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Controlling slugs and snails
Snails and slugs attack a wide range of plants, and are the bane of every gardener's life; exercise constant vigilance to prevent them ruining your display
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Slugs and snails feed mainly at night... they eat irregular holes in foliage or graze away the surface tissues. |
SNAILS
The snail most usually found in the garden is the common garden snail Helix aspersa, but banded snails (Cepaea hortensis and C. nemoralis) may also be numerous.
Symptoms
Look out for irregular holes rasped in foliage, stems and flowers. They feed on young, tender plant tissue and, unlike slugs, which must always be close to the soil or moist conditions, snails are able to forage further afield and can climb considerable distances
to find succulent shoots. |
Control
Control snails by using proprietary slug pellets during their active period in spring and summer. These will, however, be ineffective during the winter months. Alternatively use an aluminium sulphate based slug control product in the spring against newly hatched snails. This option is safer for wildlife and pets. Various proprietary traps are also available. During winter control measures are confined to turning over likely hiding places and either leaving the snails exposed to predators, such as thrushes, or removing them for destruction.
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SLUGS
Several species of slugs can be found in gardens, including grey field slug  (Deroceras reticulatus), the large black slug (Arion ater), garden slug (A. hortensis) and keeled slugs (Milax species). They cause damage throughout the year but are particularly troublesome in spring. They can continue feeding whenever the temperature is above 5°C (41°F). Warmer weather, combined with damp conditions, increase their activity.
Symptoms
Slugs can damage a wide range of plants. Irregular holes are eaten in leaves, flowers and stems. The soft growth of seedlings and the emerging shoots of herbaceous plants are especially vulnerable.
Control
Scatter proprietary slug pellets thinly around vulnerable plants or use slug control products containing aluminium sulphate. There are also various proprietary traps available.
Try biological control in the form of a nematode, Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita. This is watered into the soil and enters slugs' bodies where it releases bacteria that cause a fatal disease. The nematodes need moist but well-drained soil and temperatures in the range of 5-20°C (41-68°F), and therefore they are most effective when applied during spring or autumn. The nematodes are available from specialist mail-order suppliers and can be ordered from some garden centres.
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Ingenious methods of control
There is no need to use slug pellets around plants to control slugs and snails as there are various non-chemical ways of combating these pests. For example, plastic bottles with the bottoms removed, like mini bell jar cloches, can be used for covering small vegetables that are prone to slug damage (below left).
Plants in patio containers, such as vulnerable hostas (plantain lilies), can also be attacked by slugs and snails. To stop them making the 'leap' over the edge of a container, place a band of copper around it; neither pest likes contact with this metal Alternatively smear the pot edges with grease, which they also dislike.
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