Home » Home & Garden » Getting Rid of Slugs and Snails

Getting Rid of Slugs and Snails

 Handpicking slugs and snails is an effective natural control, but it must be done early in the morning. As the sun rises, the pests retreat into holes under cool debris, and can be impossible to find. When handpicked, they can be dropped into a bucket of brine or salt. Saucers of beer are also very effective traps; while copper strips cause a slight electrical charge, which deters slugs and snails from crossing the strips. Copper wire from a hobby supply shop is less expensive than the strips sold at gardening centers, and performs just as well. You must be careful to keep the copper barriers away from plant stems.

Diatomaceous earth (diatomite), available at farm supply centers and garden stores, is a natural powder made from the disintegrated shells of one-celled aquatic organisms called diatoms. Snails and slugs cannot cross the microscopically sharp edges of this material. Sprinkling thin lines of diatomite around plants and beds protects plants, but it needs to be replaced as the lines get washed away.