Whether green salad, vegetables or perennials: snails are real gluttons and eat their way through the home garden in record time. They are particularly active on rainy days.
Incidentally, gardeners’ biggest enemies are slugs and snails, such as garden snails, Spanish snails and field snails. Many slugs, on the other hand, are welcome guests in the garden and leave our beloved plants in peace.
But what is the best way to combat these voracious slugs? And how do you keep them away? We have put together a list of grandma’s most effective home remedies for slugs and snails and explain why they are the better choice.
Why you shouldn’t use slug pellets
There is a wide range of anti-slug products on the market, such as slug pellets. Although such chemical products are effective, they do carry some risks, depending on the manufacturer and ingredients:
Poisoned snails can Wild animals harm. For hedgehogs, birds and the like, the pests are high on the menu.
Also Beneficial organisms suffer from the treatment, such as the vineyard slug. This is a welcome sight in the garden, as it only feeds on dead plant material and even eats the eggs of slugs.
Also for Children and pets, the use of chemical agents can be harmful. According to Stiftung Warentest, these must be kept away from treated surfaces.
Granny’s home remedies against slugs in the garden
So slug pellets are not always the best choice for your garden – even if there are some safe varieties. You don’t even need it, as there are plenty of natural alternatives that work wonderfully. Here are some effective home remedies for slugs and snails that grandma used to use.
Home remedy against snails #1: Coffee
The caffeinated drink is not only a hit on the breakfast table, it is also a proven household remedy against slugs. You use the leftover coffee grounds instead of throwing them away.
Spread them in a ring around your plants. If you have a lot of coffee grounds, you can also spread them generously over the whole bed. The caffeine is poisonous to slugs and snails and will drive them away.
A little bonus: Coffee grounds are also an excellent fertilizer!
Home remedy against snails #2: Oatmeal
Oatmeal against snails? Sounds strange, but it is. Because snails love oat flakes! And you can take advantage of this by using the flakes as an attractant.
In other words, you create a small pile of oat flakes, which the snails then pounce on. The animals gather there and you can simply collect them. Successful diversionary maneuver!
Home remedy against snails #3: Lettuce
Yes, we actually want to keep slugs away from lettuce. But if you make a small “salad sacrifice”, you can also use it to combat snails. Simply place a few wet lettuce leaves under a damp bag in a corner of your garden. Then wait for one night.
The next day you will find a lot of snails in this “trap”, which you can then simply collect. Alternatively, you can also use damp boards. Simply place them next to the beds and you’re done.
Home remedy against slugs #4: Ash
Still looking for a way to use the wood ash from your last barbecue? Then put it in the bed! Snails like moist substrates, but they hate dry ash.
The crumbly, dry consistency makes it difficult for them to move around. Spread the ash in a wide ring around your beds to create an obstacle for the creepers. However, you will have to renew the protection after the next rain.
Incidentally, ash is also a great plant fertilizer, so you kill two birds (or slugs) with one stone.
Home remedy against snails #5: wood, stone & lime
The use of wood shavings, quicklime, rock flour, sand, straw or sawdust works on the same principle as wood ash. The rough, dry surface is avoided by the snails and the lettuce is protected.
Creating 30 to 50 centimetre thick protective strips around the carefully tended greenery. When watering, you should then take care not to over-moisten the surface.
What else helps against snails?
Home remedies are all well and good, but sometimes they are simply not enough. It’s best to combine them with the following tips to reduce the infestation:
1. collect snails
The harmful slugs are mainly active at night. You can therefore walk through your beds once in the morning and collect the creepy-crawlies.
Tip The best time to collect snails is late in the evening or early in the morning after rain.
It is best not to release the collected slugs into the wild, as they can upset the ecosystem there. The Federal Environment Agency recommends killing the slugs and disposing of them with household waste.
What to do with the collected snails?
Many people cut up the pests or pour hot water over them. Placing them in a mixture of vinegar and water (60% vinegar and 40% water) is also said to kill the snails immediately.
You can use an old bucket in the garden, for example. Once the snails are dead, you should dispose of them in the residual waste.
2. with plants against snails
While some plants are real treats for snails, they are less fond of bitter, thorny and prickly specimens. It is therefore best to choose perennials that avoid snails – or even repel them completely.
These include herbs such as sage, thyme and rosemary. But some vegetables are also not on the menu, such as onions, beet or celery. Want something more colorful? Perennials such as lavender or columbine are also considered to be slug deterrents.
3. use predators
Snails are popular food for many animals. It can therefore be worth making your garden as wildlife-friendly as possible. You can attract predators such as tits or blackbirds with birdhouses or drinking troughs.
Beneficial insects such as snails or tiger snails are also effective. Similar to hedgehogs, mice and toads, they eat young snails and snail eggs.
If you want to go one step further – and have the space – some gardeners also swear by Indian runner ducks. However, this is a somewhat larger affair, as the farmyard animals must of course be looked after accordingly.
Tips for fewer snails in the garden
Now you know a few ways to combat the slug plague. But of course it’s even better if you can keep slugs away from vegetables and flowers right from the start. Here are a few tips for preventing slugs and snails:
- Erect barriers: Raised beds make it much harder for snails to get to the coveted greenery. Alternatively, you can also erect a snail fence.
- Water correctly: Only water your plants in the morning so that the soil is not so moist in the evening and this makes it more difficult for snails to move around. It is also best to leave dry “corridors” between your plants by only watering selectively.
- Preparing the soilLoosen your beds thoroughly in late fall or early spring or rake them carefully. This will bring snail eggs to the surface, where they will be eaten or die due to the weather.
