How to Kill Snails on Spinach

Identify snail damage by large, irregular holes left in foliage.

Although snails are an easy pest to kill, they can appear in destructive numbers on spinach and many other garden crops. Two reliable methods are hand-picking the pests and spraying a direct poison, such as iron sulfate. Along with mechanical control, you can easily kill off and deter most of the snails in a spinach garden with these methods. For maximum effect, remove and kill snails when they are feeding at nighttime, and then follow up by mulching to prevent later attacks.

Things You'll Need

• Bucket or can
• Dish detergent
• Spoon
• Mulch
• Iron sulfate
• Pressure sprayer

Instructions

Hand-Picking

1. Fill a can or bucket with water, and add 1 to 2 tsp. of dish detergent. Mix the soap and water until the water is somewhat bubbly and the soap is distributed. Approach the spinach garden at dusk or nighttime when snails are most active or on a moist, rainy day.

2. Scoop up each snail with a spoon from off the spinach leaves. Drop them into the soapy water.

3. Maintain control by repeating the process each night or on wet, rainy days. Apply a layer of mulch consisting of sawdust or wood ashes around the plant, or encircle the plant with crushed eggshells to repel snails and to prevent further attack.

Chemical Method

1. Mix 2 tsp. of iron sulfate with 2 qt. of water.

2. Fill a pressure sprayer with the iron sulfate mixture.

3. Spray iron sulfate directly on slugs and snails to kill them instantly. This chemical is safe to use on edible crops and leafy vegetables and is not harmful to human health.

Tips & Warnings

• To draw out more snails and get the most out of your hand-picking, spray your garden with water.

• Some gardeners apply salt using a salt shaker on top of snails to kill them instantly, but this method may result in high levels of salt that are not ideal for some plants.

• Dense groundcovers, weeds, stones and other debris are ideal hiding spots for snails. Eliminate these to prevent snail populations from getting out of hand.

References

• University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management; Snails and Slugs; M. L. Flint, et al.; 2009
• "The Vegetable Gardener's Bible"; Edward Smith; 2009
• MedilinePlus; Ferrous Sulfate (Iron); September 2010