Natural Pest Control: Snails and Slugs

Snails and slugs can damage your garden because they feed on both decaying and live material. The large ragged holes they gnaw can completely destroy young seedlings. They are particularly harmful to cabbage, strawberries, and lettuce. The question is how can you get rid of them? Here are some tips using items found around the house:

Chalk -- If you are just trying to protect a small area, you might try using chalk. Slugs won't cross a thick chalk line.

Coca-Cola -- Pour Coca-Cola into jar lids and set them in and around your garden. Both snails and slugs are attracted by the sweet soda, but the acid will destroy them when they slither into the lid.

Beer -- Take a Frisbee or a plant saucer and dig a shallow hole in your garden. Place the saucer inside, leaving about 1/8 of an inch above the ground. Pour beer into the saucer, and place a roof tile or something similar over the saucer to shade it. The alcohol breaks down the body tissue of the snails and slugs, and they won't make it out again. Empty the saucer and refill it with fresh beer every couple of days.

Sandpaper -- cut doughnut-sized collars out of sandpaper and place them around your plants. This will act as a deterrent for snails and slugs because they don't like crawling over abrasive surfaces.

Salt -- Salt kills slugs by reverse osmosis. You don't have to sprinkle it directly on them, but sprinkle trails of the stuff around your garden or on sidewalks near the grass.

Interesting Facts about Snails:

Snails can live anywhere from 2 to 25 years. They are hermaphrodites (both male and female reproductive organs).

The French immigrant Antione Delmas brought the first snails to California for escorgot in the 1850s. The offspring of these snails annually destroys millions of dollars of produce in California.

Source: Gardening Magic

Natural Pest Control: Snails and Slugs

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