Slugs are a real problem for hobby gardeners because they love to eat the plants that have been carefully cultivated. To prevent the slugs from wandering into your garden in the first place, you should follow these tips.
Slugs in the garden are often difficult to get rid of and can cause considerable damage to many plants.
In order to effectively drive away the pests, the Agricultural Industry Association (IVA) recommends the following when controlling snails: as much as necessary and as little as possible.
If you only have a small infestation, you can collect the animals by hand or install snail fences and copper tape barriers around certain beds.
If the snail infestation is severe, experts recommend combining different control methods. For example, it is detrimental to the snails if the garden is watered in the morning instead of the evening. The animals need moist soil in the evening to be able to move around.
Nesting opportunities for blackbirds, starlings and magpies also provide protection for snails, as they are among their natural enemies. The same applies to hedgehogs, which find shelter in piles of leaves.
In addition, you should only loosen your beds after the first frosts in order to destroy the snail brood that overwinters in them. You should also always remove weeds and only mulch thinly in summer, for example with dried leaves and straw.
If these measures are not enough to control a snail infestation, you can use molluscicides – also known as snail pellets or snail lenses. These products kill the snails. The IVA refers to studies that show that these products do not harm other animals such as hedgehogs, birds or earthworms.
However, they should only be used in moderation and according to the instructions. Slug pellets should not be piled up and opened packaging should be stored safely away from children and pets.
The original of this article “With a simple trick you can get rid of snails in the garden” comes from chip.de.