Snails and slugs rank among our most despised garden pests. Management requires a vigilant and integrated approach that includes eliminating moisture and hiding spots, trapping, barriers, and handpicking. Baits can be helpful, but by them selves do not provide adequate control in gardens that contain plenty of shelter, food, and moisture.
What must be done to reduce snails and slugs?
Remove daytime hiding places – ivy, weedy areas, debris, or boards.
Regularly remove snails from areas you cannot eliminate such as low ledges on fences, undersides of decks, and meter boxes.
Place traps in your garden and dispose of trapped snails daily.
Reduce moist surfaces by switching to drip irrigation.
Consider snail-proof plants such as impatiens, geraniums, begonias, lantana, nasturtiums, and many plants with stiff leaves and highly scented foliage like sage, rosemary, and lavender.
There are several ways to manage snails without pesticides, but you must be diligent.
Erect a copper barrier around plants or areas. Use a 4- to 6-inch-wide band of copper, buried an inch below the soil and bent over at the top or attach it around the edge of a raised bed.
Place your garden in the sunniest spot possible. Remove garden objects, adjacent plants or ground cover that may serve as a shady shelter. Reduce moist surfaces.
Build a trap using a 12” x 15” board raised off the ground by 1-inch rummers. As the snails collect under the board, scrape them off and destroy them daily.
What about baits?
Baits will not be very effective unless you also remove shelter, food, and moisture.
Metaldehyde baits are especially poisonous to dogs and birds. We prefer you use iron phosphate.
Iron phosphate baits are safe for use around dogs, children, and wildlife. Please read the label before applying any pesticides.■