How to Repel Slugs and Snails from your Vegetable Garden
Slugs and snails are some of the most bothersome pests in the vegetable garden. They love the moist, shady areas of well-irrigated vegetable plots, lurking beneath the leaves of plants for their next luscious nocturnal meal. Slugs chew plant leaves and fruits with their rasp-like mouths, leaving behind a slimy trail of mucous. Most slug damage is cosmetic and rarely kills the plant; severe infestations, however, can readily destroy the production of a precious vegetable garden. If your garden is suffering from a scourge of snails and slugs, prepare to apply a variety of tactics to rid the garden of the pests. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Commercial molluscicide
- Shallow plastic or glass pans
- Beer
- Cardboard or newspapers
- Food-grade diatomaceous earth, wood ashes or sand
- Copper foil or tape
- Hammer
- Brad nails
Instructions
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Water the garden in the early morning hours. Slugs are nocturnal and thrive in moist locations. Watering in the early part of the day will allow the plants and topsoil to dry out before nightfall.
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2
Purchase a commercial slug and snail poison. Apply 10 or more pieces of poison per one square yard of the garden. Called a molluscicide, the poison contains iron phosphates and is usually sold in granular or gel form. The poison renders the slugs immobile. They, secrete their mucous and die from dehydration. Lay molluscicide traps or bait only on warm nights when slugs and snails are most active. Sunlight and water inactivate and dilute the effects of molluscicides, so apply regularly.
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3
Lay shallow pans of beer around the succulent, slug-loving plants such as lettuce and spinach. The yeast in beer strongly attracts slugs and snails. They crawl into the liquid and drown. Pick dead slugs from the beer.
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4
Lay squares of cardboard or newspapers outside the vegetable garden bed, to create a shelter trap for slugs. Check the underside of the cardboard and papers for slugs every morning, and discard.
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5
Sprinkle food-grade diatomaceous earth, wood ashes or sand around the plants or around the perimeter of the garden. The sensitive mucous bodies of slugs and snails are sharply abraded by the tiny jagged edges of the materials. Reapply after every rainfall.
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Nail thin sheets of copper foil or copper tape onto wooden boards. Place the wooden boards around the perimeter of the garden. Copper ions repel slugs, causing a chemical reaction that slugs and snails dislike.
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Tips & Warnings
Do not use molluscicides containing metaldehyde. Metaldehyde is not approved for use in vegetable gardens with edible plants.
Dogs may become poisoned by metaldehyde poison. Do not use in gardens frequented by dogs. Iron phosphate is a less toxic alternative to metaldehyde.
Diatomaceous earth destroys other insects, even helpful ones, such as the praying mantis and honeybee. Use with care around the vegetable garden.
Copper foil or tape has sharp edges that may cause injury to children and pets. Use with caution.
References
- Photo Credit Brand X Pictures/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images
