hurt the pets any, and the grass won't grown there in the spring., but they slugs will not, repeat "NOT" go over the salt. They will disappear for good. It worked for me, didn't see any for 15 yrs.(the length of time I lived in the house)

Answer 9

Better give your house a good cleaning . If you take away the food source the pests will disappear.

Answer 10

Pour salt on them. And around the house