Glasgow mum says year-long slug infestation left autistic son petrified and unable to use bathroom

A mum told how her autistic son refused to go in the family’s bathroom due to a massive slug infestation.
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Mum-of-two Rebecca Macdonald, 25, is a full-time carer to her autistic son, Alexander, aged five. Renovations on the family’s bathroom to fix a leak have been followed by an infestation of slugs.

The home in Maryhill is managed by Queen’s Cross Housing Association, which says it is working to fix the issue after being notified in March. Rebecca said her son was petrified of the slugs and had begun bedwetting because he didn’t want to go in the bathroom. She said the situation was “horrible”.

Rebecca MacDonald in the bathroom of her home in Maryhill. Rebecca MacDonald in the bathroom of her home in Maryhill.
Rebecca MacDonald in the bathroom of her home in Maryhill.
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Rebecca said: “He is now at a stage where he is wetting himself at night-time because he doesn’t go into the bathroom.

“It’’s really hard to see him kind of going back like that because of the house. It’s really hard for him as he hates all creatures and stuff like that. So, getting up during the night to go to the toilet and finds slugs in the bathroom, he point-blank refuses to use the toilet.

“I’m having to pick them up and put them down the toilet pan or move them so my wee boy can go into the toilet. I’m also waking up during the night and the first time I went in I stepped on one, it was horrible.”

She said the issue began in January 2021 and she had spoken to her GP because of the stress caused. Not long after the works, she started seeing slugs crawling all over her bathroom fixtures and floor.

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Rebecca said the housing association recently visited the property, after which more leaks were fixed and any holes sealed. But she claimed she discovered another 10 to 12 slugs at the weekend, which prompted her to call her GP.

Rebecca said: “I just spoke to my doctor about this as well because it’s stressing me out, constantly having to argue with my housing association and not getting anywhere with them. My wee girl is only two, so she’s at a stage where she wants to pick them up and I have to keep an eye on her.

“They are massive as well. I’m sending pictures and videos to the housing association. They told me to put salt down in my bathroom, which I’ve done and it has done nothing to keep them at bay.”

Jim Williams, maintenance manager at Queen’s Cross Housing Association, said: “We first knew about this problem in the property at the end of March and carried out an inspection that week. At that point we couldn’t see signs of slugs. When Ms Macdonald reported the problem to us again this month, we arranged another inspection to try to identify the cause of the problem.

“This is an unusual situation but we are currently working with Ms Macdonald to try and resolve this issue to everyone’s satisfaction.”

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