2023-06-05 18:51:00
Snails in the garden can wreak havoc. Spread deadly grains? Do not. Because there are many tricks and natural remedies to curb their nightly eating binges.
Every garden lover’s nightmare is usually naked, very hungry and likes to go out with friends at night. Snails, especially those without shells on their backs, can wreak havoc. Hostas will be full of holes in no time. The iberis and ligularia are also consumed in this way.
This mainly happens during mild, humid nights. Then snails like to come and snack in the garden. That drives the gardener, animal lover or not, to despair.
The best way to avoid being the victim of hungry slugs (almost all snails eat dead leaves): make sure the garden isn’t attractive to them. Which can. The slithers do not like all leaves and stems by a long shot.
Choose native plants, outside of the snail’s menu list. They usually do not like columbine, sage, cranesbill, catnip and herbs with a strong smell, such as thyme. Place it in the border or strategically on a corner. The chance that snails prefer to crawl to the neighbors in search of a tasty bite increases.
A hungry group of mates
If they do slither into the garden, remember that a single snail can do little harm. The point is that snails, in dark moist corners or under a pot, can quickly lay many eggs. In a mild winter those eggs – small white balls – can survive. That single snail soon brings a hungry group of mates with it.
Hoeing the garden every spring can prevent nests. Preferably clean up wet, dark corners with leaves and garden waste. Rather spray the garden in the morning than in the evening, because in the late hours snails go looking for something wet and dry. A large slug can reportedly consume half its own body weight in a day.
Those who fear that a clear cut is imminent can make a last round through the garden with a bucket and flashlight before going to sleep. Because, as cleaning expert Diet Groothuis writes in her The green cleaning bookThe most animal-friendly way to get rid of snails is to pick them up and release them at least 100 meters away.
This works best when the snails are together. A jar or roof tile with a piece of fruit such as an orange or a piece of wet cardboard can serve as a snail trap. Pick them up in the morning and put them out further on. That is less gruesome than the well-known beer trap. Snails flock to the yeast scent and drown in it. Such a lethal approach is effective, but animal-unfriendly.
Sometimes nature itself does the fatal cleanup. Birds such as thrushes and blackbirds like to munch on snails. Frogs also like a snail. Hedgehogs eat dozens of them a night. Animals like to come to a green, diverse garden with water. A pond with tall growers around it lures them, nest and hiding boxes also help. You can also use a natural enemy by putting nematodes in the soil. These worms are for sale and fight snails underground.
It is also possible to literally thwart snails
If the gardener wants to fight the snail himself, it is possible to literally thwart the snails. Spreading rough material in front of or around vulnerable plants can be effective. Think of: grit, spruce needles, eggshells, shells, sawdust. They are an obstacle.
Snails don’t want to and can’t get over that with their vulnerable body. What also helps is: sprinkle coffee grounds (with caffeine) or cocoa shells (note: toxic for dogs). The smell repels snails. Also unpleasant for the snail, but also painful for them, is the use of copper rings. If they hit it with their slimy body, they get a shock.
Much worse and an absolute no-go is salt. In it, snails slowly melt away, causing them a terrible death. That is not allowed as a pesticide. Various types of (chemical) granules or powders are legal to kill snails.
Milieu Centraal advises to be cautious and careful with this. Pay attention to quality marks and ‘never buy anything that doesn’t list the ingredients’. Ignore vague claims on the packaging, Milieu Centraal also advises.
Think of ‘eco’, ‘kind to bees’ or 100 percent vegetable’. That all sounds nice and nice. But ‘poison is poison’, it’s as simple as that. Therefore, if a snail infestation had to be dealt with harshly, always be aware that packaging may have to be handed in as small chemical waste.
See poison as the last straw, advise ecologists and garden consultancy companies. Anyone who works creatively does not have to just start killing snails. A sawed-through empty plastic bottle or fine chicken wire can sometimes protect a plant perfectly once morest slimy eaters.
The Green Guide section answers practical questions regarding (more) environmentally conscious living. Read previous episodes here.
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