Control Snails & Slugs

Pest snails and slugs damage plant seeds, seedlings, underground tubers, leaves and fruit. Damage to seedlings often results in the death of the plant, which means major losses.

Control methods
The effective control of pests involves a combination of measures, including cultural, biological and chemical methods so it is best not to rely on just one method. Set yourself a long term goal to reduce slug and snail pests, rather than relying on a ’knee-jerk’ reaction to an immediate problem.

Cultural control
Abundant ground cover and vegetation growth provide ideal moisture levels, shelter and harbourage where snails and slugs thrive. This is why they can be a problem on the edge of a crop with a weedy fenceline.

Good hygiene, weed control and removal of refuges can reduce the problem over time. Be aware, though, that pest problems may increase in the short term afer this process, as the pests will no longer have the weeds for food or shelter.

Cultivation of the ground not only kills pests directly, but provides a sterile habitat from which survivors flee. A short fallow period can improve this effect.

Trap these pests under boards, cabbage leaves, flowerpots, or other objects, then scrape them into a bucket of soapy water to dispatch them. Good hygiene will improve the value of other methods, especially baiting.

Baiting or luring them to containers filled with stale beer: Set containers with the lip at soil level so that slugs and snails are lured in and drown.

Surrounding plants with a band of wood ashes discourages them as well, as long as you renew it frequently. A number of people use coffee grounds and tea leaves to good effect in the same way. Attracting birds, toads, and other beneficial animals to the garden will also help to control slugs and snails

Barriers

Snails and slugs do not like dry surfaces. Continuous lines of sawdust and ashes can be used as barriers but their effectiveness is drastically reduced once they become wet, which is unavoidable with rain and watering of gardens.

Instead, lines of lime and copper sulphate are pest repellent and can be used to prevent migration into an area. Superphosphate fertiliser applied in rings around the butts of trees may stop snails reaching the trunks.

Copper is repellent to snails and slugs and bands of thin copper sheet around tree trunks prevent snails from climbing. This method must be combined with skirt pruning and control of under-canopy vegetation to stop snails getting into the trees by other routes.

Biological control

Some predatory beetles and lizards feed on them, but birds and rats are the most effective.

Ducks, or chickens can provide effective, long-term control in orchards and vineyards, or your own back yard if an appropriate breed is chosen and properly cared for.

The biggest problem in using birds is protecting them from foxes. A safe, fox-proof roost to house the birds overnight is essential. They should be released from this pen one hour or more after sunrise and returned at least one hour before sunset, when fox activity is lower but foxes can be active at all times, especially if human activity is low. Keeping vegetation low will also make it difficult for foxes to stalk their prey. For high-value crops, fox-proof fencing may be a viable option.