Slugs And Snails

Suggestions for Slugs and snails

‘You haven’t a slug problem-you have a duck deficit’ , is the well known ‘Permaculture solution’.

If the spring is damp and the snails are flourishing sometimes ducks can be too damaging with your young seedlings you need some back up ideas.

BARRIERS:

  • Sprinkle sand, sawdust, wood ash (or anything else you wouldn’t like to lick) around your young plants of even encircle your garden. A good reason to have sawdust paths around your garden beds.
  • Strips of sandpaper could be attached to the boards of your raised garden beds
  • Coffee ground sprinkled around your plants will deter slugs and snails and worms
  • Sprinkle lime or dried ginger as a barrier
  • Mulch with mint, wormwood, tansy, lemon balm and other strong smelling herbs

TREAT TRAPS:

  • Half bury a bottle or saucer and part fill it with beer. The slugs and snails are drawn to it and unfortunately for them drown in it. Works well in your glasshouse.
  • If you can’t bare wasting beer…then mix ½ tsp of bakers yeast with 1 tbs sugar and a cup of warm water- it will do the trick.
  • Grape juice can also be used to trap them- another gastropod favourite
  • Cabbage leaves or large pieces of orange peel are also irresistible

HABITAT TRAPS:

  • Lie rolled up wet newspapers round your garden. When the sun gets up that nice dark damp tunnel is a great resting spot for them. You can then –pick them off and reuse or burn the paper.
  • Purposefully leave flat things and over turned pots around your garden for them to hide under to gather them up

HUNTING:

  • Go out at night with a torch and follow their slimy trails - great family fun to see who can track down the most.
  • Pick up and look under all the pots, tools, boards etc you have lying around the garden- that’s where they will be when the day is hot.

DISPOSING OF THEM:

Once gathered :

  • Squash them or
  • drown them in soapy, salty or boiling water

OR UTILIZE THEM

  • Feed them to your hens saves on hen food
  • Look at snails as a great food source- after eating your lovely organic veges they are free organic food, pure protein- look up French recipes and enjoy! (and with slugs you haven’t got to bother with the shell but you never hear of these being eaten?)

HI TECH

  • If you have raised beds you could set up an electric fence part way up the boards using wire and a battery (the battery will need to be protected from the weather)
  • Use wide Copper strips in strategic positions for border control- as slugs and snails retreat when ever they come across copper. Make sure the area is clear of them first or they will be trapped in your garden bed!

(Could work with other metal strips and cans around seedling too?)

Let us know what works for you and we can add them to this list.

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