Snailsplay an important and useful role in nature, and some of them are protected. However, they can also cause serious damage to plots and gardens by feeding on various parts of plants, especially young leaves, shoots, roots and inflorescences. Therefore, it is worth knowing the most effective ways tofighting snails in the garden
The snail bites holes in the cabbage
Fig. depositphotos.com
Snails are pests of all kinds of vegetables , berry plants (strawberries, wild strawberries), ornamental plants and herbs.The greatest damage is caused in spring, during seed germination and emergence.The effect of feeding snailsare band-shaped holes gouged out in leaves, stems and bulbs. The snails leave slimy, silvery, thread-shaped marks on the leaves and the surface of the ground. The presence of such traces usually means thatit is necessary to fight the slugsor at least reduce their numbers in the bulkhead.
The degree of harmfulness of snailsdepends mainly on the humidity, ambient temperature, type and abundance of food and habitat conditions. To develop, these species need high humidity, so they come out of their hiding places in the evening or during rainy weather for feeding. They are very active at 10 to 20 ° C. They do not tolerate high temperatures (above 30 ° C) and low temperatures (below -3 ° C). In the absence of snow cover, severe frosts may limit the snail population.
Snails can be divided into :- shelled (i.e. shelled) snails
- naked snails with only a residual shell in the dorsal mantle.
Shelled snailsin our climate as pests of crops do not matter much, although some of them, such as the grape snail, may cause some damage. Contrary to them,naked snails can become a real nuisance for the owner of a plot of landThese species do not have a shell in which to protect themselves from unfavorable climatic conditions, so they must find suitable hiding places from the sun - in soil, turf, under planks or stones. They choose shaded, moist and shrub-covered places. They are often barbs, roadside ditches, overgrown slopes of watercourses, sewage wells, cellars, places of organic matter decomposition. The lack of shells makes it easier for them to move smoothly in the field.
Naked snails feed on lettuce
Fig. depositphotos.com
Snail prophylaxis
The first step in the fight against snailsshould be to prevent their occurrence. In the case of snails, preventive measures consist in drying the area near the crops and mowing ditches and shrubs that are the habitat of snails. Cut plants should be collected immediately and not allowed to rot, because snails find excellent living conditions in decaying remains. From the surroundings of the cropsremove items that may be hiding places for snails , such as planks, piles of stones and debris or weeds.
In the event of a snail plague you should consider the need to keep composters, as these are places where snails like to stay and lay their eggs. It is also important to maintain a proper soil structure. Frequent raking, hoeing and weed removal causes airing of the soil, which snails do not like.Ifsnails bother our crops quite strongly , it is worth to build barriers made of ash, sawdust, barley chaff or quicklime. Unfortunately, this method is effective only until rainfall occurs.We can also plant or sow slug repellent plants in the garden. This group includes plants that scare snails with their scent, and plants with hairy leaves or thorny shoots that are difficult to reach for snails.
Fighting snails with natural methods
Small garden owners can catch snails by hand. It is best to do it in the evening, or in the early morning, when the snails are outside their hiding places. Unfortunately, thismethod of fighting snailsis too laborious for owners of larger gardens and plots of land.snail trapsin the form of planks or roof tiles, placed in a quiet and humid place, under which we put cabbage leaves, lettuce, remains of potatoes or carrots or bran.Collecting snails attracted to the prepared traps is much less time-consuming.A practical solution is also a ready-made snail trap, which can be purchased in a garden shop. It is constructed in such a way that the snails that fall into the trap cannot get out of it. In the package, along with the trap, you will also find a attractant, which significantly increases the effectiveness of the trap.
Another cleverway to protect your plants from snails is to use bas alt flourIt is a natural fertilizer made by grinding volcanic rock. Recommended for organic farming. It has valuable properties as a fertilizer that de-acidifies the soil and strengthens garden plants. But bas alt flour can also be sprinkled around plants or evensprinkle it on entire plants to protect them from snails
Bas alt flour sticks to snail bodies, making it difficult for them to move and to eat sprinkled plant leaves with meal causes many difficulties for snails.Plants sprinkled with flour will not be inhabited by aphids and caterpillars eating leaves will give up. As you can seebas alt flour will protect our crops not only from snails !
Ready-made preparations for snails
"Against snails in the garden, we can also use ready-made preparations for snails , most often in the form of granules. Such granules for snails should be sprinkled in an appropriate dose between the plants and in the places where the snails migrate. After eating the granules, snails are liquidated.
However, I encourage you not to use chemical granules for snails, which may be harmful to other creatures. Remember that snails can be eaten by birds, hedgehogs or frogs. Thereforeto fight snails in the garden, choose only ecological preparations for snailsbased on iron phosphate. It is a naturally occurring substance in the ground, harmful only to snails.
Examples ofsafe agents for snails, permitted for use in organic farmingare Ślimakol Naturen Substral and Ferramol GR Target Natural. This natural snail pellet does not pose any risk to birds and beneficial insects and provides long-term plant protection against snails (up to 10 days in gardens and up to 14 days in greenhouses and tunnels). It is very easy to apply by sprinkling the granules on the ground between the plants. "
