Residents of an apartment block in Schwabach, southern Germany, were baffled when their doorbells kept ringing late into the night — and they blamed pranksters for the disturbance.
But police soon uncovered a far more unusual culprit. As reported by Huff Post, a small slug was sliding up and down the doorbell plate, repeatedly triggering the sensor and causing the incessant buzzing.
After a brief, fruitless investigation, officers finally caught the mischievous mollusc in the act. The slug was then “brought down to size, taught about its territory boundaries and placed on a nearby stretch of grass,” according to the police.
This isn’t the first time a slimy creature has caused such confusion. In 2021, a woman in Essex was similarly woken by her doorbell ringing in the middle of the night — only to find that a slug was responsible.
"I was a bit freaked out at first, but when I played it back, I started laughing,” Lianne Jennings said at the time. Her friends were less amused, jokingly wondering if it was a ghost or alien causing the noise.
For now, it seems these slow-moving pranksters are more mischievous than menacing — but perhaps residents will be keeping an eye out for any other unexpected visitors.
