How to Kill Ants in a Snail House

Raising Snails

Snail farming is a specialized and important market in many areas of the world. Raising snails is an alternative way for families to provide the income to support themselves and their communities. According to Ayobi Samuel from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Ghana, a big problem for snail houses is ant infestation. Ants, especially black ants, commonly infiltrate snail houses to feast on the snails. Unfortunately, many commercial poisons that kill ants will also harm snails. An organic garlic and pepper spray is effective in killing and repelling ants, while keeping snails safe and edible.

Things You'll Need

• Rubber or latex gloves
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 12 hot chili peppers or 2 tbsp. of chili powder
• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp. dish soap
• 7 cups of water
• Blender
• Cheese cloth or coffee filter
• Spray bottle

Instructions

1. Put on gloves to protect your hands from possible irritation from the ingredients. Remember to take off and dispose of gloves before touching your face or eyes.

2. Blend garlic cloves, chili peppers, vegetable oil, and dish soap with 3 cups of the water all together in a blender.

3. Strain the mixture through the cheese cloth or coffee filter.

4. Pour the filtered mixture into the spray bottle. Top off the spray bottle with the remaining water.

5. Spray all visible ants in and around the snail house. Saturate the perimeters around the ground of the house even where you don't see ants.

6. Continue to apply the spray at daily intervals. Ants tend to grab eggs and move somewhere else when they are threatened, so keep the snail house area regularly sprayed. Store extra liquid in tightly covered jars for future use. Label the jars with the name of the ingredients.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep snail houses raised to discourage ant infestation.

• Throw out dead snails and old food. Keep the snail house clean at all times.

• Place cucumber peels on ant pathways to temporarily deter them.

• Never eat snails that have been exposed to harmful pesticides.

References

• Rudford Small Grants: Workshop on Snail Farming
• Ministry of Food and Agriculture Mr. Ayobi Samuel: Interview Raising Snails for Food and Profit
• No Dig Vegetable Garden: Organic Pest Control

Resources

• USDA: Raising Snails
• Green Stone Demo: Farming Snails