Snails are not a joke. They infest virtually every urban and suburban environment, from parks to driveways to street vendors. With more than 80 million in the United States, Snail Week is the largest campaign against snails in history. From March through May, thousands of private and public organizations across the country host events to educate residents on how to keep their yards free of snails and other plants that depend on them.
What is the problem with snails?
The average snail of normal size grows about 60 centimeters and is usually black or brown in color. The more aggressive the snail, the larger its shell. A healthy and maintained grass snail needs an average of about 60 cm of vegetation between the plants it feeds on and the soil it roams in to thrive. After 26 days, the snails leave their hosts with a chance to spawn and then lay their eggshells on nearby plants.
The eggs are not only an attractant for birds and small insects, they are also a tonic for the human body. While the average snail grows about 60 centimeters, many species have large egg cases. A healthy, well-cared-for lawn has between 1.5 and 1.5 meters of vegetation between the plants it feeds on and the soil in which it grows. If a snail is allowed to grow out of control, it can damage or reduce the number of other plants it is used to.
How to prevent snails from infesting your lawn
The best way to prevent snails from infesting your lawn is to pay attention to detail. How often you can water your plants, what type of soil is best for your plants, and what is the best fertility for your lawn.
Keep in mind that your lawn is your most important landscape asset. The longer you keep it, the more you wear it down. Water your lawn thoroughly during the day, especially in the early and mid-summer months when snails are most active.
Consider watering only the 10% of your plants that are in direct sunlight, before they are fully grown. Water with a slow stream or, at the most appropriate time, with a rainwater tank. Keep in mind that your lawn is your most important landscape asset. The longer you keep it, the more you wear it down. Water your lawn thoroughly during the day, especially in the early and mid-summer months when snails are most active.
It is advisable to water with a slow stream or, at the most appropriate time, with a rainwater tank. Water your plants regularly. Do not water trees or bushes first, but last. It’s the snail’s way of telling you it wants to drink.
Remedies to combat snails and slugs
When prevention is not enough or when environmental conditions favor a rapid multiplication of the slug plague population, we have to opt for direct forms of control.
1- Traps
There are various traps, they can be DIY or ready-to-use traps.
Among the most used DIY traps, there is the beer trap, which consists of burying wide-mouth containers and filling them with beer. The beer attracts the snails, which fall into the trap and die. But beware! you have to empty the trap and renew the beer every 2 or 3 days.
2- Manually collect snails and slugs
If the attack of the pest is not so widespread in the orchard, we can manually remove the slugs that we find. One way to facilitate their collection is to place tiles or other elements that serve as shelter. We can give them to chickens and ducks!
3- ECO molluscicides
If the plague is very extensive and control becomes very difficult, use specific and environmentally friendly molluscicides. An excellent alternative are products with iron phosphate, as they are respectful of auxiliary fauna and non-toxic for pets.
Iron phosphate is found naturally in nature and its mode of action is through ingestion, tricking the pest’s digestive system and blocking feeding. It is very effective for all varieties of slugs, even with rain and is certified for use in organic farming.