Fight snails in the garden

The color of the slug varies from brown to reddish to orange-yellow. They move surprisingly fast for snails and cover a radius of action of up to 15 m during one night. The nocturnal animals prefer to feed on succulent plants, with their favorite food being marigold, valerian, and pumpkin and melon plants. If these are not available, they will devour almost all plants that they encounter on their way through the garden, from lettuce to all vegetables and ornamental plants. They swarm out, especially in warm, humid weather, and multiply explosively, which makes combating them even more difficult. A few years ago, 1,000 slugs per m² were counted in England. As a hermaphrodite, each specimen reproduces once in its lifetime, laying between 200 and 400 eggs in the ground. The young hatch from them in February/March.

Biological means of repelling snails

Since snails require a lot of moisture, the area around the most endangered plants should be kept as dry as possible, and a ring of sawdust, wood ash and sharp grit should be scattered around the beds as a moving barrier. When it rains, however, this ring barrier becomes ineffective. In addition, it is advisable to only water the plants in the morning hours. Then in the evening, when the snails move out, they will be largely dry. If the snails attack the garden in droves, one of the most effective methods is to collect them every morning. This work is made easier if some planks are laid out, which the snails use as shelters and gather there in the early morning. They also like to hide under large leaves. If you don’t want to touch the slimy animals,

Even if it is difficult, you should not release the collected snails at a greater distance. You are guaranteed to find your way back into the garden. Various experts advise cutting the snails with secateurs because this is largely painless. However, there is often cannibalism among the slugs, so that the dead animals attract other conspecifics. The most effective way to kill them is with boiling hot water. The following biological means of control have also proven themselves:

• Fertilize beds that tolerate it with pure liquid manure;
• Coffee and coffee grounds are deadly poisons for snails;
• The snails avoid areas fertilized with fresh biogas compost;
• Indian runner ducks are natural enemies of the Spanish slug;
• Chickens search the ground for egg deposits and pick them up;
• Birds, hedgehogs and frogs only eat the native garden slug;
• the common ground beetle devours the laid eggs of the snails;
• in asparagus beds, cooking salt eliminates the snails;
• Apply snail nematodes (tiny roundworms) before seeding or planting;
• Create seedbeds as fine-grained as possible and avoid cavities.

The application of snail nematodes has proven to be successful among the biological means of control. These tiny nematodes are distributed on the bed with the watering from sowing or planting. They only infest the slugs living in the ground and let them die. The much-vaunted beer trap is only useful when used in combination with a snail fence or snail collar. The snails in her own garden fall victim to her; At the same time, however, it acts as an invitation to all the snails in the neighboring gardens to gather at the beer trap.

Mechanical defenses against snails

In addition to the biological means of combating the snail plague, various mechanical methods have also proven to be quite effective in getting rid of the beasts.

snail collar

Hobby gardeners who want to protect individual plants from the voracious invaders have had good experiences with snail collars. These are cylindrical hollow bodies whose upper edge is bent over at an acute angle. Snail collars are usually made of plastic or aluminum and are therefore quite expensive. You can also make them yourself from an upside-down 500 g yoghurt pot. The disadvantage of the snail collars is that they are only suitable for protecting seedlings and young plants.

snail fences

If the aim of the snail defense strategy is to protect an entire bed, the installation of a snail fence should be considered. They are made of metal or plastic, are inserted up to 15 cm deep in the ground and reach about 10 cm in height. The upper edge is bent so that the snails can climb up the fence but then fall down again.

It is important to note in this context that overhanging plants must be removed, otherwise the snails will use them as a bridge over the fence. Wooden palisades as an alternative with a more aesthetic look are not suitable because the pests can still overcome them. The effectiveness of snail fences in getting rid of these pests is far more powerful when used in conjunction with beer traps. Within the fenced bed, the snails living there are destroyed, while at the same time snails from adjacent neighboring properties are kept away by the fence. Since snail fences are quite expensive, they are less suitable for protecting large properties.

Low voltage electric fences

Experiments with electric fences that are operated with low current are judged differently with regard to their effectiveness in combating snails. Two metal wires stretched parallel to each other are supposed to drive the slugs away with low-current surges. However, this method is very maintenance-intensive and is quickly paralyzed by short circuits in wet weather.

Chemical use in defensive combat

If, despite all efforts, they do not achieve the desired success with biological and mechanical means, numerous hobby gardeners still resort to chemical means such as slug pellets or other molluscicides. Since these chemical bombs make no difference between the slugs and the harmless snails, such as the Roman snails, which are a nature reserve, resourceful hobby gardeners have developed an effective compromise: the gap traps. These consist of a housing with a cover that leaves a gap. Only the voracious slugs fit through, but not the snails. An effective snail poison is laid out inside the housing, which is immediately deadly. By using crack traps, birds, hedgehogs, toads, does not contaminate the soil and water bodies and the poison cannot be washed out by rain. Of course, this trap must be emptied regularly, whereby care must be taken to ensure that the remains do not end up in the ecological cycle.

Preventive floor care

With targeted soil care, the hobby gardener can take preventative measures to prevent snails from gaining the upper hand in his garden. For this purpose, the soil is worked in the autumn. During this time, the snails lay their eggs in the cavities so that they hatch in February and March. However, this plan is thoroughly thwarted when the fallow soil is thoroughly worked through with a cultivator in winter. During this operation, the deposited snail eggs are carried outside, where they either freeze to death, are eaten by birds, or dry up.

Another preventive measure in the fight against slugs, although somewhat labor-intensive, promises to significantly reduce slug infestations in the new planting season. For this purpose, the old bark mulch is removed from the bed in early spring and composted with a compost accelerator. If grass clippings are already available, these can also be attached. The mulch also removes most of the snail eggs, which die off due to the high temperatures during composting.

These plants and flowers do not like snails

The fight to defend yourself against the stubborn slugs can turn into a time-consuming and annoying activity that some hobby gardeners don’t like. As a possible alternative, it is advisable to specifically choose those plants and flowers that are extremely unpopular with snails. Below is a condensed overview:

• cyclamen
• Curry kraut
• Make it
• fennel
• Busy Lizzie
• carnations
• Geranien
• Kapuzinerkresse
• lavender
• chives
• Pfingstrose
• yarrow
• gypsophila
• dwarf daisies

and several more varieties that help get rid of snails.

predators

Natural predators of slugs are hedgehogs, birds, frogs and Indian ducks. However, they like the Spanish slug less because it is particularly slimy and tastes bitter. Except for the runner ducks, the other enemies of snails are somewhat reticent in this regard, but instead they devour all other types of slugs that are native to the local latitudes. Anyone who is now thinking about buying Indian runner ducks should be able to offer the following requirements:

• a large, fenced plot;
• a garden pond for swimming and bathing;
• a grassy field with clover
• a stable for the night and for the winter.

In addition to the snails, worms and insects that they like to eat, the runner ducks also need wheat, soaked bread rolls, fruit and vegetable peelings and lettuce leaves. Since they are very social animals, at least two specimens should be kept on the property. There they spend the whole day looking for the snails and other pests hated by hobby gardeners.

Conclusion
In the fight against the voracious slugs, hobby gardeners have not yet finally won; but are in the process of making up ground every year. Since almost every kitchen and ornamental garden is attacked by snails sooner or later, a large number of methods have now been developed to get the plague under control. The Holy Grail in fighting snails has not yet been found, but a combination of biological and mechanical approaches has proven its worth. In addition, the crack traps provide a technique that also allows the use of chemical agents in the campaign against the snails without harming the environment. Responsible hobby gardeners who deal with the available methods,