Snails are among the largestEnemies in the vegetable patch. They eat their way through the young shoots of plants, heads of lettuce and can even destroy entire flower beds overnight. But how can you combat these pests? Here you will find the best plants and home remedies that drive away snails and keep them away from flower and vegetable beds.
What helps against snails in the garden?
Although they are rarely seen during the day, the hungry slugs can cause extensive damage under the cover of darkness. Nevertheless, you should try to combat the pests in an environmentally friendly and humane way, since they are, after all, living beings.
So which natural remedies and measures really help against the snail plague in the garden? For example, you can use various plants that keep snails away and plant them around the vegetable beds. There are also some home remedies such as coffee grounds or beer that prove helpful in the fight against voracious enemies. If these don't work, you can also use a few tricks to keep the slugs away from your plants.
To themost effective and natural remediesAgainst snails in the garden include plants and herbs that have a specific smell. The pests also do not like rough-leaved and silver-leaved plants. If you plant such species in the vegetable or flower bed, they will be protected from the pests. So which plants, flowers and herbs repel snails? Below we list the most effective of them.
Rosemary
Since snails don't like plants with a strong taste and intense smell, most herbs are good against the snail plague. An exception is basil, which these animals love to eat. Rosemary, for example, has small thick leaves that are of no interest to the slug, and its specific aroma certainly keeps them at a distance.
Thymian
Planting thyme around your vegetable patch can help you avoid the uninvited guests. Even a single thyme plant in a pot can protect against slugs in raised beds.
Lavender
Who doesn't like the smell of lavender? Obviously the snails. You can therefore protect your vegetable patch from the pests if you plant lavender between affected plants and crops.
Garlic
Garlic has a specific smell that not only scares people away. Snails don't like it either, so you can use the medicinal plant to protect the rest of the vegetable plants in the bed. Garlic is also a good neighbor to strawberries.
Onion
Just like garlic, the strongly aromatic onion in the vegetable patch is not a popular food for slugs. If you plant these next to the lettuce heads, no snails will come to visit.
chives
If you plant chives in the vegetable patch with lettuce or cucumbers, snails will quickly run away. The small animals don't like the scent that this plant spreads.
sage
Herbs like sage prove to be very effective against snails. Pests do not like the spicy taste of the leaves nor the strong aromatic scent, so they tend to avoid this medicinal plant.
Lemon balm
Lemon balm has a wonderful scent that can repel snails. This herbaceous plant grows very quickly and should be trimmed regularly to prevent it from spreading all over the garden.
Nasturtium
Why build ugly snail fences when you can drive the slugs away from the bed with pretty flowers? The nasturtium produces beautiful flowers, but its scent and slightly bitter taste deter snails. A complete win!
Which plants still repel snails?
The plants and herbs mentioned above are some of the most popular species that repel snails. Here you will find a list of other plants that are not normally attacked by garden enemies.
- Camomile
- peppermint
- Monkshood
- thimble
- Do it
- Houseleek
- Fetthenne
- Spurge
- Sterndolde
- Succulents
- Daylilies
- Autumn anemones
And some vegetables such as:
- radish
- fennel
- Parsley
- radish
- Rote Beth
- Saddlery
- Tomatoes
- Endivien
Get rid of snails with home remedies
In the fight against thestubborn snailsYou can also use environmentally friendly home remedies. Although home remedies don't always prove effective, they're worth trying if you want to get rid of snails naturally.
Set beer traps
Did you know that snails love beer? The yeast and alcohol it contains attract unwanted pests, which is why you can use the drink for so-called beer traps. Simply dig a hole near the plants that are attacked by the pests. Bury a cup or other container in this hole so that the top of the container is level with the top of the soil. Pour the beer into it and the slugs will be attracted immediately. When this happens, they fall into the container and drown. Be sure to use a container deep enough so they can't easily crawl back out.
Please note that in many cases the beer traps can also attract snails from the neighboring garden, which can ultimately only increase the problem.
Citrus traps as an alternative
If you don't want to kill the snails, you can set a trap where the animals just accumulate. Then you can release them outdoors. Don't worry - they won't find their way to the garden anymore.
Citrus traps, for example, are a good alternative to the deadly beer traps in the garden. To do this, save your lemon, lime, orange or grapefruit peels to distribute upside down around the vegetable beds before dark. In the morning, you'll likely find that a good portion of your snail population has found its way to these treats. Collect them and move the snails and slugs to a location far from your garden.
Drive away snails with eggshells
Broken eggshells have sharp edges that injure snails and slugs when they try to crawl over them. So if you have some eggshells left over from breakfast, you can break them into small pieces and scatter them around your plants or the edges of your garden beds. The eggshells will eventually decompose and add nutrients to the soil, which is an added benefit. However, this method does not work against some stubborn snail species.
Make your own natural snail repellent spray
You can make a homemade snail repellent by mixing garlic and water in a spray bottle or pouring cold coffee into a spray bottle. Then spray your plants and the area around them to deter slugs. However, do not spray the snails directly with the coffee or you may kill them.
Do coffee grounds help against snails?
He burnedCoffee grounds are an effective mosquito repellentand other insects. But can it help against the unpleasant snails? In principle yes, because coffee grounds are poisonous to snails. For this reason, it is most likely that the animals will avoid a bed where coffee grounds have been spread.
These tricks also help against snails
If the above methods don't work for you, we would like to give you a few tricks on how you can drive away the voracious snails and keep them away from your flowers and vegetable plants.
Promote known snail enemies
Just like snails love to eat your salad, there are also animals for whom snails are a real treat. So if you attract animals like hedgehogs, toads and some birds to your garden, they will take care of the snails. To do this, you should provide several natural shelters such as bird houses, bird baths and piles of garden waste and leaves for hedgehogs.
Place protective rings around affected plants
If you want to drive snails away from a vegetable patch, you can put a barrier around it. Sawdust protective ringsor lime for exampleprove to be very effective in keeping the pests away. To create a protective ring, you can also use the home remedies mentioned above such as eggshells and coffee grounds.
The natural salts that form when copper oxidizes also have a repellent effect. Uncoated copper sheet, tape and mesh are all suitable options for installation around any vulnerable area.
Water the beds properly
Snails like moisture because it helps them move. Therefore, you must always allow the soil around the plants you want to protect to dry before watering. Since snails primarily look for food at night, you should avoid watering in the evening. It is better to water the plants in the morning rather than every day. You should also avoid mulching the beds, as the mulch keeps the soil moist and thus creates a pleasant environment for the pests.
Drive away snails with a snail fence
If you are looking for a practical solution to the problem, you can lay a snail fence around the vegetable patch. Such fences made of metal or plastic can be found in specialist stores. They have a special edge that distracts the snail. However, if the plants have overhanging shoots, the snails can overcome a fence.
Plant marigolds outside the garden
Marigolds are a mainstay in the world of natural pest control methods. They are usually planted near the garden to deter a variety of pests. However, slugs are attracted to marigolds, so you should plant them away from the garden to keep the beds slug-free.
Collect snails
Instead of driving away the snails, you can try collecting the animals and then releasing them away from the garden. Traps like the citrus trap mentioned above are a simple yet effective way to do this. Alternatively, you can place a damp bag with a few lettuce leaves in the middle of the garden in the evening so that the snails collect there. In the morning, throw them over the fence (but not into the neighbor's garden). Simple, fast and environmentally friendly.
