1. Layering can help you get the proportions closer to optimal, but mixing everything together gets the process started sooner. There is no "right" way to pile up material for composting. 2. How much coffee grounds to add to how much shredded leaves/grass mixture is what will get that mixture composting. The only reason you would need a specific amount of either would be if you were doing a scientific study with the need to write a report. Throw your material together, but do not pack anything tightly since that reduces the amount of air available to the bacteria that will digest your material. 3. Whether you need to break up that clay soil underneath this pile first is subject to a great deal of debate. I have seen some, few, clay soils (there are many types of clay soils not just one) that need to have some OM worked in first, but most, that I have seen, do not. Most of the clay soils I have seen that do need OM worked in first have been black in color. 4. The only reason to put cardboard, or newspaper, or any other ground covering material, down is to suppress unwanted growth. If your pile of material is a foot or more thick there would be no need for anything on this unwanted growth since the pile of material would do that. Cardboard, newspaper, etc. are an aid to help extend the available mulch material and nothing else. 5. If that soil did have drainage issues you may want to consider correcting those before piling a lot of organic matter on top which may aggravate that problem before it starts to cure it. The Soil Food Web that is going to make your soil better, eventually, needs air to function and if there is insufficient air in the soil they won't.

I use the hand squishing method. Vinyl gloves are a must, since electrical charges continue to fire after slug is squished, a very unpleasant sensation. Some people put warm beer in a cat food can with the rim at ground level- slugs go in and drown. I tried that but my local possums had escargot in beer every night for dinner, so it was impractical.

I pick them out too. My bins are outside and I noticed a huge increase in slugs when we had those really warm spring days. I was pulling them out of the bins and stepping on them left and right until my conscious started to bother me. Now I don't want to sound like a tree-hugging fanatic, but I figure most things in nature have a positive purpose EVEN when I might find it difficult to figure out what that POSITIVE purpose might be - so I stopped squashing the slugs and began tossing them into a small wooded area that borders my property. (Wish I knew someone with chickens :-) If I could find a way to keep the slugs on the poison ivy that doesn't want to die no matter how many times it's dug up and cut down, I'd be happy. If you didn't find the slugs in your worm bedding, I'm wondering how they got inside your house??? I don't think slugs would want to come inside and would find it difficult to do so even if they had joined together and made a plan to invade. I'm thinking you must have brought them inside on some plant material. Perhaps the two you found were an isolated incident? FYI: I've found that if I store my leaves up off the ground there are fewer slugs to deal with. Once I picked out all the baby and adult slugs in early spring, I haven't had any to deal with since. (I am curious about the coffee grounds as a slug repellant. Hopefully someone will explain this.)

The following are some tips on dealing with slugs. A spray bottle of half ammonia/half water is good. When you go on patrol, spray slugs at will. If it does not seem strong enough to you, add a little more ammonia. This is a very effective way to zap the slithery critters. Diatomaceous Earth will also work. Slugs do not want to cross it. It will rip them open. Look for this at a garden store and maybe wear a dust mask when you apply around your plants. Water your plants in the morning and let ground dry during course of the day. This simple trick is very effective. Copper strips about 4 inches wide. Some people swear by this, some say it does not work. The theory is that slugs will get zapped if they cross the copper. Look for this in a garden store. Lay a board down over some wet ground. In the morning, or whenever, go out with a bucket of soapy water or the half ammonia/half water mix. Pick up the board carefully and look at the underside. There will probably be slugs on it. Scrape or pick them off and throw in bucket. Beer traps made from margerine tubs or soda bottles and placed around the area you wish to protect also can be effective. There are a number of organic snail baits such as: Escargo, Sluggo, or Worry Free. They are very effective.