Slugist — The Dark Defender

How the Slugist service works

Slugs and snails are most active on warm, damp, still nights. They stay underground if it’s too cold, dry or light. The days of visits are chosen to match local weather and slug activity — so your collection is on a night when it will do the most good.

Slugist visits are carried out in two stages on a peak activity day.

1. In the early evening, we set up bait stations using fermenting sourdough. Slugs are attracted by the aroma from all over the garden and into the bait station. There, they find brassica leaves as reward. Dampened glide strips lead slugs and snails from their natural trails towards the bait stations and away from your most vulnerable plants.
2. After dark, when slugs and snails leave their daytime shelter to feed, we return. We carry out a thorough hand collection across the whole garden, including beds, borders, containers, fruit and vegetables, and the bait stations themselves. Only the pest species are removed; beneficial slugs and snails that help your garden are left in place. All bait stations and glide strips are removed before morning.

Visits are arranged on days convenient to you. The slug season typically runs from April to November, with peak activity at the start and end of the season. Learn what makes a high slug-activity night.

Standard subscribers benefit from additional quick sweep visits. A quick sweep is a fast after-dark pass through the garden in darkness to catch and remove visible slugs and snails before numbers build back up.

Read the full Slug Control service description.