Slugs and Snails
By Bruce Lee Deuley - 7/17/03

If you have planted nice healthy young seedlings only to find they have vanished overnight you have probably been visited by snails or slugs.

Decollate snails are 1 to 1 ½ inches in length and get their name because as they grow the end of their cone shaped shell breaks off (decollates).

These slimy mollusks do not survive well in the sun so usually do their damage at night or on cloudy days. Even though you may not see them, their telltale silvery mucous tracks will be evident upon closer inspection. They even share these trails with others of their own kind in order to save on mucous production-yuck.

During the heat of the day as well as periods of dry, very hot or very cold weather, snails are able to seal themselves inside their shells and can remain dormant for months or even years. Slugs have another strategy, they remain under ground most of the time where they are often feeding on your plant roots or just hanging out and digesting your seedlings or laying eggs to bring you another crop round of plant devastation. You only see about 5% of the population at any one time.

What can be done to stave off or eliminate these hungry unwanted invaders?

First, they must have a moist area in which to survive and multiply so check to see if you are over-watering or for other reasons why the area may be damp, possibly a broken pipe or leaky sprinkler.

An effective trap can be constructed by sinking a shallow container into the soil and filling it with beer. Just empty out the dead snails and replace the beer.

A ring of old copper tubing is also effective. They will not cross it and if they attempt too the chemical reaction caused by their mucous on the copper gives them and unpleasant shock.

Garlic Pepper Tea, sprayed on the plants is a good deterrent. You can make you own (the recipe can be found here) or one is available manufactured by Maestro-Gro.

Fortunately, there is now commercially available bait that is both very effective and very safe. Sluggo is an iron phosphate product that is safe for pets, children and the environment and yet devastating to snail and slug populations.

For those who have serious infestations or just like a truly biological approach there is the Decollate snail. Used by commercial fruit growers for the past 150 years, Decollate snails are carnivorous and consume the eggs as well as the young of other snails and slugs. An added bonus is that they do not feed on live garden plants but do also eat decaying leaf litter, and rotten fruit and vegetables that may have fallen on the ground. You can purchase Decollate snails as eggs or young snails from several outlets found on the internet.

Good Gardening.