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Gardening

Snails

(46 Posts)
Anyone7 Mon 28-Jun-21 15:38:31

Any tips for discouraging snails from eating my plants?
Just moving them elsewhere in the garden (which I’ve been doing) is a pointless exercise.
Don’t want to use pesticides.
Thanks in advance.

Jaxjacky Mon 28-Jun-21 15:55:03

Slug pellets, without Metaldehyde, safe for other animals.

MissChateline Mon 28-Jun-21 15:58:00

Do a snail hunt several times a day and throw them as far as possible over your fence into your neighbours veg patch and hope that they prefer it there !

love0c Mon 28-Jun-21 16:01:02

It is so annoying! I have gone out and collected them up before now. Slug pellets work well though.

tanith Mon 28-Jun-21 16:04:29

I Chuck them over the back fence the neighbours don’t use their garden. I think they find their way back again though ? ?

MamaCaz Mon 28-Jun-21 17:30:43

If you want to try a more natural method, after you have used slug pellets, collect the vacant snail shells, crush them, and sprinkle them around the plants that you want to protect!

Ladyleftfieldlover Mon 28-Jun-21 18:21:45

When my son looked after the garden one summer when I was away, he had a snail hunt every night. He threw them over the wall into the road.

Whitewavemark2 Mon 28-Jun-21 18:37:03

Hedgehog

Namsnanny Mon 28-Jun-21 18:45:07

Can I hire yours Whitewavemark2?

Ours went walkabout a few years ago and never came back sad

BlueBelle Mon 28-Jun-21 18:47:02

They are the bane of my gardening life I hate killing things but they just chomp their way through everything I ve tried copper tape and watched them crawl over it this year I put safe pellets down around all my plants and two pots are still shredded to bits it’s so disheartening They never touch weeds ?I do use eggs shells around the plants too but I can’t go through eggs fast enough

Chewbacca Mon 28-Jun-21 19:01:40

Slug pellets on soil or around plants. But I get dozens of slugs and snails slithering en masse, up my garden path and driveway on their way for a midnight feast. So I go out, mid evening, and trickle a line of salt at the bottom of the garden gate and along the path. It's like a pile up the next morning.

Anyone7 Mon 28-Jun-21 20:02:51

Thanks to all who’ve answered.
Will consider slug pellets I think and/or rounding them up snd taking them to the green near our house grin.
Off to do a snail hunt now.
Thanks again all xx

Georgesgran Mon 28-Jun-21 20:05:55

I slug hunt most nights - glass of wine in one hand, salt in the other. It’s never ending though.

Casdon Mon 28-Jun-21 20:11:54

I’ve tried these for the first time this year, they work really well and don’t harm other wildlife or my dog.

grannyrebel7 Mon 28-Jun-21 20:27:10

Mr R does snail hints and dumps them in the park. He swears they find their way back smile

Anyone7 Mon 28-Jun-21 20:59:58

Well we’ve got 30 snails less now grin all 30 safely deposited in the middle of the green, so we’ve all got an equal chance of the blighters sloping into our gardens.
Will go for some other deterrents when I get to the garden ctr.

GrandmaKT Mon 28-Jun-21 21:03:45

Broken egg shells have really worked for me. I did a 'control' experiment with one hosta surrounded by slug pellets and the other with crunched-up egg shells, and the egg-shell one is doing better.
I saved them up during the winter and crushed them with a pestle and mortar (tip, wash them as you use them or else they stink!)

25Avalon Mon 28-Jun-21 21:09:31

A bowl of beer. They get in and die happy!

annodomini Mon 28-Jun-21 21:46:11

Is there any truth in the suggestion I've heard that they don't approach plants surrounded by gravel or bark chippings?

Bluebellwould Mon 28-Jun-21 21:53:54

I have some plants in pots in a catio which is on my side driveway. It is rough concrete covered partly with artificial turf, surrounded on 2 sides by brick walls, and 3 wood panel walls with no gaps under any of it. There is netting over the top and the side gate to stop cats getting out. I have a small removable rotary clothes dryer sitting in the middle not touching the sides of anything. I go out to bring in my washing after leaving it out overnight and there is a big fat blxxxy slug on top of my nice black top, complete with long slimy trail. How the heck did it get there? There is no chance of any plant surviving the little sods is there?

tanith Tue 29-Jun-21 11:13:52

I’ve moved my potted Hosta up onto a wooden seat to stop them being eaten and this morning noticed eaten leaves on investigation I found snails in each pot ggrrrr! How do they even know they are even up there never climb the metal legs? Goodness knows how a slug made that journey * Bluebellwould*

But the snails got me back last night on my snail hunt I managed to step on a wet slab, slipped and twisted my ankle dammit ?

choughdancer Tue 29-Jun-21 11:22:21

I've recently tried using Strulch and so far it seems to help. I use Nemaslug, but the snails aren't affected by this sad. I also use copper tape, so maybe a combination of strategies helps?

H1954 Tue 29-Jun-21 11:25:41

MissChateline

Do a snail hunt several times a day and throw them as far as possible over your fence into your neighbours veg patch and hope that they prefer it there !

I hope no one throws them into my veg patch! ?
None of our front gardens on the cup de sac seem to suffer with snails........discovered why the other night when I came home late from a volunteering event........at least six hedgehogs roaming the gardens and paths! It was a joy to see, just have to be mindful that we don't run over them.

Newatthis Tue 29-Jun-21 11:27:12

Eat them, they are very nice stir fried in garlic butter.

25Avalon Tue 29-Jun-21 11:54:15

I’ve found slugs and snails halfway up a rough cast wall!