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Gardening

snail attacks

(61 Posts)
giulia Mon 11-Jun-18 06:40:11

Any ecological suggestions, please, on how to keep snails away from my flowering plants in terracotta pots? NOT beer (I refuse to buy beer just for snails!!!).

NfkDumpling Mon 11-Jun-18 06:53:50

I’ve found the stick on copper tape works. Provided the snails/slugs are not already living in the pot. I’ve got one particular Hosta which the slugs love and its survived in a terracotta pot for several years now with this tape. The slugs got in last year though as the tape wore away and there was a gap. I’m waiting to see if I managed to clean them all out.

OldMeg Mon 11-Jun-18 07:00:09

Wool pellets.

Place around the base of plant and water in. As the wool swells, it forms a protective 'mat' around the stems which contain minute abrasive fibres that slugs don't like – it irritates the slugs foot as well as drawing moisture out of it, so they will stay away.

Added benefits to the soil include improved moisture retention and weed suppression

Works for my delphiniums

gillybob Mon 11-Jun-18 07:02:38

We use the cheapest beer we can find and lay beer traps around the garden giulia It’s the only thing I can find that really works. For pots I agree with Nfk that the copper tape does the trick but you need to carefully inspect the plant first to make sure they are not already in there.

gillybob Mon 11-Jun-18 07:03:50

Off the check out wool pellets . Thank you for the tip OldMeg smile

kittylester Mon 11-Jun-18 07:06:04

I use the tape but also add a layer of gravel to the top of the pot. It has the benefit of looking good, suppressing weeds and helping to retain moisture as well as deterring slugging snails.

Iam64 Mon 11-Jun-18 07:35:26

The wood pellets and layer of gravel tips are new to me, thanks for that.
Copper round the pots helps as well as a concerted attack on the little blighters spring and autumn.

shysal Mon 11-Jun-18 07:37:48

I saw the wool pellets being used on the allotment on Gardeners World and plan to give them a try. Here are some on Ebay.
Wool pellets slug control

NfkDumpling Mon 11-Jun-18 07:56:25

I tried squashed egg shells which was supposed to work. It doesn’t. The slugs like them!

Teetime Mon 11-Jun-18 09:02:50

DH does an evening safari collects them all up and takes to the patch of green across the road.

BlueBelle Mon 11-Jun-18 09:17:04

NfkDumpling it’s useless for me I ve watched the snails crawl all over the copper tape agree about the eggshells they haven’t a care in the world about them
Teetime the snails will come straight back from your green across the road it’s found that they are returners
I haven’t found a way other than killing them which I don’t really want to do

henetha Mon 11-Jun-18 10:10:08

Any alcohol works, not just beer.

Joelsnan Mon 11-Jun-18 10:15:51

just about everything I have planted flowers and veg. (Even scotch bonnet seedlings) eaten by snails. I finally resorted to slug pellets and now literally have dozens of deal snails. I have basically written off this growing season.

NfkDumpling Mon 11-Jun-18 11:21:26

I daren’t put down slug pellets as, judging by the droppings, we still have a visiting hedgehog. That and the thrushes and blackbirds seem to be the best deterants we have.

LiltingLyrics Mon 11-Jun-18 11:29:39

The RHS are currently doing trials at Wisley on whether natural remedies work. Results (probably shredded lettuce leaves) will be available in autumn. www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-44357663

petra Mon 11-Jun-18 19:51:01

I have no problem whatsoever in killing them. It's war angry

lemongrove Mon 11-Jun-18 20:04:54

We only get the odd one or two here, and no slugs at all!
Where we used to live it was a slug paradise, the hated things were everywhere.
Gravel should work as they don’t like the roughness.

PECS Mon 11-Jun-18 20:17:58

I have just watered in nematodes! Not sure if they work yet..they are supposed to live parasitically and kill slugs from the inside

. My veg patch destroyed by slugs & snails this year after my careful nurturing of seedlings in the greenhouse.confused

bikergran Mon 11-Jun-18 21:06:59

I found the copper tape worked a treat,,made sure no gaps.
Apparently its a chemical reaction when the slugs secrete their slime. I tried it with one slug just to see if it crossed the piece of tape before I stuck it round the pot,the snail made a de tour away from the tape.

The wood pellets! I wonder if the ones you can use for cat little trays do the same job...although those do disintegrate fast,so maybe not.

SpringyChicken Mon 11-Jun-18 21:36:38

What about scrounging beer slops from a local pub?

I hate to tell you, PECS but nematodes aren't that effective on snails, just slugs. You'll still need slug pellets for the snails.

Wheniwasyourage Mon 11-Jun-18 21:48:50

I'm trying pistachio nut shells around the plants in pots, and my marigolds have survived longer than last year (ie a week so far). It's such a shame that we have to eat all those pistachios through the year to save enough shells, but we do our best. grin

Have also tried wool pellets with some success, and this winter I kept the slug traps out all the time. You don't have to buy beer (and the cheap cider I used to use is twice the price here now with minimum pricing) as they go for anything left over like fruit juice. If I'm picking up cans and bottles for recycling I quite often get some left-over drinks of various kinds for the slug traps, so that is some reward!

Had a thrush in the garden attacking a snail for the first time today!!

oldgoat Mon 11-Jun-18 22:16:51

We have a thrush in our garden this year, first time for ages, and it's making a great job of killing the snails judging by the number of empty shells.
Chatting about slugs to a customer in the queue at the garden centre, she told me that she had been round her garden collecting slugs and had a bowl full. Not knowing what to do with them she decided to flush them down the loo. A few days later she was horrified to discover them crawling back up the pan.... Sounds like a scene from a horror movie!

BlueBelle Mon 11-Jun-18 22:37:53

Bikergran the coppertape proved useless for me I watched one crawl over it.... I did wonder if it was graded as I only bought from a cheap shop

shysal Tue 12-Jun-18 09:26:50

oldgoat shock

bikergran Tue 12-Jun-18 10:10:08

hmm Bluebell not sure about that..I did pay over the odds for it then it started to appear in other shops a lot cheaper.I seem to rem paying about £6 a roll! {shock]