Home remedies for snails in the garden

Home remedies for snails in the gardenare proven methods available to everyone. They are able to quickly and effectively combat the snails infestation in our garden, without posing any threat to the environment.Snails in the gardencan quickly destroy a large number of plants, so it is worth knowing how to combat these nuisance pests, even if you cannot go to the garden store for the right preparation.

Home remedies for snails in the garden - arrangement of traps with bait
Fig. freeimages.com

Harm of snails in the garden

In gardens you can meet bothshelled snails(e.g. scrub snail, garden ribbon, gamekeeper ribbon, grapevine), as well as without shells, i.e. otherwisenaked snails(pom pom pom, salivaries). While the former usually do not cause much damage to crops, naked snails are the real bane of gardeners.
Snails prefer moist and rainy weatherand moist, fertile soil. Most of them can be found in dense, shady thickets where moisture is easy to keep, and snails find shelter from the sun.

The damage caused by the snails in the gardenis mainly the holes in the leaves and fruit and the bitten flower petals, although plant roots can also be damaged. In extreme cases, the snail is able to eat the entire plant right up to the root base!

Naked snails feed on lettuce
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Similar holes can also be bitten by other plant pests, such as, for example, harmful beetles (e.g. swollen weevils, lily-of-the-valley) or caterpillars of butterflies (e.g. cabbage beetle). However, if we findsticky mucus secreted by snailson the plants, we can be sure that the damage is caused by them.
The snails feed mainly at night and after rainfall rain , while in the sunny garden, when we gardeners are happy to carry out maintenance work, they remain hidden. Therefore, we often find out about their presence only when we see numerous damage to plants.In spring, naked snails are particularly troublesome , which eat young shoots, flower petals and seedlings, giving the plants no chance for further growth. However, we can observe the damage caused by snails throughout the growing season, from spring to autumn.

Snails eat wild strawberries and strawberries
Fig. pixabay.com

It is worth knowing, however, that despite damage to crops,snails in the natural environment play a very important role , removing waste by eating the remains of dead animals and plants. In addition, they actively participate in the creation of compost soil!
Thereforefighting snails in the gardenonly if it is really necessary, and the damage caused by them is large. First of all, to combat snails in the garden, it is worth using natural and ecological methods, and such are certainlyhome remedies for snails

It is also worth taking care of in our gardennatural enemies of snails , that is: hedgehogs, mice, toads, lizards and birds.

1. Remove natural snails' hiding places

Of allhome remedies for snails in the garden , prevention is the best. Therefore, let's keep our garden in order. You should mow the grass regularly, pull out weeds, especially nettles, clean all branches and other plants that could benatural shelter for snails It is also worthwhile to dig shallowly with a hoe from time to time with a hoe, so thatget the snail eggs to the surface of the soilEggs dug out of the ground will dry out quickly and no new snail will hatch from them.

To reduce snails' feeding, water the garden in the morning instead of in the evening
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2. Only water the plants in the morning

As you already know from the information presented above,snails feed mainly at night and after rainfallIf you water your garden in the evening, you create ideal conditions for snails to feed. After watering the plants in the evening, they will stay moist for a long time, and it will be at night, when snails are most eager to feed.
Thereforeit is much better to water the plants in the morningThen the leaves and stems will dry quickly, and the snails hiding from the sun will not willingly set out to feed.

3. Create natural barriers against slugs

If we notice a special preference of snails towards a specific group of plants, e.g. funkia or lettuce, we can sprinkle crushed egg shells, wood ash after burning wood in the fireplace, sawdust or small pebbles around such plants.Snails will not be able to break through such a barrierwithout seriously injuring themselves. However, you should be aware that the effectiveness of such a barrier varies, sometimes it needs to be renewed after rainfall.

Spreading bas alt flour is a good way for snails
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A proven and safe method for snails is sprinkling plants with bas alt flourBas alt flour is a natural fertilizer made from grinding bas alt rock. It can be used to create barriers around plants, as well as sprinkle it directly on plants threatened by snails. The meal sticks to the snails' bodies and makes it difficult for them to move.

Effective barriers against slugscan be created by sprinkling quicklime around the beds, which is sometimes used in horticulture and agriculture for liming soil. After contact with quicklime, the snail's body is severely damaged. It should be remembered, however, that such lime has a strong de-acidifying effect on the soil (it increases the pH of the soil), so this method for snails should be used in moderation and only if the soil is excessively acidic.

Good to knowSome guides recommend table s alt against snails. S alt does damage snail bodies quickly, but is also dangerous for garden plants. By sprinkling the soil between the plants with s alt, you will quickly lead to excessive salinity of the soil and the death of the cultivated plants. Therefore, never sprinkle your flower beds with cooking s alt.

4. Plant snail deterrent plants

You can alsofight snails in house waysplanting the beds with plants that snails do not tolerate. These are, among others sage, marjoram, garden chervil, garlic, mustard, onion. The substances secreted by these plants discourage snails from being around.

5. Homemade snail trap

A simpleway to make a homemade snail trapis to arrange old boards in such a way as to create a damp and shaded place under them. We put some kind of bait underneath, e.g. lettuce leaves. Snails will cling here and seek a safe haven. Every day we collect a group of these small pests from under such planks. However, you have to do it regularly in order to collect the snails, before they leave the hideout-trap and go to the garden again.

A trap for slugs from boards
Fig. depositphotos.com

An extremely effectivehome remedy for snails in the garden is also the use of beer , which snails even love.In a place where snails like to feed, bury a jar in the ground and then fill it 1/3 with beer. Snails attracted by the smell of beer will crawl so close to the trap that they will fall into it. You only need to select a jar high enough to make it difficult for snails to escape. Such a trap also needs to be emptied daily. If we have a large garden, it is worth placing several traps in different places.

Beer snail trap
Fig. depositphotos.com

The ready-made Target snail trap, available in garden stores, is also based on the beer jar idea. Contrary to the jarthe trap is constructed in such a way as to prevent snails from escaping from itThe attractant attached to the trap (the so-called anthracant) increases the effectiveness of luring beer up to 10 times!

6. Coffee and cinnamon for snails

The smell of coffee has a deterrent effect on snailsTherefore, it is worth spraying plants threatened with snails' attack with coffee infusion. Before spraying, the coffee must be cooled down and diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 4. You can also add cinnamon to the brew, which will strengthen the deterrent effect.Coffee grounds after brewing coffee also do not have to go to waste. They can be spread between plants to scare away snails from the garden.

7. Male cashew leaves against snails

The Samoed Nerecznica (Dryopteris filix-mas) is a common fern found in shady forests, most often near streams. It is also planted for ornamental purposes in parks, cemeteries and gardens. The consumption of any parts of this plant can be severely poisoned. Not only for humans but also for snails. That is why snails avoid this plant like fire. So if you wantto protect your plants from snails , spread the cut leaves of the male casu alty between the plants.

8. Manual snail collection

Gardeners also often use another method, which can be boldly included in thehome remedies for snails in the gardenIt consists in the fact that on a rainy, humid day we take a garden bucket and walk around the garden collecting snails. It is important to do it on a cloudy and rainy day, because then most snails will roam our plants. The collected snails do not have to die. We can throw them somewhere away from our garden. Unfortunately, suchcollecting snails by handis time-consuming and inefficient.

Snails can be collected manually
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Ecological remedy for snails

Sometimes, however, there are a lot of snails and it is impossible to stop them from destroying plants using home methods. If in such a situation we want to reach forready-made poison or granules for snails , we should choose only natural and ecological preparations based on iron phosphate.It is a naturally occurring substance in the ground, harmful only to snails. Therefore, there is no risk of poisoning other creatures (e.g. birds) that eat 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.

At the end, we propose an infographic that will help you remember the best ways to get rid of snails from the garden: -)

12 ways to make snails in the garden
Fig. © Łukasz Krypel

More proven recipes!

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