How to get rid of slugs and snails in the garden and in the country

Probably, there is no such person who, as a child, did not hold a snail on his palm, singing: "Show me the horns, I will give you seeds and crumbs for it ...". Then it never occurred to anyone that this pretty creature could cause significant damage to garden and berry crops. A large population of snails is able to almost completely destroy the leaves in the vineyard or strawberry beds. Slugs (gastropods with reduced shell) eat white cabbage, lettuce, cucumbers and many other garden plants.

Where do snails and slugs appear on the beds

These mollusks are common representatives of our fauna. They live in forests, meadows, gardens and gardens. Under favorable conditions, if there is enough moisture and suitable types of vegetation for feeding, the population of snails and slugs increases greatly.Mollusks are active during the warm season - from spring to autumn cold. Some species (in particular, the snail) can mate twice per season. With the onset of autumn cooling snails and slugs burrow into the ground and hibernate - anabiosis.

The active pests of agricultural crops include large and small grape snails and several types of slugs: Deroceras reticulatum, D. agreste, D. laeve, Parmacella iberia and Limax maximus. The last of these varieties settles not only in the beds, but also in the cellars and basements where it spends the winter, feeding on supplies: potato tubers, carrots and beet roots.

What are dangerous snails and slugs

Land gastropods often become carriers of parasitic worms. In particular, snails are intermediate hosts of trematode band worms that cause dangerous diseases in humans and animals. The body of some types of slugs is covered with poisonous secretions that irritate human skin.

These mollusks are the most dangerous for crops. They damage not only young shoots and leaves of plants, but also fruits.So, slugs gnaw potato tubers, strawberries, cucumbers. The favorite food of land snails and slugs - cabbage leaves and lettuce. In conditions of high humidity (during such periods, snails and slugs are especially active), they can eat plants almost to the ground. Crawling from the bed to the bed, the mollusks spread viral and fungal diseases of garden crops.

How to get rid of slugs and snails

In the arsenal of the fight against harmful mollusks there is a large selection of means - chemical, mechanical and biological. When choosing a suitable method, it is necessary to proceed from the size of the plot, the areas of planting of agricultural crops, and the specific climatic conditions.

Chemicals
Most of the drugs from slugs and snails, which can be found on the shelves of garden stores, contain metaldehyde. This substance damages the cells of the digestive tract, which leads to the death of animals. The drug is especially effective against young individuals. It is recommended for use in dry weather. During rain, the effect of metaldehyde weakens. When using it, remember that it is toxic not only for mollusks,but also for humans and warm-blooded animals. If there are cats, dogs or small children on the plot, then the use of metaldehyde should be discarded.

For safe chemicals include preparations containing iron phosphate. The granules of this substance are scattered on the beds between the rows. Upon contact with the drug, the snails and slugs die from dehydration. In the soil and plants, this substance does not accumulate. It decomposes into safe components - iron and phosphorus compounds. Tangible effects in the fight against slugs give drugs containing copper compounds - Bordeaux liquid, copper sulfate and others.

Chemicals are suitable for processing large areas occupied by monoculture. In suburban areas or small gardens, it is desirable to use biological products or traditional methods of struggle.

Biological agents
Biological methods involve the use of natural enemies slugs and snails. One of the most effective methods are preparations containing microscopic parasitic worms - nematodes. They affect the gastrointestinal tract and other organs of mollusks.The drug is most effective in conditions of high humidity. The nematodes contained in this tool are specialized parasites that do not pose a danger to people, warm-blooded animals, and beneficial insects.

In nature, there are many natural enemies of the land snails and slugs. These are hedgehogs, toads, storks, rooks, blackbirds, moles, shrews, lizards. Many of them can be easily attracted to your site. Hedgehogs should build shelters in which they can hide during the day and in winter. A few heaps of branches left after pruning trees will be an ideal refuge for them. For the birds for the winter, you can make troughs, then in the warm season they will appear on the site and eat garden pests. Toads lead mainly land life, but for reproduction they need a body of water. A small artificial pond, equipped on the site, will attract these useful amphibians.

Mechanical means
The simplest mechanical method is manual pest collection. It is best to go to the “hunt” in the evening, before dusk, when the slugs and snails begin to be active.To increase the efficiency of collecting mollusks will help traps, which used food attractants (substances that attract pests).

It is noticed that slugs like the smell of beer, as well as fruit juices (in particular, apple juice). To prepare the trap will need pieces of cloth. Sacking is best. The cloth is moistened with beer or juice and laid out on the beds before dusk, and early in the morning they collect pests from it.

In humid places, you can lay out the trap cover, where slugs will crawl for a day. These can be pieces of plywood, roofing material or even large, dense leaves of plants (for example, burdocks). They put traps in the evening, and during the day they collect slugs from them.

The lower part of the "legs" of slugs and snails is very tender. Therefore, they are reluctant to move on a heterogeneous prickly substrate. Creating protective strips of pine needles, crushed eggshell, brick chips, gravel will be an effective protection for the beds. Periodically backfilling needs to be refreshed so that it does not form aisles.

How to get rid of snails and slugs folk remedies

The arsenal of popular methods of dealing with harmful mollusks is very wide. Aromatic garden plants are involved here, whose smell frightens snails and slugs, ash, tobacco dust and even food waste.

1. The correct organization of the beds will help fight pest mollusks. Planting cabbage, lettuce and other plants that are attractive to snails and slugs should be interspersed with aromatic herbs. These pests do not like the smell of sage, thyme, calendula, rosemary, garlic. An insurmountable obstacle for slugs will be nettle stalks or horseradish leaves, spread out around the perimeter of the beds. You can also mulch the ground on a bed of crushed wormwood, tansy, mint.
2. Crusts from melon, zucchini or watermelon are very effective as bait traps. Their smell attracts slugs and snails. In the evening, the crusts are laid out between the rows of the beds, and early in the morning they are harvested from pests. Coffee grounds are considered to be an effective means of controlling slugs. Experienced gardeners claim that coffee not only deters pests, but also has a toxic effect on them. Coffee grounds, scattered between the rows, will significantly reduce the number of slugs on the site.
3. No less effective means are infusions of burning plants with a pungent odor.Plants sprayed with an aqueous solution of mustard powder, black pepper or hot pepper become inedible for pests. A similar effect has an infusion of garlic cloves.
4. Planting garden crops can be pollinated with a mixture of finely grated slaked lime and tobacco dust. The smell of tobacco repels pests, and the lime component acts as a contact poison. After contact with the skin of the slug, lime causes dehydration of the integument, which leads to the death of the pest. A similar effect is obtained by pollination of beds with wood ash.
5. In small gardens, you can use beer traps to fight slugs. Cut plastic bottles are buried next to the beds and filled with beer. Slugs, attracted by the smell of this drink, crawl to the traps and drown in them. Gardeners are also advised to lay out cardboard sheets on the paths between the beds. Slugs crawl under them in the morning in search of shelter from the rays of the sun, they are collected and destroyed during the day.

Preventive measures

Preventing the appearance of slugs on the site is much easier than then dealing with them. Prevention begins with the spring treatment of the beds.It is necessary to carefully remove all organic residues that remained after the previous harvest. The rotted stalks and leaves of plants are the ideal food for young slugs.

High-quality weeding of beds throughout the season will also be a good prevention from mollusks pests. Thickets of weeds are the perfect refuge in which slugs can hide from the hot day sun. When watering, avoid overwetting beds and stagnant water. To do this, you need to comply with the rules of irrigation, often loosen the ground between the rows.

When planting vegetable crops on a bed, one should strictly maintain the distance between plants. On thickened beds, ideal conditions are created for the life of slugs. Pests feel great in the shady thickets, which provide them with not only food, but also a secluded refuge in the daytime.

In areas with a high level of groundwater need to carry out reclamation measures that contribute to the drainage of the beds. Drains can be of various designs - from open ditches dug in the lowest place of the garden, to closed drainage systems, during the construction of which special pipes are used.

When choosing methods to combat gastropods, you should remember that they are not only pests, but also part of the local ecosystem. Therefore, it is not necessary to destroy all the slugs and snails on your site. In small country gardens and backyards, it is advisable to use methods of control based on the repelling of mollusks. Dozens of snails or slugs will not cause much harm to the crop.

Video: how to deal with slugs without chemistry