Everything You Need To Know About Getting Rid Of Snails And Slugs

Snails and slugs are a menace. Beware if you live in a moisture laden area of the country as they love the dampness. Even in relatively dry areas snails and slugs can be found early in the morning.

Your vegetables and flowers can be beautiful and healthy but let the snails discover them and suddenly your garden is full of sad plants with holes in their leaves. Those little fat crawlers come out when you least expect them. Snails will follow the slimy trails they find that have been left by other snails.

Searching for the snails is frustrating. They have silently returned to their homes to make baby slugs. To make matters worse, this happens over and over again. The nasty creasures hatch in two to three weeks and start munching immediately! In six weeks the babies will be full grown and making their own off-spring – many thousands more.

Look for their eggs – they look like tiny clusters of whitish jelly-filled BB-sized balls. Quick! Shake salt on them as fast as you can. They will be destroyed before they hatch.

Each year, snails and slugs grow. . .and grow . . .and grow. Zap them as quickly as you can or they will continue to eat the leaves of your precious plants while they continue to grow larger.

Gardening in a backyard greenhouse can be a deterrent to snails and slugs. If you’re thinking of buying a polycarbonate greenhouse you will fine fewer instances of the ugly creatures.

Fat and bold, if they can creep in when your back is turned, they will make babies inside.That slimy trail is a beacon for you to follow! Look under leaves, under pots, anywhere moisture collects.

After finding them, you can go on a search and destroy mission.

Oat bran does not do well in their digestive tract and will kill them when they eat it.

Cracked eggshells will cut the snails as they slime their way across the sharp edges.

A bowl full of beer will drown them.

There are many fragrant herbs that are a deterrent to snails. Grow herbs in abundance inside your greenhouse and the snails will make a fast exit. Lavender, lemon balm, mint, rosemary and thyme will all help deter the snails.

Be vigilant and you won’t have to ever use commercial herbicides. In the confines of a greenhouse, herbs will usually do the trick. Serious infestations though, call for drastic measures. Although any one of the above solutions will usually suffice, sometimes you need to use multiple. Chemical herbicides will never be necesssary.

If all else fails, buy a garden greenhouse and perhaps buy a duck or two. You might even add a couple of toads.