Snail in my house!!

Fittle

Not sure if this is the right section, but I am going a bit mad with this one! Woke sunday morning to find four coats on our coat rack covered in snail marks!! I looked everywhere for the snail, but no joy.

Yesterday, snail marks on the floor, and this morning on my mat in my living room!!!

This is completely freaking me out!!!!! I searched everywhere for the snail yesterday and again this morning and the thoughts of it in my house while I head off to work again is seriously stressing me out!!!

Any one experienced this?? I have no idea how the snail got into the house, other than on a jacket my son might have left down in the grass, at a match on saturday. Apart from the fact that I want to get rid of this thing, is that 'snail trail' stuff dangerous in any way, as I have a young child.

Help!!!

Rancid

Fittle wrote: »

Not sure if this is the right section, but I am going a bit mad with this one! Woke sunday morning to find four coats on our coat rack covered in snail marks!! I looked everywhere for the snail, but no joy.

Yesterday, snail marks on the floor, and this morning on my mat in my living room!!!

This is completely freaking me out!!!!! I searched everywhere for the snail yesterday and again this morning and the thoughts of it in my house while I head off to work again is seriously stressing me out!!!

Any one experienced this?? I have no idea how the snail got into the house, other than on a jacket my son might have left down in the grass, at a match on saturday. Apart from the fact that I want to get rid of this thing, is that 'snail trail' stuff dangerous in any way, as I have a young child.

Help!!!

I think it's more likely to be a slug than a snail. And, yes, it probably arrived on a jacket or in the ridges on the underside of a shoe or boot.

No need to panic!
Slugs and snails in general are most active in the dark, so you will automatically find the trails in the mornings.
It sounds like your little reluctant visitor has investigated your coats for food and lodgings, was disappointed and then moved into your living room.
He's probably spending the daylight hours hiding under the mat you saw the slime trail on, so have a look there as soon as you can.
If he's not there, take a look UNDER things, flower pots, mats, books left on the floor, the edges of carpet in corners or under windows, etc. He WILL be under something.

No need to worry, when you find him just get a piece of kitchen roll, pick him up gently and place the whole thing at the end of the garden. He'll crawl away to somewhere safe himself.

If you don't find him under the mat, hoover away all the trails you can see. The next morning the new trails will lead you to where ever he has moved to.


I had a similar situation years ago, a little slug living in a heat vent on the floor, he came out searching for food every night. I left out some lettuce for him, came down around 5 or 6am and found him, put him safely in the garden.

Fittle

Thanks for that rancid! The little fella throws his coat in the bundle of coats at matches...last weekend, the pitch was particularly wet and soggy, so i would defo say it latched onto his jacket then!

I'll do everything you suggest when I get home this evening - as it is, I ran out of the house this morning having cleaned up the 'goo'!!

My son thinks its hilarious of course, and is convinced it's Gary the Snail from Spongebob;)

Rancid

Fittle wrote: »

Thanks for that rancid! The little fella throws his coat in the bundle of coats at matches...last weekend, the pitch was particularly wet and soggy, so i would defo say it latched onto his jacket then!

I'll do everything you suggest when I get home this evening - as it is, I ran out of the house this morning having cleaned up the 'goo'!!

My son thinks its hilarious of course, and is convinced it's Gary the Snail from Spongebob;)

Keep us updated... and good luck in the slug-hunt!

Waterfordlass

My ultimate nightmare!
As I was about to step into the shower this morning, I spotted a little slug on the shower tray. I have no idea how he got there, just hoping our youngest fur baby brought him in on his fur.
Our slimy visitor has now been safely returned to the garden with instructions not to visit again.
Good luck with locating your buddy. Shudder.

Fittle

Waterfordlass wrote: »

Good luck with locating your buddy. Shudder.

He's not my buddy!!! I'd prefer a tarantula in the house to be honest!! Neither of us could even eat our breakfast this morning when we saw the slime on the mat:mad:

Waterfordlass

Fittle wrote: »

He's not my buddy!!! I'd prefer a tarantula in the house to be honest!! Neither of us could even eat our breakfast this morning when we saw the slime on the mat:mad:

The 'buddy' bit was a joke. Snails terrify me to my very soul. Believe me, I feel your fear and disgust.

kylith

I agree it's most likely a slug; they can get in through amazingly small places; one oozed out from behind my telly once, how he got there I don't know.

As others have said you can leave out a tasty leaf and hope he goes for it. I tend to ring the area he's hiding in in salt and kill him that way.

Cedrus

Fittle wrote: »

is that 'snail trail' stuff dangerous in any way, as I have a young child.

Yes, possibly, the actual snails and slugs more so as they can carry lungworm nematodes but suspicion is not removed from the trails. The have to be ingested though, so are more dangerous to dog. Kids are unlikely to be eating slugs or licking snail trails. You might want to keep babies off the floor though if they remain a problem.

Zapperzy

They sometimes come in through the tiny little holes under the back doors in our house, normally very small little slugs that I just find somewhere in the vicinity of the door the next morning and throw them back out the door.

Discodog

If you want to attract it, kill it & have it die happy then put a small container of beer on the floor.

Salt001

I went out to our back hall one night to find an absolutely huge slug on the glass of our back door.
Honestly this thing was a mutant :eek: .
Sorry I just had to share the horror

planetX

they also love catfood - I used to get big slugs coming in the catflap when it hadn't quite closed, I'd find them in the bowl of meat. My long-haired cat often comes homes with tiny slugs in her fur:(

Vince32

Discodog wrote: »

If you want to attract it, kill it & have it die happy then put a small container of beer on the floor.

That's the way I want to leave this earth, in a giant bath of beer

Good luck Snail hunter

Fittle

Can't find the fecker!!!

Looked everywhere earlier but no joy...I now have a lump of lettuce on the mat he was on last night (he's not under it) and hope I find him there in the morning..I have no catfood or beer in the house tonight, but if I did, they'd be beside the lettuce leaf!!

locomo

Discodog wrote: »

If you want to attract it, kill it & have it die happy then put a small container of beer on the floor.

I find that puts a strange taste in the beer though. Whenever I want snails, I eat them in a french restaurant. Do not mix them with the beer, they go soggy and are not as crisp.

Rancid

Fittle wrote: »

Can't find the fecker!!!

Looked everywhere earlier but no joy...I now have a lump of lettuce on the mat he was on last night (he's not under it) and hope I find him there in the morning..I have no catfood or beer in the house tonight, but if I did, they'd be beside the lettuce leaf!!

They're hard to find when it's bright, they really do squeeze into the tiniest places to stay out of the light.
If you've a cucumber there, put out a slice of that too, he should head for it as soon as it's dark and quiet, he'll be dehydrated by now and looking for anything moist.

If you've a potted plant in the room, there's a chance that he found it and crawled under the pot and into the compost, looking for a damp place.

No need for drastic measures or death by salt or beer, if you don't find him in the next few days, you'll find him in a month's time shrivelled up and dead.

Fittle

One, very dead slug on the lettuce this morning:D:D (with apologies to animal lovers!!). Still had to hoover up his 'snail-trail' on his way to the lettuce, but thank God he's gone!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks guys!