(This is got to be the most complete and informative message on Dealing with Slugs and Snails, compiled in one place, that I have every come across. It’s from a new garden information source that I am now acquiring in installments. Will tell you about it later in another Forum Posting.)
Use organic and chemical controls to reduce slug and snail populations in order to protect your garden plants.
HOW TO CONTROL –
There are both chemical and organic ways of coping with snail and slug populations. While chemical solutions are fast and reliable, some can pose a threat to pets and children so select one that is iron or copper based. These are safer. Lay traps to attract these pests; try upturned, scooped out grapefruit halves or damp newspapers. Check regularly and kill snails and slugs in a bucket of very soapy water.
Ducks are an effective and natural way of keeping slugs and snails under control. Khaki Campbell and Indian Runner ducks are the best snail and slug controllers on two legs!
Place a shallow saucer of beer in the garden at night this will attract snails and slugs and cause them to drown. Renew each evening.
Use commercially produced organic snail repellent around susceptible plants. It has a gritty texture, as do crushed eggshells – hard to slither over.
Sawdust or wood shavings are cheap and organic. Sprinkle around tender plants and renew regularly.
Straw or hay not only keeps weeds down, but slugs and snails will not slither over it, making it a chemical-free deterrent.
There are various chemical-based pellets, powders and liquids that attract snails and slugs, and kill them very rapidly. Newer products based on iron or copper are safer for children and pets. Older generation products can pose a risk to pets and children, as well as to native birds which may eat the dying mollusks.
Never leave snail baits out in piles or in trays or they can attract pets or children. Scatter them thinly throughout the beds of garden plants. Use a few pellets at a time, spread very thinly, out of sight beneath foliage, and then renew them once a week, rather than distributing large quantities at once.
Identify which plants are most at risk, and only use pellets around them and not in other parts of the garden.
Snails and Slug Favorites:
Beets – Check behind leaves daily; sprinkle sawdust around the base of the plants.
Tomatoes – Snails will climb the stems and eat the fruit, create a barrier around each plant.
Cabbage – Take care when the heads are forming as slugs get in between the leaves; remove by hand.
Lettuce – Protect young seedlings, as they are particularly susceptible; use saucers of beer at night.
Annual Seedlings – Most young seedlings are attractive to snails and slugs; check daily for signs of infestations.
Hellebores – The foliage of these perennials can be stripped by slugs; protect with a mulch of lucerne(?) hay.
Petunias – These fast growers have succulent foliage than can be eaten rapidly; surround with barrier of sawdust.
Lupins – Snails and slugs feast on both foliage and flowers; remove manually or use barriers.
