How do you get rid of snails in your garden?

[Phoenix]

So we''ve been living in our new home for abt 5 months now. We have a fairly sizeable garden (for Singapore standards

) and we''ve been growing all kinds of herbs which we absolutely love. There is nothing better than freshly picked, organically grown herbs straight out of yr own garden. We have a fairly large variety, like mint, Thai basil, laksa leaves, some other herbs that I don''t know the English names of, limes and chilies. (We''re hoping to grow some other trees at some point in the future, like tomatoes, bananas, mangos etc.

).

However, we have these horrible snails that keep eating our young leaves

. They seem to really like basil (the sweet kind, not thai basil - the latter seems to be fine) and coriander (cilantro). No matter how hard we try and hand pick the snails out one-by-one, we just cannot grow basil and coriander

.

Does anyone have any suggestion as to how best to deal with these little horrible pests? We don''t want to use any insecticide/ pesticide on the herbs. We''d rather deal with them in an environtal/ organic manner. Also, should we kill the snails?

Thanks.

 

[decodelighted]

Put on your Choos and get to stompin''!

Can you tell I have a black thumb?

 

[Phoenix]

Date: 5/17/2007 11:48:07 PM
Author: decodelighted
Put on your Choos and get to stompin''!

Can you tell I have a black thumb?

He he!! You''re too cute!!

 

[decodelighted]

We recently had to hire pest control folks to come help us solve an ant problem ... they actually sprinked THYME in our yard to get rid of them. Sounds like your little friends are ATTRACTED to herbs so I''m even more stumped. Time to call in the Pros?

 

[Phoenix]

Date: 5/17/2007 11:53:32 PM
Author: decodelighted

We recently had to hire pest control folks to come help us solve an ant problem ... they actually sprinked THYME in our yard to get rid of them. Sounds like your little friends are ATTRACTED to herbs so I''m even more stumped. Time to call in the Pros?

That''s really interesting, Decode. Thyme!! I''d never have thought of that. Was it dried or fresh thyme, or does it not matter? Unfortunately, the pest control folks here would come down very heavy-handed. Environtal ways of tackling pests are not a way of life for them. For sure, they''d use some toxic chemical. I will definitely try the thyme solution first and see how that goes. They may eat the thyme or it may scare them off, hopefully the latter. We''ll see, it''s definitely worth trying. Thanks!

 

[oshinbreez]

I used to pour salt on them. But I found this that might be a better alternative.

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 5/17/2007 11:48:07 PM
Author: decodelighted
Put on your Choos and get to stompin''!

Can you tell I have a black thumb?

LOL, me too, can''t keep anything alive!!! Good luck on the snails lien. Let us know what works...

 

[Phoenix]

Date: 5/18/2007 12:03:03 AM
Author: oshinbreez
I used to pour salt on them. But I found this that might be a better alternative.

Wow! Thanks, Oshinbreez. That''s very helpful. The beer thing makes me laugh, esp. as beer is so expensive in S''pore. I can see both hubby and I fighting with the snails to drink the beer

! I will definitely try some of these suggestions and see what works. The only thing is I''m a bit squeamish when it comes to actually killing the snails!

Hey, maybe I should also try to grow some of the herbs that snails hate, like parsley or thyme in the same pot as the sweet basil and coriander. That might keep them out too.

Thanks again.

 

[Phoenix]

Date: 5/18/2007 12:19:01 AM
Author: Kaleigh

Date: 5/17/2007 11:48:07 PM
Author: decodelighted
Put on your Choos and get to stompin''!

Can you tell I have a black thumb?

LOL, me too, can''t keep anything alive!!! Good luck on the snails lien. Let us know what works...

Thanks, Lisa. I will.

 

[Mara]

you can probably google organic ways to get snails...i wouldn''t be surprised if certain herbs repel them as sometimes other bugs and stuff don''t like certain herbs as well.

we had a bunch of snails this spring, i used something called Sluggo that my local nursery recommended. we don''t do organic in the garden but i did need something safe for portia in case she decided to eat something she found...this said it was safe for pets.

 

[surfgirl]

Well, as a kid, we had a garden with alot of slugs and snails and we would dig holes in the ground at intervals, and put cans of beer into the ground so the top is at ground level. You take a can opener and take off the entire top of the can, then pop them into the holes. Apparently snails/slugs are attracted to the beer and they drown in it. I know, not a happy Disney ending but still, it worked.

What I do now is just sprinkle snail bait in my garden beds because we currently dont have any pets and we dont have kids. This method also works but you have snail refuse to clean up periodically.

But...I have read numerous accounts that snails/slugs loathe anything made from copper because it emits an electrical current that either repels or kills them on contact. So I''ve also been told by my local gardening experts that if I have potted plants I want to keep snails out of I can simply use a copper pot bottom tray (like a water tray). Alternatively they do sell copper garden trim. It comes in long rolls and its usually about 4-6 inches in width and very thin. You cut pieces as long as your garden and push it into the edging of the garden, sticking out an inch or so, and it keeps the snails at bay. I haven''t used that one though.

 

[door knob solitaire]

I am in the middle of a fun mystery book and the main character did the beer thing!

I too have heard the copper works well.

DKS

 

[anchor31]

I''ve been told eggshell pieces around the plants work.

 

[Phoenix]

Date: 5/18/2007 1:17:42 AM
Author: Mara
you can probably google organic ways to get snails...i wouldn''t be surprised if certain herbs repel them as sometimes other bugs and stuff don''t like certain herbs as well.

we had a bunch of snails this spring, i used something called Sluggo that my local nursery recommended. we don''t do organic in the garden but i did need something safe for portia in case she decided to eat something she found...this said it was safe for pets.

Thanks, Mara

. That''s a good idea, and I also wanted to hear abt people''s real life experience but this gives me a chance to chat to the lovely gals and guys on PS!

.

We bought something from a nearby nursery yesterday. They swear it is organic (not sure what''s in it tho'', the label is a bit scarce on infor). Last night, we sprinkled it around the plants and on the ground, still making sure it does get into pots or onto the soil (our herbs are still in pots at the moment). We were concerned abt our cat eating it, but the nursery people assured us it is not harmful to pets. Luckily anyway, she turned up her nose at the stuff! This morning, we woke up to find a bunch of dead snails!!

We''ve also put copper wiring around our newly bought sweet basil pots, as well as put copper coils in the some other pots with young shoots.

We''ll see if all this works in long run..

 

[Phoenix]

Date: 5/18/2007 1:33:25 AM
Author: surfgirl
Well, as a kid, we had a garden with alot of slugs and snails and we would dig holes in the ground at intervals, and put cans of beer into the ground so the top is at ground level. You take a can opener and take off the entire top of the can, then pop them into the holes. Apparently snails/slugs are attracted to the beer and they drown in it. I know, not a happy Disney ending but still, it worked.

What I do now is just sprinkle snail bait in my garden beds because we currently dont have any pets and we dont have kids. This method also works but you have snail refuse to clean up periodically.

But...I have read numerous accounts that snails/slugs loathe anything made from copper because it emits an electrical current that either repels or kills them on contact. So I''ve also been told by my local gardening experts that if I have potted plants I want to keep snails out of I can simply use a copper pot bottom tray (like a water tray). Alternatively they do sell copper garden trim. It comes in long rolls and its usually about 4-6 inches in width and very thin. You cut pieces as long as your garden and push it into the edging of the garden, sticking out an inch or so, and it keeps the snails at bay. I haven''t used that one though.

Thanks, Surfgirl. We''ve tried the bait last night as well as the copper wiring (pls see my reply to Mara''s). Not sure if our garden centres / DIY stores sell copper trays or rolls. We''ve bought some wire but it''s so darn expensive! This morning, we''re having to clean up the dead snails, but I am happy so far (the poor sods shouldn''t have messed with me, he he

)!!

Both hubby and I like the idea of putting a beer can down, but have only so far ended up drinking it the minute we opened the can!!

 

[Phoenix]

Date: 5/18/2007 1:42:33 AM
Author: door knob solitaire
I am in the middle of a fun mystery book and the main character did the beer thing!

I too have heard the copper works well.

DKS

He he!!

Thanks, DKS. Pls see my replies above. I''ll keep my fingers crossed that this stuff works long term...

 

[Phoenix]

Date: 5/20/2007 9:11:40 PM
Author: anchor31
I''ve been told eggshell pieces around the plants work.

Thanks, Anchor. I''d like to try that too, but not so sure we can. We also have a problem with ants and a potential problem with cockroaches!! Yikes!! That''s the thing abt living in the tropics. Our cat can always take care of the roaches though!!

I may try the eggshells if the copper and bait things don''t work.

 

[anchor31]

Date: 5/20/2007 10:47:53 PM
Author: lienTN

Date: 5/20/2007 9:11:40 PM
Author: anchor31
I''ve been told eggshell pieces around the plants work.

Thanks, Anchor. I''d like to try that too, but not so sure we can. We also have a problem with ants and a potential problem with cockroaches!! Yikes!! That''s the thing abt living in the tropics. Our cat can always take care of the roaches though!!

I may try the eggshells if the copper and bait things don''t work.

Ugh, ants. My parents'' house has that problem every year. Big black ants. I don''t mind them outside, but inside... YUCK! Maybe it would help if you clean the eggshells before breaking them into pieces?

 

[door knob solitaire]

I just found this information while doing a search for something else.

Coffee. It''s a great slug and snail killer. Add to 10 parts water, one part espresso coffee. It has to be espresso because instant coffee is just too weak. Spray this solution over the surface of leaves and over the surface of the soil, where snails and slugs might crawl. The snails absorb the coffee through their skin and the caffeine in it kills them. So that''s 10 parts water and one part espresso coffee. That''s got to be better than using chemical snail baits in the garden. But remember to reapply all these remedies after heavy rain because they are not residual.

Please don''t use my Starbucks

...it would break my heart.

DKS