Snails are fascinating little creatures, but before you keep chucking them over the fence there are a few things you should first know.
Snails are territorial- They will return unless tossed some 20m away from their homes.
Here are 15 ways you can save your Vegetables from Snail Damage:
- Beer Traps
- Coffee Grinds
- Diatomaceous Earth
- Egg Shells
- Salt
- Saw dust
- Copper Stripping
- Upside down pot traps
- Doterra on Guard & White Vinegar spray mix
- Chilli Spray (works on all bugs not just snails)
- Wormwood Tea
- Hand picking
- Chickens
- Ducks
- Escargot
Plants are not so defenceless
Plants may seem like lone rangers in your garden, but did you know that a plants natural defence against snails is actually the release of bunch of chemicals called green volatile compounds, these plant volatiles are designed to protect the plant whenever it senses tissue damage such as that caused by the munching of one of these slimy little suckers. The plant volatiles have been shown to be particularly beneficial to our health and the absorption of minerals, which means the leaves with holes in them are ACTUALLY BETTER FOR YOU.
Beer Traps
Just place some old/cheap/leftover beer into a small bowl or bottle and place around your vegetable garden. The snails will slide on in for a drunken death party… sounds fun right!
This liquid can be returned to the compost bin or dug into soil for a nutritional boost.
Photo courtesy of the Seed Collection
What to do with collected snails:
- Freeze them and reuse as slow release fertilizer (snails go into a coma almost instantly when placed in the freezer, This is the most humane method of “disposing” of your snails.
- Feed to Chickens- You can train your chickens to eat them
- Feed to ducks- Ducks love snails and are not as destructive in vegetable gardens, they make amazing pets!
- Feed to Fish- Yes I used to have Oscars, they loved to eat snails and are great for controlling numbers!
- Drown them & make a tea out of them- Yeah I know this blog is freaking me out too, I know way to many weird ways of ridding snails.
- Squish them- Apart from accidently standing on the poor odd snail I personally couldn’t squish them, but I know this works too….
So don’t be quick to dismiss our house carrying friends, all bugs, grubs and insects have a place in the world!
Happy Gardening!
