Snails

I have been reading on the forums that you can illimitable slugs with the beer in the containers, would this also be effective for snails as well? I was weeding the front garden this morning and was only out there 20 min and I found loads, large and small. We have a few cats in and out the garden so wanted to use something pet friendly. It's such a shame now that the weather is hopefully here for a while now and I don't have a lot to show for it in my garden as everything has been munched away to to stalks

 

The good ol' fashioned way of torchlight after dark is best but let's face it, who's wanted to venture out in the garden recently without fear of being washed down the road along with everything else.

I've never used beer or egg shells or even small horticultural grit as slugs and snails have no trouble with it at all so i can't advise on the beer aspect. I prefer the torchlight method as i feed the slugs to my Carp and Sturgeon who love them. I have to keep them in a container with some foliage to feed on for a few days before feeding the fish though in case they've swallowed the Growing Success organic pellets I put round the more important / valuable plants such as Dahlias and miniature Hostas.

 

Hi Prettypolly - I've been using the beer slug traps for a few weeks now and they do attract snails too, they don't seem as attracted to the traps as slugs but certainly it is a way of catching some of them. I also pick the snails off plants or fences if I see them and send them for a little flight over the back fence into the pathway behind my house! If you're not squeamish about it you can also chuck them into a bucket of boiling water or salted water (or possibly both salted and boiling!). I've not done that one myself, somehow just letting them drown in a boozy haze makes me feel less guilty.

 

Thanks Scorpio, but I'm just of to bed when its getting dark lol as I'm an early riser, and we have no fish either.
Chiaroscuro, yes may try it then as wasn't impressed when I looked out window and my dahlia's had been stripped to the core again, like the idea of lobbing them, but don't like picking them up, bit girly like that but as you said drowning in beer does make it sound a bit better. Thanks to you both

 

As I've heard that snails popped over the garden wall will return within a few days, so I use a course fisherman's catapult (usually used to send maggots etc to the far river / canal bank) to send the divvils into orbit.

Cheers, Tony.

 

tony that is just evil

 

RESULT though,

 

I found one muching an envelope that I had my shed with poppy seeds in it. I wasn't impressed and the snail had an unexpected flying lesson.

 

in my area we have a 'green bin collection' once every two weeks, I deposit slugs/snails/ wood-lice and other garden pests in this bin. Ialways tell them "you will be happier at the recycling centre" (slug/snail heaven)well until composted!

 

Flushed mine down the toilet tonight, into the septic tank.

 

What about the Snails though?

 

Trust you

 

I was listening to a discussion at the weekend regarding using Seaweed as a mulch.
It occured to me that Slugs/Snails would not be too happy with the idea (salt coating).
Anyone near the coast tried this idea yet?

 

I've kept the dahlias I bought this year in pots (all the ones I put in the borders last year got munched). The one pot's very big so I put copper tape around it and so far it's kept them off. The other one I've got in a metal pot stand - see attached - and that's done a great job of keeping them off, I suppose they just can't get enough of a grip on the legs to crawl up. Although one particularly enterprising snail the other night had crawled up the window and was trying to perform an aerial attack.

I know what you mean about picking them up. I quite often put my gloves on to do it, but every now and then the red mist descends and makes me brave enough to grab them with my bare fingers. That's OK as long as the shell doesn't break, which has happened to me a couple of times!

 

Meant to say, I've also bought a tub of Slug buggers, which are pellets made from sheep's wool. Slugs and snails supposedly don't like the feeling of the wool so spreading the pellets around plants is supposed to form a protective barrier.

What I didn't realise when I ordered them - though it does say on the tub - is the pellets are made from the "dirty" parts of the wool, i.e. the bits from around the sheep's bums, so there's a distinct farmyard whiff about them.

Apparently they break down naturally after a while and feed the soil too.