Need an answer about a slug in my living room QUICK!!!!

[tommygirl79]

I just looked up from my computer to see a big slug climbing up my front door about 5 feet away from me. I have no idea how it would have gotten in as we NEVER use this door. My problem is that DH is out of town on business tonight and I am TERRIFIED of slugs for some reason. Anyone know of an easy way to get it outside without having to touch it too much??? I know it sounds like I'm a wuss but I can't help it!!!! Help!!!!

 

[Annie68]

Could you use the broom and dustpan? I'm not sure how big it is though.....

 

[Briarprincess]

If you want to do the humane thing, you could grab a book/flat object and a plastic cup and trap it inside and then leave it outside to escape. Or you can do what we do when we find them, pour a can of bear into a plastic bowl and let it crawl in and die. It's not the nicest way, but when you don't want anything to do with it, it can be the easiest. Salt also works, but this is a lot messier/gross. Let us know how it works out.

 

[tommygirl79]

Duh! Probably a good idea...I just froze when I saw it and all I could think of at the time was a paper towel and that was TOO MUCH contact. I figured out where it came from I think - we have two new houseplants from my Grandmother's funeral last week...I can't handle having them in the house if this is what will be usual..... Auuugghhh......now I have to go do the deed! Thanks!

It's a fairly large one (around 4 inches I think - but I'm certainly not getting close enough to measure it).

Anyone know if they come in bunches or whatever? I'm no slug expert....

 

[Annie68]

OK, I admit it...I didn't know exactly what a slug was. I found this description, with a disgusting picture next to it:

Slug is a kind of snail that usually has no shell. Some slugs possess a small, flat shell on or under the skin. For protection, they secrete a thin layer of bad-tasting slime. Slugs have both male and female sex organs. They usually mate in pairs but can reproduce without mating.


There are two kinds of slugs—land slugs and sea slugs. Land slugs may have white, gray, yellow, or brown bodies. They range in size from 1/4 inch (0.6 centimeter) to about 4 inches (10 centimeters) long. Most have tentacles (feelers) with eyes at the tips. Land slugs can become garden pests because they feed on plants. Some species eat fungi, insects, earthworms, animal waste, or other slugs. Land slugs will dry out in sunlight, and they usually spend the day hiding underground or beneath damp objects. Sea slugs live in the sea and often have colorful bodies. They eat seaweed or marine animals, such as sponges.


Now I know why you are afraid to touch it!

 

[momsgonwild]

If it came from your yard, you probably have more than one. Check outside on sidewalks, front porches, etc. You can usually spot them pretty quickly.

 

[Annie68]

I found this article...

Q: Every morning we come downstairs to find slug trails all over our living room carpet and floor! They only appear in the living room. We took out all of the furniture to find out where they are coming in, but can’t find any holes or slugs. How can we get rid of them and how are they getting in? What germs do they carry with them? We have an 18-month-old daughter who crawls around on the floor.

A: Contact a professional pest exterminator and/or your landlord and tell them of the problem. You could put some cheap beer out in shallow dishes with runways to allow them to crawl in the dish. Slugs are attracted to brew. They drown in the beer, but do not get drunk. When you no longer collect slugs in the morning, you have completed your job. You need to find out how they are getting in. An exterminator can put down a border treatment that will prevent this from happening. Slugs do not have any more germs than humans do. They do not harbor disease and in some cultures are considered a delicacy.


A delicacy?

 

[tommygirl79]

Oh gross! I just got rid of it using the broom and dustpan method and killed it in a not so humane way (flame away if you like I don't care)....

I have now washed my hands three times and am sitting with my feet up on the desk as I now have the slug heebie-jeebies and am afraid of one crawling up my leg or of stepping on one. I actually DID step on one barefoot once and I'm here to tell you I couldn't take enough showers!!!

One serious question - I'm fairly certain it might have come in with the houseplants from the funeral last week. Would that be possible coming from a florist straight into the house? And if it DID come from the plant what are the chances of there being more than one in MY house?

I'm really NOT a pansy - I can handle a grasshopper, spider, ant, fly, you name it - without batting an eye but a slug is where I draw the line. Of course this would happen the one night my DH has ever had to go on a business trip!

 

[tommygirl79]

I found this article...

Q: Every morning we come downstairs to find slug trails all over our living room carpet and floor! They only appear in the living room. We took out all of the furniture to find out where they are coming in, but can’t find any holes or slugs. How can we get rid of them and how are they getting in? What germs do they carry with them? We have an 18-month-old daughter who crawls around on the floor.

A: Contact a professional pest exterminator and/or your landlord and tell them of the problem. You could put some cheap beer out in shallow dishes with runways to allow them to crawl in the dish. Slugs are attracted to brew. They drown in the beer, but do not get drunk. When you no longer collect slugs in the morning, you have completed your job. You need to find out how they are getting in. An exterminator can put down a border treatment that will prevent this from happening. Slugs do not have any more germs than humans do. They do not harbor disease and in some cultures are considered a delicacy.


A delicacy?

Oh yuck!! Actually you must have googled the same article I did as I was posting my OP. You are so lucky never to have seen a slug - I think it's the most unpleasant creature on earth.

 

[Sleepy]

Put salt on it.

 

[poohandwendy]

You are gonna have to psyche yourself up for this task...breathe in, breathe out...you can DO THIS!!!

Take about 4 gazillion paper towels and grab it off the wall as quickly as possible (lots of paper towel layers will keep you from actually feeling the slimy vermin when you grab it)...then run as fast as you can to the nearest door and throw it out as far as you can paper towels and all, making sure to close the door quickly, just on the off chance that this particular slug can run back to attack you. (no need to take unnecessary chances with this) Then lock the door immediately. Then jump up and down to shake off all of the heebie-jeebie vibes this nasty creature gave you. It helps if you give out a little "bbbrrrrrr---eewwwww" at the same time.

I would also recommend locking all of the other doors and windows too. You never know if they can open doors or windows...I mean, how did it get in in the first place?

 

[DisMN]

Did you say it was *gasp* 4 inches long?

4 INCHES?? *passing out*


.

 

[mrsschlep]

I found this article...

Q: Every morning we come downstairs to find slug trails all over our living room carpet and floor! They only appear in the living room. We took out all of the furniture to find out where they are coming in, but can’t find any holes or slugs. How can we get rid of them and how are they getting in? What germs do they carry with them? We have an 18-month-old daughter who crawls around on the floor.

A: Contact a professional pest exterminator and/or your landlord and tell them of the problem. You could put some cheap beer out in shallow dishes with runways to allow them to crawl in the dish. Slugs are attracted to brew. They drown in the beer, but do not get drunk. When you no longer collect slugs in the morning, you have completed your job. You need to find out how they are getting in. An exterminator can put down a border treatment that will prevent this from happening. Slugs do not have any more germs than humans do. They do not harbor disease and in some cultures are considered a delicacy.


A delicacy?

Thank goodness... they don't get drunk, lol!!! We wouldn't want any drunken slugs roaming around if by chance they didn't drown!!

 

[Doesney]

Put salt on it.

Nooooooooo not in the house

 

[SplshMtn99]

..... For protection, they secrete a thin layer of bad-tasting slime.......

And just how do they know this? Is it someones job to go around tasting things to find out? EWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!

 

[SplshMtn99]

OK, why am I googling "slug salt" at 7:50am....and reading the results.
EWWWWWW, don't think I can get this out of my mind today now. Thanks.

 

[Mickeyfaniam]

OMG this is soooo funny I'm not the only one

I'm glad you were able to get rid of it youself. I could not have I would have to get a hotel room until DH got back!! Slugs, I agree are the worst, along with those June bugs that come out in June here in New England anyway, I call them June bugs, maybe they are some kind of beatle but HUGE & GROSS!! !! AND they CRACKLE if you step on one and you can't get rid of that sound for nothing!!
I just put in a perennial garden this summer. I have learned, with time, to just over look the crawling things I come in contact with, because I love my garden so much. I wear gloves of course, could never touch a worm without gloves Well, reading my gardening books, I am still learning, it said to watch out for slugs and I'm like WHAT???? I might get slugs? NO WAY..... I'LL TEAR IT OUT!!

And then the other night I went out to tinker and deadhead some flowers and there it was!! one of those huge, and I mean huge beatle thingies!! EEK!! I couldn't go near it... had to wait for DH to come home

I don't like spiders either....saw one on my couch once I pulled out the vacuum cleaner to suck it up....I then let the vacuum run another 15 minutes to make sure it couldn't crawl back out AND I did not sit back on the couch for 3 weeks

small things, I manage to get rid of myself.... I wear glasses so I just take them off and its like removing a small black blurry dot rather than some kind of bug.... then I don't have the memory of its ugliness when I close my eyes creeping me out

now garden snakes OMG!! they don't call them garden snakes for nothing, do they?

 

[Cantw8]

yeah, they're gross, yes?? I have one too...unfortunately, I'm married to it

 

[SeaSpray]

Duh! Probably a good idea...I just froze when I saw it and all I could think of at the time was a paper towel and that was TOO MUCH contact. I figured out where it came from I think - we have two new houseplants from my Grandmother's funeral last week...I can't handle having them in the house if this is what will be usual..... Auuugghhh......now I have to go do the deed! Thanks!

It's a fairly large one (around 4 inches I think - but I'm certainly not getting close enough to measure it).

Anyone know if they come in bunches or whatever? I'm no slug expert....

That last line there really made me laugh!!!! I freak out at the thought of slugs too. I can handle removing any other kind of insect, but I get really grossed out with slugs. Probably goes back to when I was teenager and had those Dr. Scholl's sandals with the treads on the bottom. I apparently stepped on a slug without realizing it. Later that day I happened to be in my bedroom and saw something stuck in the bottom of the sandals, looked closely, and realized it was a squished slug!! I wouldn't touch the sandal, had to pay my brother to throw them out for me, but that was after he held the sandal up and pretended he was going to touch me with it. (Gotta love growing up with 5 older brothers. LOL).

Anyway, I'm glad you got rid of the slug. They're bad enough to see outside, let alone inside your house!!!!

 

[tommygirl79]

Thanks for all the replies. They really are one of the nastiest creatures alive. Believe me if my DH would have been here I would have been on the other side of the house until he had searched the entire household for more of those God-forsaken creatures!

I'm very very glad that no one was here to witness me after I THREW that freaky thing out of my house. I did the heebie-jeebie dance for like 2 minutes in the kitchen in my nightgown. Then came the aforementioned hand washing. I left every light on in the house until I went to bed last night just in case one of his slug buddies had invaded with him!

Now this morning I still am watching my step (especially around those houseplants) in fear that I'm going to step on one.

Alas, a prisoner in my own home now for fear of the slug-monsters....

Thanks all! Gotta love the DIS - helps with planning a WDW vacation AND Slug Prevention and Extermination!