How Can I Control Slugs And Snails?

Do you want to control slugs and snails using cultural control methods?

Do you want to control slugs and snails by hand-picking?

Do you want to control slugs and snails by using traps?

Do you want to control slugs and snails by using barriers?

Do you want to control slugs and snails chemically?

Hand-picking is very effective if done thoroughly regularly. At first, you should look for snails and slugs daily, paying careful attention to potential hiding places. After the population has noticeably declined, weekly hand-picking is sufficient. To draw out snails and slugs, water the infested area in the late afternoon. After dark, search them out using a flashlight, pick them up, place them in a bucket with soapy water or diluted ammonia (5 to 10% solution) and dispose of them after they are dead.

You can trap snails and slugs beneath boards or flower pots that you position throughout the garden and landscape. Inverted melon rinds also make good traps. Construct wooden traps using 12- by 15-inch boards raised off the ground by 1-inch runners. The runners make it easy for the pests to crawl underneath. Some people use beer-baited traps buried at ground level to catch and drown slugs and snails that fall into them. Because it is the fermented part of the product that attracts these pests, you can also use a sugar-water and yeast mixture instead of beer.

Several types of barriers will keep snails and slugs out of planting beds. The easiest to maintain are those made with copper flashing and a screen. It is believed that copper barriers are effective because the copper reacts with the slime that snails and slugs secrete, disrupting their nervous system similar to an electric shock. Copper foil or tape wrapped around planting boxes, headers, or trunks will repel snails until it becomes tarnished. If the bands do tarnish, you can clean them with a vinegar solution. Barriers of dry diatomaceous earth, heaped in a band 1 inch high and 3 inches wide around the garden, can also be effective.

Because snails and slugs favor seedlings and plants with succulent foliage, you will need to vigilantly protect these plants. Some plants slugs and snails that will seriously damage include basil, beans, cabbage, dahlia, delphinium, hosta, lettuce, marigolds, strawberries, and many other vegetable plants. Choose plants that are not attractive to snails and slugs for areas where they are dense. Examples are plants with highly scented foliage, such as lavender, rosemary, and sage, and some commonly grown plants including ferns, cyclamen, hydrangea, California poppy, nasturtium, and lantana.

Several types of snail and slug bait products (molluscicides) are available. However, baits alone will not effectively control snails or slugs in the long term and you will need to use cultural control in conjunction. Iron phosphate baits have the advantage of being safer for use around children, domestic animals, birds, fish, and other wildlife. Products that contain ferric sodium EDTA work in a similar manner to iron phosphate but are somewhat faster. Molluscicides that have sulfur as the active ingredient reduce feeding damage caused by snails and slugs, but to a lesser extent than iron-based products. Baits containing the active ingredient metaldehyde are common but are poisonous to dogs and cats.

Snails and slugs have many natural enemies, including ground beetles, rats, pathogens, snakes, toads, turtles, and both domestic and wild birds. Most are rarely effective enough to provide satisfactory control in the garden. Domesticated fowl (such as ducks, geese, or chickens) kept penned in infested areas can be effective snail predators that significantly reduce problems. However, seedlings must be protected from feeding damage from these birds.