snails: which plants to chase them away?

Discussion in 'Put Your Questions to the Experts!' started by IngeLeonora, May 3, 2015.

  1. IngeLeonora

    IngeLeonora Junior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 5, 2015
    Messages:
    42
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    0
    I live in a fairly wet climate (the Netherlands) and there's a hedge around my garden ... so: there are many snails here. =(
    I started a herb spiral this spring, with also some vegetables in it. But already three cabbage plants and the parsley are all eaten by the snails. What could I plant in that spiral to chase away the snails? Someone said: they don't like garlic. Is that true? And what more?
    Please give official Latin names, I don't know all English names.
     
  2. juhill

    juhill Junior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2006
    Messages:
    85
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    6
    I have a few snails here, to deter them I put coffee grounds around the plants I want to protect seems to work.
     
  3. IngeLeonora

    IngeLeonora Junior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 5, 2015
    Messages:
    42
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Hi Juhill. I heard about that before ... but we don't have coffee grounds. I know about a glass of beer in the ground too, but then I have to buy the beer just for killing snails. That's not what I want.
    I hope there are plants I can put there, which snails don't like to pass along, so they won't reach my precious vegetables.
     
  4. Bryant RedHawk

    Bryant RedHawk Junior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2014
    Messages:
    607
    Likes Received:
    83
    Trophy Points:
    28
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Arkansas Senior Appraiser
    Location:
    Vilonia, Arkansas, deep in the woods
    Climate:
    USDA zone 7b,8a.
    plants that will deter snails are: wormwood, rue, fennel, anise, and rosemary. Plant them as a border with at least three plants depth.

    Here is a list of the other eight methods that are non-toxic and deter slugs.
    All Natural Ways To Control Slugs

    1.Beer: Those pesky slugs hold their alcohol like a 12-year-old girl. Ideal Bite has some clever thoughts on using beer traps for natural slug control…

    2.Egg Shells: Mother Earth News recommends crushing up egg shells and sprinkling them around your plants. Obviously the egg shells will also benefit the soil as they decompose… so they provide double the benefit.

    3.Diatomaceous Earth: Diatomaceous earth is basically the natural fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae. Just as with egg shells, soft-bodied pests (like slugs and snails) will not crawl over it… for the same reason humans won’t walk on broken glass.

    4.Sandpaper: Just as with egg shells and diatomaceous earth, rough sandpaper is too painful for the slugs to cross.

    5.Citrus Rinds: use upside down halves of grapefruit rinds as a slug traps.

    6.Seaweed: Seaweed is not only a good soil amendment for the garden, it’s a natural repellent for slugs. Mulch with seaweed around the base of plants or perimeter of bed. Pile it on 3″ to 4″ thick – when it dries it will shrink to just an inch or so deep. Seaweed is salty and slugs avoid salt. Push the seaweed away from plant stems so it’s not in direct contact. During hot weather, seaweed will dry and become very rough which also deters the slugs.

    7.Organic Baits: using either Sluggo or Escar-Go. Iron phosphate is an organic compound that is found naturally in the soil, and if the bait is not consumed by a slug or snail, the material breaks down into fertilizer for your soil. Iron phosphate is not volatile, and does not readily dissolve in water, which minimizes its dispersal beyond where it is applied.

    8. Companion Planting: I listed those at the top of this post.

    9. Copper tubing or flashing: slugs and snails will not cross a 3" piece of copper, their slime reacts with the copper and it gives them an electric shock. Note, less than 3" width may not work as well since the shock will not be long enough.

    Hope this information helps with your problem. If these snails should be the variety that love grape leaves, you also have the option of making them dinner.
     
  5. IngeLeonora

    IngeLeonora Junior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 5, 2015
    Messages:
    42
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Hi Bryant. That's the answer I was asking for! Now I know I have to put my rosemary at the other side(s) of my garden too, and add fennel and others you mention here. Three rows of them (that's a lot in this tiny garden, but not impossible). I hope this will help me next year. Thank you.
     
  6. Bryant RedHawk

    Bryant RedHawk Junior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2014
    Messages:
    607
    Likes Received:
    83
    Trophy Points:
    28
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Arkansas Senior Appraiser
    Location:
    Vilonia, Arkansas, deep in the woods
    Climate:
    USDA zone 7b,8a.
    You can plant them closer together than the normal recommendation since your main objective is to deter the snails, the plants can also be intermixed to intensify the repulsiveness to the snails and slugs. We have a border with plants that are set 2" apart in every direction, this border is outside the actual garden bed, so we don't loose any of our produce growing space.

    I have tried using copper filings as a topping sprinkle and have found these don't work, only solid copper seems to give off enough electric charge.
     
  7. IngeLeonora

    IngeLeonora Junior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 5, 2015
    Messages:
    42
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    0
    That's exactly what I thought to do: plant them like a miniature hedge, close together and mixed.
     
  8. IngeLeonora

    IngeLeonora Junior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 5, 2015
    Messages:
    42
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Hi. I want to tell you my herb spiral is doing well now. Slug season is over. I bought and planted some herbs slugs/snails do not like: some artichokes, majorana, mint and asperula odorata (sorry, if I don't know the English name I used the official name). In the front you see yellow flowers, that plant was already there before I started the herb spiral, it's a hypericum species. And there is a buckwheat, one of my 'bird seed plants'.
    Here's a photo, made today. [​IMG]
     

    Attached Files:

  9. IngeLeonora

    IngeLeonora Junior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 5, 2015
    Messages:
    42
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    0
    I forgot to mention the lavender, it's on the top position of the spiral. I cut off the flowers :)
     
  10. Bryant RedHawk

    Bryant RedHawk Junior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2014
    Messages:
    607
    Likes Received:
    83
    Trophy Points:
    28
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Arkansas Senior Appraiser
    Location:
    Vilonia, Arkansas, deep in the woods
    Climate:
    USDA zone 7b,8a.
    Lovely garden space that is. Official names are far more accurate than the common names, which can be so many for a single plant that confusion can abound.
     

Share This Page

-->