Lindsay – Snails! I really REALLY make every effort to garden organically, but I am having an infestation of snails, and am stumped as to what to do about it.
There are many natural solutions for slugs and snails.
- Sanitation is key! Make sure there is no debris for them to hide. Do not plant next to a compost pile.
- Plant trap crops for them to eat. Marigolds, brassicas, melons, lettuce,strawberries, etc. are great attractants of slugs and snails.
- Plant resistant plant varieties – lavender, rosemary, sage, wormwood, impatiens, poppies, geraniums, etc.
- Barriers – copper strips, Diatomaceous Earth, sand, and wood ashes. Be careful with wood ashes! You could make your soil pH go sky high!
- Traps – stale beer in containers at ground level, melon halves turned upside down, untreated wood boards laid on top of the ground.
- Guinea fowl will eat them. They shouldn’t eat your crops!
- Encourage your Lightning Bugs – their larvae eat slugs and snails!!!
- Iron phosphate baits such as Sluggo® or Escar-Go®
That’s quite an arsenal!
Papa
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