Nudibranchs can consume large amounts of fruit and vegetables in the garden overnight. All sorts of home remedies, traps and other pesticides are advertised to combat snails. Some make sense, but some are just myths.
Especially in spring, slugs often destroy newly emerged plants and make it difficult for us to start the new gardening year. Unfortunately, you have to deal with snails in the garden all year round - we show you how to fight snails and get rid of them successfully.
Fighting snails: How do you recognize an infestation?
Snails have a rasping tongue, also called a radula. They use this to grate off food and leave marks on the infested plants. These are located both on the edge of the leaves and in the middle of them. These tracks tend to be rounded but do not have a well-defined shape. Often only the stems remain. A snail can eat up to 200 square centimeters of lettuce leaves per night - that's the equivalent of a whole large lettuce leaf.
Apart from the eaten leaves, you can always discover slime traces from snails in the garden. The little creatures need enough moisture to move forward - they cover a distance of about ten centimeters per minute. The slime trails are usually silvery and easy to spot.
Snail eggs also give an indication of the occurrence and an impending infestation. The moist, shiny, white to yellowish egg packets can be found, for example, in cracks in the ground, in burrows, under planters or under stones. They can lie anywhere that is dark and damp. After about two weeks, the new generation hatches and soon begins eating tasty plants.
Which snails are protected?
The Roman snail (Helix pomatia) is under protection because it is one of the endangered species. Anyone who injures or even kills a protected snail can be sentenced to a high fine. Depending on the statesuch an administrative offense will be punished with a fine of several thousand euros.
In principle, every animal is protected in Germany. A fight may therefore only be carried out if there is a good reason. Slugs, such as field slugs (Deroceras reticulatum) or slugs (Arion spec.), can and should be fought if they feed on our vegetables and make fruit. In ornamental gardens, however, combating them is not permitted. The best way to protect your vegetables is described below.
Remedies against slugs: what really works?
There are some anti-slug remedies available on the market. In addition, numerous tips are distributed. Unfortunately, not all of them are as helpful as expected, and some are even harmful to the environment. There are pesticides against snails, which are also called molluscicides. There is also the possibility of using household remedies and traps to drive away or catch snails. We present the different variants in detail.
Fight snails naturally
Organic slug pellets
Molluscicides that use the active ingredient iron-III-phosphate have received the Öko-Test grade "very good" several times. Iron-III-phosphate slug pellets are also permitted in organic farming. After ingesting this molluscicide, the slugs stop eating, retreat to their hiding place without forming slime and starve to death after a few days.
Our Plantura organic slug pellets contain exactly this active ingredient and are therefore a beneficial alternative to conventional slug pellets. In addition, the iron-III-phosphate is converted into the plant nutrients iron and phosphate over time and does not pollute the soil. Our slug pellets are more rainproof than other means. Even in light rain, it remains effective for up to two weeks. If heavy rain sets in, we recommend applying again after seven days.
How to use slug pellets correctly?
- Application in mild weather
- Early morning or late evening
- Pour area before
- Apply evenly around the plants to be protected
- Important: Do not lay out in heaps, but distribute in small quantities
- Amount applied: 38 grains per square meter
- Maximum 4 applications perAt least 7 days apart
- Application range: From April to September
- No waiting until harvest
- Caution: do not use on snails in the vegetable patch
Snail Traps
Naturally, slugs can be fought with the help of snail traps, for example. The snails can either be caught alive or rendered harmless directly. Lure baits such as moistened rolled oats or wheat bran are only recommended if the snails are collected regularly. Because it constantly attracts new animals into the garden. It is definitely not advisable to use beer as a lure, as the very intense smell only attracts more snails from the area. You can read about what to look out for and how to build such traps yourself in our article on snail traps.
Home remedies for slugs
All sorts of home remedies against snails are advertised online as helpful, but this is often accompanied by fallacies. This includes the spreading of ashes, sawdust, lime or eggshells. Another method takes advantage of the fact that snails do not like to crawl over dry surfaces. Because these would deprive the animals of water. Virgin wool is sold for this purpose, but it only works to a limited extent. Rock dust or bark mulch are not effective against snail infestations, although both are beneficial to the soil. Coffee grounds against snails, however, is a useful method.
Snails can also be driven away with special plants. You can find out what these are in our article on plants that repel snails.
Nematodes against snails
Nematodes are living roundworms, some of which are beneficial in biological plant protection. In the fight against snails, nematodes of the genus Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita can be used. They are placed in water and then poured or sprayed.
The nematodes invade the snails and infect them with a bacterium. This decomposes the snails, which the nematodes feed on and can multiply in large numbers. The snails stop eating after infection and starve to death.
Many harmful slugs are parasitized by Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita , but Roman snails are spared. This nematode genus itself is resistant to some molluscicides.
What must be considered when using nematodes against snails?
- Floor temperature at least 5 °C, preferably 10 to 25 °C
- Do not let the substrate dry out, even 1 to 2 weeks after application
- Application best 3 to 4 days before sowing or replanting
Slug Venom
The majority of the available pesticides against snails are granulated and spread out. They are known as slug pellets. The slugs eat the grains, which almost always contain metaldehyde, and die as a result. This substance is toxic to animals and small children and can contaminate the groundwater if not applied properly. We therefore advise against using such a remedy. A less harmful, alternative slug pellets with iron-III-phosphate, our Plantura organic slug pellets, is described earlier in the article.
Destroy and dispose of slugs
Dead slugs can be added to the compost in small quantities. Larger quantities belong in the residual waste bin. Anyone who collects live snails should of course not throw them into the neighbour's garden. Even disposal in the forest or on water bodies merely shifts the problem. Instead, the animals can be killed quickly by placing them in boiling water or a vinegar solution mixed with 60% vinegar and 40% water. Simply scalding with hot water or sprinkling with s alt, on the other hand, is painful for the animals.
Tip: After consuming our organic slug pellets, the slugs will retreat to their hiding places without any slime formation and will therefore not be lying around dead in the garden.
Can you prevent slugs?
If you take a good look around your garden, you will see that some plants show no signs of snail damage. Because there are a variety of snail-resistant plants that can be planted in the garden. These include perennials and ornamental flowers such as grove violet (Viola riviniana) or cranesbill (Geranium spec.). Certain vegetables, such as garlic (Allium sativum) or lamb's lettuce (Valeriana locusta), are also not attacked by slugs.
Tip: Since these plants are avoided by snails, they can also be used as a deterrentPlant strips along beds to keep snails out of the garden.
Furthermore, the garden should not be watered in the evening. The humid climate would lure the snails out of their hiding places. In addition, you should always prepare the seedbeds in a finely crumbly manner and press down sensitive seeds so that snails cannot reach them so easily.
Nematodes are useful garden helpers that are also used effectively against other pests. Fungus gnats may give you trouble in the soil of houseplants, but not for long after reading our article on fighting fungus gnats.