Porches, patios, and decks are designed to be cool and this is why slugs are attracted to them especially on a hot day. In such places, they are likely to find food such as algae. Too much presence of slugs in the porch is an indication of an ongoing decay in and around it.
You can get rid of slugs on a porch, deck, or patio by sprinkling salt directly on them because salt can kill them on contact. Salt can also be spread around the slugs’ common habitats and paths to repel them.
In most cases, slugs are nocturnal and usually hide in dark areas of the porch to keep cool during the day. They only come out at night to feed. They are relatively easy to track using the mucous trails that they often leave behind. It might also be disgusting to crash one accidentally.
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How to get rid of slugs on porch, deck and patio
The first easy step is to find and eliminate their shelter. Since they like cool and moist environments, the best solution to getting rid of slugs on the porch is to make their habitats uncomfortable by increasing aeration and keeping the porch dry. This can be achieved by keeping the porches from rain or conditions that are likely to dampen them.
It would also be necessary to ensure that there is sufficient light in their hideouts since they do not prefer anything that can drain them. Eliminating excess moisture in their shelter will discourage them from living around the porches.
Shelters naturally protect creatures from their predators, and slugs are no exception. Birds and toads feed on them; hence, they are vulnerable without hiding places. One would be interested to know how a slug might end up on the porch. Well, the answer is that slugs are usually attracted to moist areas.
Porches may provide a variety of hiding places for slugs. However, it is most important to look out for the dampest area in the porches, which offer the ideal conditions for the survival of slugs.
The most notorious porches that are likely to harbor slugs are outdoor porches. They tend to hide near objects like flower pots, underneath the seats, crevices, and gaping porch joints.
1. Trapping
Traps are some of the most efficient ways to capture and probably relocate animals. Notably, slugs have their favorite foods that include grapefruits and beer. Slugs will naturally move towards the smell of beer. Therefore, to trap them, one should use beer in small mugs.
Upon consuming the beer, the slugs become intoxicated and unable to move. They will be found lingering in the beer traps, which can be used to relocate them to whichever destination that may fit the affected individuals. Grapefruit rinds also attract slugs.
Placing them strategically along their known paths will attract slugs and keep them for as long as possible since they will spend more time near their food sources. It is also relatively easy to relocate them upon capturing them using this means.
Another awesome trap for capturing slugs is copper tape. Copper tapes are thin copper strips with adhesives on which slugs will stick. Copper tapes can be placed along the known paths for slugs, which can later be moved to other destinations.
2. Repulsion
Repelling slugs is also an excellent way of preventing them from entering the homes and finding their way into the porches. An excellent organic remedy to repelling slugs is coffee. Did you know that slugs hate coffee? If you didn’t, now you know.
Ground coffee beans sprinkled around the garden areas near the porches are an excellent remedy. You can also sprinkle some in the porch, especially through all possible entry points, crevices, and cracks. Certain plants such as rosemary, lantana, and lavender also produce scents that slugs find unpleasant.
Potting such plants and keeping them near the porches may help a great deal in repelling slugs. Apart from these two organic remedies, prickly surfaces may also help in repelling slugs from the porches. For instance, sharp sand can help prevent slugs from crossing over and accessing the porches. The prickly materials eliminate the comfort of slugs moving around.
3. Eliminating slugs with salt
Salt is an excellent dehydrator that is known to kill slugs. Spraying some salt directly on slugs on the porch will kill them instantly. This can also be spread around the area to provide an excellent defense against them. However, salt also absorbs water from the surrounding, so it should be used in moderation.
Additionally, salt may kill plant life around the porch area, hence, the need to be extra careful when sprinkling it around. Plants around the porch area may be smeared on the stems with jelly to make them slippery to prevent slugs from climbing them.
Some people use mothballs plus salt for slugs on the porch. As much as this may work, mothballs for lizards or other crawling pests on your porch is not safe for you or your pets. Porches, decks, and patios are designed for people to relax. Using anything that can harm you or your pets like mothballs is therefore not recommended.
4. Vinegar slug control
Vinegar also has slug-killing capabilities. However, the vinegar option requires trapping the slugs before killing them. It may also involve spraying vinegar on slugs that have already infested your porch. The procedure involves mixing vinegar and water in equal parts and then using a spraying bottle to sprinkle the vinegar solution on the trapped slugs.
The best vinegar to use in this case is white vinegar. Vinegar slowly dissolves slugs, shrinking them to tiny bits. You can then manually pick the slugs for disposal. One can also opt to use undiluted vinegar for faster action.
Slugs are a menace to most individuals, and they can be more irritating if they invade a porch where one would like to relax. The methods for preventing or eliminating slugs appear to be relatively affordable as most of the stated remedies are readily accessible from the local stores.
Notably, the best options for eliminating slugs in the porch involve natural remedies that do not require much training. Pretty much anyone can eliminate or prevent slugs from the porch. However, it is mostly advisable to prevent their entry into the porches, and killing them is not an option advocated for as they also have an importance in the ecosystem.
The term slug triggers disgust in most people. Thinking of a slug brings memories of mucous in most individuals. It is even worse to imagine one having slugs on a favorite porch. Slugs are some of the most harmless creatures yet harmless at the same time. The latter characteristic is non-intentional, given that their habitats might determine the kinds of infections they are likely to carry.
