Snails and slugs can destroy a garden faster than just about anything, so it’s very important for gardeners to understand their habits in order to control them. Snails and slugs are both mollusks, and very similar to each other; the big difference is that snails have shells. Both move by gliding along a muscle that secretes mucus along the way. That dried mucus is what we call the slime trail.
Snails and slugs shun sunlight, feeding mostly at night and on overcast days. You can recognize slug or snail damage by the irregular holes with smooth margins, especially on seedlings. They will also feed on ripening fruit that’s close to the ground, like strawberries, squash, and tomatoes.
Getting Rid of Snails and Slugs
When they are not feeding, slugs and snails hide under boards, plant debris, ground covers, and branches. Keep your mulch no thicker than three inches deep, and don’t use big wood chips because the pests can hide under them. Eliminating as many of the hiding places as possible is the first step toward keeping the pests out of your garden.
Slugs and snails like moisture. Use drip irrigation instead of overhead sprinklers to eliminate excess water around your plants, making the area less attractive to these garden pests. Water in the morning so plants will be dry by evening when the slugs and snails come out. To increase air circulation and drying, prune lower leaves of garden plants and stake plants like tomatoes instead of letting them trail on the ground.
As much as possible choose plants that slugs and snails don’t favor. Seedlings and succulent plants are particularly susceptible to slug and snail damage. Beans, marigolds, lettuce, hosta, and basil are favorites. However, plants with stiff leaves and fragrant leaves—lavender, mint, and scented geraniums, for example—resist these pests.
Handpicking can be effective if done daily. Drop the slugs and snails into a pail of soapy water and empty the pail onto your compost pile. You can also trap snails by creating hiding places with boards, flowerpots, or inverted melon rinds and collecting them in the early morning. Beer in shallow pans sunken throughout the garden attracts slugs and snails, which drown in the liquid.
Gardeners report varying results with slug and snail baits. Iron phosphate is one of the most effective and least toxic of the commercial baits. Remember to read labels carefully before buying any chemicals to use your garden. Use baits in combination with the methods described above for successful management.
Want to learn more on snails and slugs?
Brown Garden Snail. From Oregon State University, this site focuses on the brown garden snail.
Snail and Slug Control. The University of California’s Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach to slug and snail control.
Slugs in Home Gardens. Good pictures of slug damage from the University of Minnesota Extension.
I live in the Pacific Northwest, where slug problems are terrible. I’m conducting science experiments to figure out what works best for slug control. Unfortunately many of the remedies you read about simply don’t work. You can read my experiments and see photos here: http://amysoddities.blogspot.com/2010/09/slugs.html
@amy
Thanks for the feedback, and for letting us know about your experiments and description of them.
I think readers will be very interested in clicking through and learning about what you’ve done.
I live here too and my small back yard is very shaded, maybe 5 hours at the most of sunlight! I also have a plant mewl dew issue I would love to be rid of!
i have a bad problems with patoe bugs and slugs in my garden .
i would like to know what i can do to prepare the ground for next season . what can i do to the ground now for next year?
I have slugs on my porch and the keep getting in my dogs food bowl. My porch is bout two feet off the ground. Please tell me how to get rid of them.
you should pick them up and take them to nature or take care of them like me.
Some ideas you might try are attracting more birds to your front porch using plants and trees such as cherries or berry plants like raspberries, blackberries, or blueberries. You may also try placing the dog’s watering bowl in the garage if you have one or near the inside entry door and placing a small 25 gallon pond outside for an emergency water source in case the dog stays outside and may drink from the pond till it goes inside. Just some ideas. Good Luck đŸ™‚ Snails are worse after a rain storm.
Snails are worse on rainy days and the days after an immediate rain. Some may be deposited by rain fall. Since birds eat snail shells for calcium, you may want to pick them up from you potted plants or garden and place them in a section of your property that is a little weedy and reserved for wildlife. For example, most wildlife resource websites state that a corner section of your property should be allowed to grow naturally and a little weedy to help wildlife hide such as birds or yard cats. Cats and bird like to hide from larger animals in tall grasses. If you have such a place already in place for nature, you can throw the snails in that area of your property so that they can eat the weeds or be found by hungry birds. The Audubon Society and the Arbor Day foundation have landscaping ideas for property owners. You may want to check those websites for ideas.
I’ve often heard that food grade dolomite, health food stores, are very effective and don’t harm pets. True?
I was told by an elderly man… copper wire around the area of plants works. The conuctivity of the wire and the sharpness cuts the body. But then you might get copper thieves. I have not tried but this guy used for many years with success.
I have tried putting beer in a sunken container in my garden and it attracted many slugs, which drowned, but I am convinced they spread the word that there was a beer party in my yard. It was a couple of years ago and a wet spring/summer and lots and lots of slugs. The cashier at the store was beginning to think I had a drinking problem. But even with the beer, my young plants struggled until the rains finally stopped.