One of the most common problems faced by gardeners is the one of slugs and snails. Even experienced gardeners get frustrated when dealing with these critters.
So here are a few tried and tested tips, to help you keep them out of your gardens, containers and flower beds.
1. Create a barrier using plants that are known to deter slugs and snails by planting them around the edges of your beds. Here are some examples of plants that deter snails and slugs, wormwood, rosemary, rue, anise and fennel.
2. Encourage some of their natural predators, such as frogs, toads and birds. Thrushes and blackbirds love to eat snails and slugs. Adding some nematodes (available at nurseries or online) to your soil, and they will kill those pesky ground dwelling slugs. Of course, if you happen to keep chickens or ducks, put them to work, they’ll make quick meals out of the pests.
3. Make a beer trap, these can be used in garden beds and raised beds. Use a plastic water or soda bottle and cut it in half, then bury it in the soil, leaving about 1/2 inch above the soil.
Fill with a cheap beer and the smell will attract the slugs and snails, they will fall in and won’t be able to get out.
4. Place a sharp barrier around the base of your plants by using crushed eggshells, grit or pine needles. Be sure the layer doesn’t have any gaps. Snails and slugs are soft bodied and will avoid crossing a sharp surface. This method also works well in container gardens.
5. You can purchase copper tape with an adhesive backing, which you can attach to the sides of your containers. This can also be used along the edges of your garden beds and raised beds as well. The copper tape will give the slug or snail a small electric shock if they try to cross it due to the reaction the copper has with the slime they excrete.
6. If you’re only noticing a few snails or slugs, and you’re not squeamish about touching them, you can collect them by hand and place them in a bucket of heavily salted water to kill them.
It’s always a good thing to use natural solutions to control pests in your garden. Natural solutions are safer for you, your pets and your environment.
Try using a few of these tips to keep those plant destructing critters out of your garden. As always, please let us know if you’ve come across a solution we haven’t covered.