Intruders: 5 tips against snail plague in the garden

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Hobby gardeners go to great lengths to take care of their gardens, and instead of reaping the fruits of their labor, they find snails eating basil, cabbage, lettuce or strawberries.

Insatiable snails also show no mercy and can be a nuisance when it comes to flowers like delphiniums or asters. It is not surprising that disgruntled gardeners often radically attack unloved guests in the garden. For this reason, slug pellets, which are deadly to snails, are often used. There have been biodegradable cereals based on iron phosphate for at least a few years now.

However, there are only a few harmful species of snails in the garden, such as the field slug. It is the most common type of snail. All snails, among others, are harmless. It is therefore questionable whether this lethal measure is necessary and reasonable.

5 preventive measures

“There are other less brutal ways to limit the snail problem,” explains Othmar Ziswiler, Jardin Suisse’s head of retail and consumer division, in an interview with Blick. As a preventive measure, it is important to complicate the living conditions of snails in the garden. Ziswiler has five effective suggestions against snail plague in gardens.

1. build a snail fence
   Having a bed surrounded by a snail fence isn’t cheap, but it’s very effective. These tin fences with edges dangling from specialty stores are insurmountable barriers for snails.
2. morning watering
   It makes sense to water the garden in the morning, so only in the root zone of individual plants, not the entire bed. The less moist the soil, the more likely the night snails will stay away.
3. Attract and collect snails
   For example, if a rhubarb leaf is laid in the garden overnight, a large number of snails will gather in this sheltered and damp place, which can be collected in the morning. The snails can then be released back to the edge of the forest or another shaded spot. Good to Know: Since snails travel about 25 meters in one night, the place where they are released should be accordingly far away. Throw the snails into the neighbor’s garden neither beautiful nor purposeful.
4. Sprinkle with coffee grounds
   Snails do not like coffee. Slugs will avoid this area if a ring of coffee grounds is sprinkled on the beds or individual plants. Beds bordering on lavender can also help. This can also deter snails. The lawn around the garden should be cut deeply. So they can crawl less well.
5. Encourage natural enemies
   If hedgehogs or birds feel comfortable in the garden, snails have natural enemies and you are garden snail eaters. There are hedgehog houses in the garden center to encourage the hedgehog population. Anyone who allows hedgehogs to hide in a pile of leaves and twigs, under hedges or shrubs in the garden may soon have a natural ally that will reduce their snail problem.

Fewer snails due to hot summer

“With all these measures, it will not be possible to completely ban snails from the garden. But the snail population can be greatly reduced,” says Ziswiler. Finally, the expert has good news: “Due to the hot summer last year, there may be fewer snails in the gardens this year because they did not multiply as much.”

In this way, more flowers, berries and vegetables in the garden can be protected from voracious snails.

Blick Garden Calendar

Source : Blick