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Get rid of snails in the garden


How to Get Rid of Snails In Your House and Garden [2022]

While most of us understand that snails are part of the natural world, that doesn’t mean we want to share space with them. After all, snails are slimy, ugly, and destructive enough to harm your lawn and garden.

Fortunately, you don’t have to live with them forever.

Here at Smith’s Pest Management, our team helps get rid of snails and slugs on Bay Area properties each day.

As an experienced provider of pest management services, we understand how to help homeowners keep their properties clean, clear, and snail-free.

In this post, we’ll share our top tips to get rid of snails around your property and reclaim your outdoor space.

Key Takeaways

What Attracts Snails to my House & Yard?

If you have a snail problem, the first step is to figure out what caused it. Like any pest, snails are probably seeking two things when they appear on your property: food and shelter.

Because of their slimy, moist bodies, snails thrive in environments that shelter them from the heat of the sun. They’re active on foggy, overcast, or rainy days,  and will feed on a variety of plants in the yard or garden.

What do Snails Eat?

Snails eat organic matter, including a wide variety of living plants and decaying wood, crops, and plant leaves. Snails will also eat crops and  flowers, and are particularly fond of the following:

The brown garden snail (the most common snail to invade homes and gardens in California) will also eat succulents, turfgrass, and herbs.

What Damage Can Snails Cause?

For a small creature, snails can pack a big punch. Snails have a rough,  rasp-like tongue, which they scrape across the edges of plant leaves. The result is large holes and chips across the surface area of the plant, which can damage or even kill your greenery.

But that’s not all they do.

Here are a few reasons to get rid of snails as soon as you see them:

7 Ways to Get Rid of Snails in Your Garden

Getting rid of snails in flower beds can be tough. After all, the garden combines all the things snails love most: moisture, shelter, and food sources.

Fortunately, it is possible to get rid of slimy pest snails naturally and organically.

Here are a few tactics we recommend:

1. Use Bait

If you have a can of beer in your refrigerator, you’ve already got an effective form of snail bait. A time-tested home remedy, beer contains yeast, which attracts snails.

For best results, fill a shallow bowl or wide-mouthed jar about halfway with beer. Place it anywhere you’ve noticed snail activity, burying the bowl slightly in the dirt to make it easier for snails to access.

When the snails come out to feed, they’ll smell the beer, crawl in, and drown. You can then toss the dead snails out. Other substances like grape juice and store-bought iron phosphate will work equally well as bait.

Pros: Effective, affordable, non-toxic, safe for households with kids and pets

Cons: You’ll have to set bait again and again to reduce your snail population

Note: Dry baits like methiocarb and metaldehyde are also available, but are not safe for kids or pets, and can kill domestic animals and wildlife. 

2. Use Traps

“How do I stop snails eating my plants?”

If you’re asking this, traps could be a great option. If you have snails in your lawn or garden and would prefer not to use bait, traps are a safe alternative. You can use an inexpensive homemade trap (like inverted grapefruit halves or melon or orange rinds scattered throughout your garden) or store-bought snail traps.

Regardless of which method you choose, traps work by emitting a scent that attracts snails, and then trapping and killing them when they arrive.

Pros: Inexpensive, easy to set, effective, a good fit for households who want to avoid poison or store-bought bait

Cons: Requires you to dispose of the trap and dead snails, traps need to be reset regularly, and may take weeks or months to fully kill a snail population. 

3. Use Barriers and Repellents

Barriers and repellents can be an effective method for getting rid of snails without killing them. Here are a few options for each:

Pros: Barriers and repellents are effective, affordable, and easy to deploy

Cons: You need to re-apply barriers, especially homemade barriers like DE, eggshells, and coffee grounds, regularly for them to be effective

4. Introduce Predators

Chicken, geese, and ducks are natural predators of snails and slugs, as are turkeys, frogs, beetles, nematodes, and birds. Introducing any of these animals into your yard is an effective way to control snail populations without using poisons and traps.

Pros: Effective, eco-friendly, safe for a household with kids and pets

Cons: Requires the introduction of another animal, may be difficult to manage in some households

5. Plant Snail-Resistant Plants

Some plants are less attractive to snails than others. The following varieties resist snails, slugs, and other gastropods:

These plants are beautiful and can be an effective barrier to keep snails out of your garden.

Pros: Affordable, non-toxic, eco-friendly, safe for households with kids and pets

Cons: Does not kill snails, is most effective when used in conjunction with other methods

6.

Kill Snails With Salt, Chemicals, or Pesticides

If you want to kill snails, you can do so with salt. Salt, for example, absorbs water from mollusks, which dehydrates and kills them. Sprinkle the salt directly onto the snails or use a thick layer of it to create a barrier. Be aware, though, that salt can harm plants and other animals.

Garlic, iron phosphate, bleach, and store-bought snail control solutions will also kill snails.

Pros: Effective, affordable

Cons: Most effective when used in conjunction with other solutions

7. Adjust Your Watering Schedule

One excellent way to get rid of snails is to simply change the way you water your garden. Instead of watering it in the evening, start watering your plants in the morning. As long as your plants are still getting adequate water, the change in schedule should not affect their health. Watering in the evening will make your garden drier at night, which will make it less attractive for snails who come out to feed in the dark.

Pros: Effective, easy to do, affordable

Cons: Most effective when used in conjunction with other methods

How to Get Rid of Snails in the House

Snails in your garden are one thing – snails in your house, though, are entirely another. Nobody wants to spot a snail on a wall or floorboard or – worse yet – step on one in the middle of the night.

Here are a few ways to get rid of snails in the house:

1. Seal all Gaps

The first step to stopping snails is identifying their access points. Use a flashlight to spot dried slime trails and trace them back to entry points. Seal all gaps around windows, doors, and foundations, and replace weather stripping on doors. Use caulk or silicone sealant for small cracks and expanding foam for larger cracks.

Pros: Effective, affordable, safe for kids and pets

Cons: Does not get rid of snails already in your home

2.

Use Bait

For best results, fill a shallow bowl with beer and place it anywhere you’ve noticed snail activity, such as underneath a refrigerator or behind potted plants.  If you have kids or pets, make sure to place the bait someplace they can’t reach or spill it. Check the bait trap frequently, and refresh with fresh bait if needed.

Pros: Effective, affordable, non-toxic, safe for households with kids and pets

Cons: You’ll have to set bait again and again to reduce your snail population

How do Pest Control Specialists Get Rid of Snails?

Getting rid of snails typically requires a multi-faceted approach. When you work with Smith’s Pest Management, here’s the method our team will use to get rid of snails:

1. Inspection

To completely resolve your snail infestation, we start with a comprehensive inspection. We’ll look for access points where the snails are entering your home, food sources they may be feasting on, and any other problem areas that need attention.

This crucial step allows us to identify the species and type of snail, while also getting a sense of how extensive the snail infestation is.

2. Treatment

Based on the information we gather during our inspection, we’ll develop a targeted treatment plan for your home. We’ll utilize a variety of methods and control measures to get rid of snails, including:

3. Follow-Up

To make sure we’ve completely resolved your snail infestation, we provide regular follow-up appointments. We’ll check our treatment methods to make sure they’re still working, and make any adjustments needed.

How to Keep Snails Away

Here are a few ways to keep the slimy invaders away from your home and garden:

While these tactics won’t get rid of the snails they already have, they’re effective ways to reduce future snail predation and damage to your property.

Are Snails or Slugs Taking Over Your San Francisco Bay Area Garden? We’re Here to Help!

Here at Smith’s Pest Management, we help residential and commercial properties in Northern California from Marin to Monterey get rid of snails on their property.

Contact us today to schedule your pest removal appointment and finally get rid of the snails on your property once and for all.

How To Control Snails Naturally In The Garden

Home › Problems › Garden Pests › Insects

Insects

By: Heather Rhoades

Image by AlexRaths

Garden snails are kissing cousins to the nefarious slug that also terrorizes gardens. The common garden snail will chew through the tender leaves of plants, which at best, looks unsightly, and at worst, will kill the plant. If these little buggers have had you asking yourself, “How to control garden snails?” then you are at the right place. We will be looking at effective snail repellents and organic snail control.

What is the Common Garden Snail?

Chances are, if you have snails in your garden, they’re the common garden snail, also called the brown garden snail. The scientific name is Helix aspersa. The common garden snail can be identified by its brown rounded shell and grey body.

How to Control Garden Snails

Here are the most common methods for getting rid of snails in the garden:

Introduce predators  – One effective organic snail control is to introduce or encourage predators. Make your garden friendly to small snakes, like the garter snake. These snakes enjoy eating garden snails as well as other common garden pests. You can also introduce decollate snails to your garden. Decollate snails will not harm your plants but will eat the common garden snail.

Lay down grit  – Many gritty substances make effective snail repellents. Gritty substances will cut the body of the snail, which will lead to it being injured. Crushed eggshells, sand or diatomaceous earth sprinkled around plants that the garden snails seem to prefer will deter and eventually kill these pests.

Set out traps  – A common snail trap is the beer pan. Simply fill a shallow pan with beer and leave it out overnight. The snails will be attracted to the beer and will drown in it. The beer will need to replaced every few days to remain effective.

Make Hiding Spots – Another trap is to find a flat object than can provide a dark, cool, moist location. Snails love dark, cool, moist areas. You can use a board, a piece of carpet, or thick cloth to create this environment. Water an area, then lay the object down over the damp area. Return in a few days and pick up the object. You can harvest and destroy the hiding snails.

Create Barriers  – Among effective snail repellents is barriers. This organic snail control means putting something in the path of the snails that they do not like. Copper wire, Vaseline, even just mesh curved outwards will help repel garden snails from your plants.

Now that you know more about how to control garden snails in your garden with these effective snail repellents and organic snail control, you can make sure that those slimy little buggers never bother your plants again.

This article was last updated on

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

The appearance of snails and slugs in the garden can be a serious problem for every gardener. These pests multiply rapidly and can destroy almost the entire crop. Therefore, it will be useful to know not only simple, but also really effective methods of dealing with snails and slugs with folk remedies.

Dmitry Mayorov

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Here are some effective ways to get rid of snails and slugs in the garden.

Contents of the article

Obstruction

A mechanical obstacle works well against snails and slugs. For this method, crushed egg shells or shells, sawdust, fine gravel, sand are suitable - these materials are unpleasant for pests with their porous surface. They can be scattered between rows. But it must be remembered that the rainy season reduces the effectiveness of this method.

Hand picking

The method of picking snails and slugs by hand cannot be completely ruled out, it is only advisable to wear gloves. It is carried out periodically in the evening or after the end of the rain, and then the collected pests are taken as far as possible from the garden.

Distraction

Scattering plant leaves around plantings, as well as old foliage, can serve as a distraction for snails and slugs, keeping them at a distance from seedlings. They switch to the destruction of waste, and will not touch the growing vegetables. An important point of this method is the regular replacement of drying waste with fresh leaves and the collection of pests.

Lime or ash

Slaked lime or ash can serve as an additional barrier to snails and slugs. Scattering them on the soil surface can create an alkaline environment that molluscs do not like. Ash is also recommended to sprinkle the leaves of plants. Processing is carried out in the evening.

Natural Defenders

By bringing birds, hedgehogs, frogs, and other beneficial environmental representatives to your home garden, you can regulate the number of snails and slugs. To attract toads, you need a small pond, and for hedgehogs - food. Their permanent residence on the site will require winter shelter. Being enemies of gastropods, they will easily become reliable defenders of the garden.

Traps

The special purpose trap is a long-standing and effective method of protecting your garden from snails and slugs. It is a bowl or other container dug in so that its top is level with the ground. The bowl is filled with a liquid that attracts the attention of pests. It can be beer, apple juice, water with sugar. To protect against debris and rain, the trap is covered with an umbrella-shaped cover. The bait is checked and replaced daily in the morning.

Another type of trap. Knowing about the need of snails and slugs to find places during the day where the atmosphere is dark, humid and cool, you can spread rags, burdock leaves, old bags pre-soaked with beer, a mixture of honey and yeast or sweet sugar syrup between the beds. It will be enough to regularly inspect these places and carry out manual collection of snails and slugs that hide there from sunlight.

Herbal infusions

It has long been noticed that mollusks dislike garlic, wormwood, hot pepper, as well as lavender, rosemary and other aromatic plants. Prepare infusions in a ratio of 1:5 (500 g of plant per 5 liters of liquid) and spray garden crops after each rain.

Water hazard

Snails and slugs cannot swim. An artificially created water barrier made of gutters around prefabricated or ordinary beds will become an insurmountable barrier to pests. They either do not dare to climb into the water, or get stuck in it.

Salt

Take coarse salt and sprinkle it along garden paths and compost heaps. It is detrimental to pests, as it literally corrodes the bodies of snails and slugs.

Use salt carefully and not too often, as there is a risk of severe soil salinization.

Ammonia

Dilute 1:6 with water. With the resulting solution, using a spray bottle, treat all plants that have been affected by pests.

The product has a weak concentration, so it does not burn the leaves, but the pungent smell repels molluscs.

Soda

Sprinkle slugs and snails with plain baking soda. Use a solution for spraying plants - take 100 g of soda and 25 g of soap for 10 liters.

Vinegar

Treat plantings with a solution of vinegar - 50 ml of vinegar 9% per 10 liters of water. This will scare snails and slugs away from garden plants.

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8 ways to get rid of snails in the garden. It's time to act!

Seemingly harmless and beloved by children, snails are, in fact, one of the most dangerous enemies of your garden. In addition to eating the leaves of cultivated plants, these mollusks are intermediate "hosts" of nematode worms, which they spread throughout the summer cottage. That is why the fight against snails cannot be postponed “for later”.

Snail on a horseradish leaf

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Fighting slugs in the garden

Who eats snails in nature

You can find out about the presence of snails on your site by the traces they leave behind feces, mucus and holes in the leaves. If you find something like this or notice snails directly, then it's time to start the fight:

  1. Collect these mollusks by hand (remember to wash your hands thoroughly after this procedure). Most snails are more likely to be found in cool, damp areas of the garden. You can soak cloths in a fermented drink or fruit juice and lay them out right on your garden paths. Inspection of traps and collection of snails is carried out in the morning or in the evening.
  2. Natural enemies of snails are jays, thrushes, starlings, frogs, hedgehogs. Try to attract them to your site. To do this, you can equip a small pond or make a birdhouse. Hedgehogs can be attracted to dog food. Both hedgehogs and toads should prepare reliable shelters for wintering.
  3. Plant mustard, thyme, laurel, rosemary, sage, parsley, or garlic near crops that are constantly attacked by snails. Regularly spray vulnerable plants with tinctures of mustard, coffee, tobacco or hot pepper.
  4. Often snails start not in the beds, but in the compost heap. In this case, use coarse salt. Sprinkle it in the evening in dry weather, when many snails crawl up. Do not use this method on flower beds and garden beds.
  5. Scatter crushed egg shells around plants to be protected. This obstacle will become impregnable for snails.
  6. Superphosphate and lime can be used to control snails. Pour these substances in strips along important ridges. Once on such a strip, the slug will not be able to move, since all the mucus from the lower surface of its body will absorb the above drugs.

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