Good afternoon, dear subscribers! Today we will talk about methods of combating slugs and snails in summer cottage. The problem of the abundance of these creatures is very relevant, it is especially unfortunate when your plant, into which so much effort has been invested, turns out to be eaten by these uninvited guests.
Slugs and snails in the garden cause a lot of trouble. These invertebrates eat tender shoots plants, foliage, and even fruits. IN last years In general, some kind of massive invasion of snails.
When my husband and I go for a walk in the evening, all we can hear under our feet on the paths is the crackling sound of crushed snail shells. Slugs are more secretive - they don’t crawl along the roads like that, but they are also very prolific.
For example, only one female individual lays for warm period up to 500 eggs! There can be up to 50 eggs in one litter; they are similar to frog eggs, only they are attached to tree trunks, sticks, under some boards lying on the ground, under leaves and in compost. Where it's warm and humid.
Snails also lay eggs. And the color of the masonry is even somewhat similar. The only difference is that snails are most often visible, while slugs are more secretive.
The active fruiting phase of all these crawling creatures is in late summer and early autumn. But only in the spring, in May next year, the first garden slugs emerge from the clutches.
They mature for two months, and by August they themselves begin to give birth, increasing the population to some insane numbers. There are especially many slugs and snails in warm weather rainy summer. This is really a disaster! It is very difficult to get rid of them.
One more characteristic feature slugs is their omnivorous nature. So a naked slug is able to feed on 200 types of cultivated plants! The assortment of his table is extremely diverse, which gave him the opportunity to spread throughout our gardens.
Leaves, vegetables, root crops suffer; all parts of plants can be eaten by these quiet gluttons. There are especially many of them on strawberries - apparently they are drawn to sweets...
Plus, slugs carry various plant diseases. Their surface is always wet, so all sorts of rot, bacteria, and infections attach to the fabrics.
Rainy, warm days in mid-summer are the best time for slug activity. They feel best at night and in the evenings, when the humidity is higher and the sun is not too hot on the ground.
If the weather is hot and dry, then slugs crawl under boards, under stones, under thick deposits of rotten leaves and grass.
How to deal with slugs and snails
The most important thing is not to let the grass grow in your area. Regularly mow the lawn and weed the garden beds. The soil should not have large lumps under which slugs can live.
After mowing the grass, remove the hay, otherwise slugs, which love warmth and humidity, will certainly live under it. In general, try to carry all kinds of heaps of grass and weeds into one place for reheating.
If you have apples in the fall, pick them up and don’t let them rot on the ground. We haven’t harvested this season, so by spring so many living creatures came up that now I really regret that I didn’t spend time collecting fallen fruits...
Application of lime
If the weather is dry and no precipitation is expected in the near future, then burn the slugs with lime. Sprinkle lime on the ground in places where accumulations of slugs have been noticed and they will die from burns - they will turn black and become compost themselves. Lime treatment can be carried out regularly.
A mixture of tobacco dust and lime
This option for treating soil against slugs is more effective, since there is also a burning tobacco spirit. Per square meter of area, take 30 grams of a mixture of tobacco powder and lime. Best time for sprinkling the soil - evening. At this time, slugs become active and crawl out of their hiding places in search of food.
Corn flour
Cornmeal is very effective in killing slugs. This flour contains substances that are attractive but harmful to slugs. Having tasted the bait, the slugs quickly die.
This method is probably the most paradoxical, the food seems to be tasty - corn flour, and the slugs eat the treat with appetite. But their digestive system cannot digest corn and as a result they die after tasting such an attractive product. To some extent, this death is humane - to die from tasty food at least it's not offensive...
Beer trap
Bury the beer can in the ground, leaving only the lid; there should be some beer left in the can at the bottom, which will attract slugs. Once they get into the jar, they will never come out again, having been poisoned by beer.
Dry mustard against snails and slugs
Another good way cauterizing large slugs means treating areas where they accumulate with dry mustard powder. All slugs will die, new ones will appear only after some time. Well, if you regularly treat them with mustard, they will disappear completely.
Laying out traps
Slugs can be lured and destroyed with traps. Boards, burlap, some fallen leaves and picked weeds can serve as traps. Slugs will soon settle under them, and your task will be to destroy these breeding grounds.
You can open the boards and treat the soil underneath with lime, or you can simply collect all the slugs and snails and eliminate them. If you open the traps every day for a week, the slug population will decrease significantly. But, of course, this struggle is endless. Slugs will appear again and again...
Sweet bait method
If you spend a lot of time at the dacha, you can “feed” slugs and snails with watermelon and melon peels every evening, and in the mornings, collect the eaters who are tempted by the delicacy along with the peels and take them to the trash in a bag. Or burn it with lime or mustard already in the bag after collection.
Use of chemical control agents
Try the drug Thunderstorm or Meta - they kill slugs quickly. The main thing is to hit them directly, that is, you still have to use traps, no matter how you look at them.
However, chemicals can spoil the soil, and you yourself can somehow grab chemicals. Therefore, be careful not to cultivate the garden during the ripening period.
Summer residents and people who have private plots know very well that snails and slugs are very harmful not only to plants, but also to animals, as they spread helminthiasis that affects them.
These mollusks can feed on more than 150 types of vegetables and berries. The process of photosynthesis of the plant is limited after the snails eat the foliage, and if they feast on flowers, the number of ovaries is much reduced, they gnaw out the fruits of the plants, which shortens the shelf life of the crop. But, besides all this, the mucus that slugs leave behind leads to rotting of the fruits.
Even though mollusks act as orderlies summer cottages(they can get rid of fallen leaves and dead plants), but their quantity must be controlled and, if necessary, reduced.
You can fight these pests in the following ways:
- Mechanical.
- Ecological.
- Chemical.
Chemical method getting rid of slugs and snails is the most extreme, this includes, for example, the use of metaldehyde. This chemical strongly attracts shellfish and then kills them. "Thunderstorm" and "Meta" - granules blue color, which are designed to process two square meters, they are packaged in small bags.
From the territory described above, absolutely all mollusks will crawl to eat and die there. But metaldehyde is a very strong poison, so it is dangerous to the health of pets and people. For this reason, not only should pets not be allowed into the area that has been treated with this drug, but all fruits and vegetables and herbs for consumption must be washed very thoroughly with running water.
Ecological way The fight is a little simpler; it consists of attracting natural enemies of mollusks to the site. Snails and slugs are also food for animals such as hedgehogs and toads. For snails to be destroyed by toads, they will have to do small pond on your site, and to attract hedgehogs you will need to stock up on dog food. In order for toads and hedgehogs to constantly be on your site, they need to make a place for wintering, then they will protect your territory from unwanted guests for a long time.
And also in this not an easy task Birds can help you. Jays, starlings, wagtails and thrushes are very fond of garden pests. In order for birds to fly to the site, it is necessary to restore feeders and birdhouses. If birds are taught to feed on your site in winter, they will do so there in summer.
Snails and slugs really don't like smells. herbs. Therefore, you can sow sage, bay, rosemary, parsley or garlic along the length of the row; these plants will repel pests. You can also spray the rows with infusions of coffee, mustard and hot pepper (for two hundred grams of boiling water you need to take two teaspoons of powder). Shellfish also don’t like nettle very much; in order to scare them away, it needs to be spread out on the beds.
Mechanical method fighting mollusks involves collecting snails with your own hands; tweezers will help you with this. Since these nocturnal pests during the day really need places where there is moisture and coolness, you can make traps for them. To do this, you need to place leaves, boards, old bags or rags of burdock or cabbage between the beds, which must first be soaked in fruit juice or beer. Small pests will climb under such shelters during the day, and when evening comes they can be collected. You can also dig small containers into the ground, pour liquid into them and cover. A strong saline solution or soap solution is suitable for killing shellfish.
Grape snails and slugs have a very soft body and this is also often used in the fight against them. Around plants where pests often appear, it is necessary to scatter dry porous material, this could be fine gravel or crushed egg shells, in this way a very unpleasant surface will be created for the movement of mollusks.
Superphosphate or lime - effective remedy from snails, they are very unpleasant for soft-bodied pests, these components should be poured in two to three strips at a distance of 15 centimeters. These drugs absorb mucus and moisture from the snails’ bodies very quickly, as a result of which their movement is blocked. But this means of control will cease to work after the first rain.
Water is an insurmountable obstacle for slugs and snails. Such a barrier can be made using an artificial method: for this it is necessary plastic containers fill with water and attach to prefabricated rows. Snails and slugs will not be able to overcome such an obstacle or, if they fall into the water, they will not be able to get out of it.
Pest prevention in the countryside
It is much easier to prevent the invasion of small pests than to fight it. The main goal Preventive work involves creating a poor habitat for shellfish.
All these actions need to be done throughout the growing season. All residues that remain after harvesting must be removed, as a result of which garden pests will be left without food and winter shelter.
Fighting snails with folk remedies
- Treating the land with salt- the most common option for pest control. To do this, you need to sprinkle the ground where the snails live with salt or spray the plants with a saturated saline solution, but this can cause the plants to dry out.
- Fight with help citric acid . The spray solution should be weak.
- Can place cans of lemonade or dark beer in the garden, and fermented compote will also work.
- You can fight pests on strawberries as follows: the soil needs to be sprinkled spruce needles or put large spruce paws.
Slugs and garden snails cause enormous damage to vegetable crops and plants in a garden or greenhouse garden. During sunny and dry weather, these gastropods hide in various damp and secluded places, and with the onset of darkness, like true pests of the national economy, they crawl out and begin to do their “dirty deed.” How to deal with slugs and snails on personal plot modern and traditional methods described in detail below in the article.
Who are slugs and snails, and what harm do they do?
Slugs - also known as slugs, are a type of gastropod molluscs that reach a length of 2-3 cm to 10 cm. The body of a slug is thick, worm-like and covered with mucus. Slugs are relatives of snails, but in the process of evolution they lost their shells, which ultimately allowed them, unlike snails, to live not only on open places, but also hide in the soil.
Slugs deliver great amount problems for gardeners. Firstly, they directly spoil the vegetable and berry crops. Slugs eat through zucchini, pumpkin, potatoes, carrots, beets, and eat strawberries and wild strawberries. At the same time, it is clear that, for example, one slug is not able to eat a whole zucchini, but spoiled and eaten fruit not only loses its appearance, but it also begins to quickly rot and deteriorate right in the garden bed.
Secondly, in addition to harming the fruits, slugs also eat the leaves of many plants, which is why the plant is deprived of the opportunity to develop normally in the future and, in fact, quickly withers and dies. It must be said about one more very unpleasant moment for gardeners and gardeners: during the autumn temperature drop, slugs gradually begin to move from the garden bed to cellars and other storage facilities. harvested, where they slowly and methodically continue to eat everything that has been grown.
Snails are also a type of gastropod land molluscs; they differ from slugs in that they have a protective spiral-shaped shell on their backs, into which they hide at the slightest threat. They move the same way as slugs, slowly. However, they cause even more harm than slugs, since snails not only spoil fruits located low on the soil surface, but also quite often cause harm to fruits fruit trees. There are also frequent cases when snails cause damage to the buds of decorative flowers, such as asters, peonies and roses.
Preventing slugs and snails
Since dealing with snails and slugs is quite problematic, it is much easier to prevent their appearance on garden plot. Home preventive measure against the appearance of land pests is a competent approach to gardening in general. A garden, summer cottage, vegetable garden or greenhouse beds must be constantly maintained in normal sanitary conditions. That is, there is no need to allow piles of last year’s leaves on the garden plot; fallen spoiled fruits such as pears, apples and apricots must be collected and taken out of the garden.
Another way to prevent the appearance of a large number of slugs in a summer cottage is to attract birds. It might seem like a small thing, but it’s worth hanging 2-3 small feeders in the garden and thereby once and for all getting rid of not only slugs, but also other equally bad insect pests. Birds living in the garden will themselves reduce the number of slugs, snails, Colorado potato beetle, caterpillars and mole crickets.
Attention! A pile of old last year's leaves is a home and safe haven for slugs and snails, and fruits that have fallen to the ground and rotting are their delicacy, which can attract all the slugs from neighboring garden plots to your plot.
Methods for controlling slugs and snails
- physical population reduction;
- electrical barriers;
- biological reduction of slug numbers;
- phyto-barriers on beds;
- chemical treatment;
- various folk methods.
Physical control methods and population reduction
Despite the fact that slugs and snails love dampness and moisture, they are not able to live in open water. With this in mind, many gardeners install water barriers in greenhouses or garden beds. The water barrier is a shallow metal or plastic trench filled with plain water. These gutters are installed around the beds or along the inner perimeter of the greenhouse.
Transparent plastic caps are used to protect very young seedlings. The easiest way to make a protective cap is to take an empty one and cut it into two parts. plastic bottle from water.
Slugs and snails can be collected by hand. Of course, this is a long process and it is unrealistic to catch absolutely everyone on the site, but their numbers can be significantly reduced in this way. Under no circumstances should slugs and snails collected in a bucket be released near your site. They are either given to be eaten poultry, or are released into the wild at a considerable distance from the plot.
If manual collection of pests takes a lot of time, you can install special traps for snails. These traps are saucers covered with a dome lid. A little beer or berry juice is poured into the saucer itself as bait, and several large holes are provided in the dome lid itself, allowing snails to crawl into the saucers.
Electrical barriers
This method will not reduce the number of pests, but will only limit their access to plants and fruits. Therefore, electrical barriers are best used in greenhouses. Structurally, the barrier is a self-adhesive tape with exposed current conductors.
Attention! The current strength and voltage in electrical barriers are so small that they are not that dangerous to humans; a person is not even able to feel the discharge.
The principle of operation of an electrical barrier is that when a slug or snail comes into contact with the conductors, they receive a small discharge, become confused and “change their mind” to move further towards the intended target in the form of a ripe squash or squash.
Biological way to reduce the number of slugs and snails
Chemical method of controlling slugs and snails
There are preparations based on metaldehyde, which attracts and kills slugs and snails. As a rule, these preparations are made in the form of granules, which are placed around the perimeter of the garden and on the paths between the beds. Less commonly, such preparations are found in the form of a liquid suspension for spraying.
Chemical preparation for slugs
Attention! Metaldehyde is a powerful poison not only for slugs, but also for humans and pets. It must be used strictly according to the instructions, observing all safety precautions. The best thing this method Do not use if ripening fruits have already formed on the plants. The ideal time to bait slugs with chemicals is spring or late autumn.
Phyto-barriers on beds
Despite the name, this method of fighting slugs is the most environmentally friendly and humane. There is no need to poison or kill anyone. The principle of phyto-barriers is to plant certain plants directly on the beds, which repel pests from the beds with their smell. Such plants include: garlic, string, lavender, sorrel, sage, bay, rosemary and thyme. As a preventative measure, these plants can not only be planted in beds with other crops, but also an infusion can be made from them, which can then be used to periodically spray the beds.
Several folk ways to fight snails and slugs
Slugs and snails cannot tolerate coffee. Taking this into account, in order to repel slugs and snails from the garden bed, a solution of strong coffee is prepared, which is sprayed on the plants and soil. If you are a fan of brewed coffee, then consider that you have already defeated all pests. Every time after brewing, coffee remains a large number of grounds. This thicket is poured directly onto the soil between the plants, thus forming paths that will become a serious repeller for slugs.
You can make your own slug repellent: 50 g mustard powder pour 300 ml of boiling water. After letting the infusion brew, it is diluted with another 600-700 ml of water. The resulting composition is sprayed on the leaves and fruits of plants.
If only root vegetables are planted in the bed, that is, carrots, beets, radishes, etc., then such a bed can be safely sprayed with a solution of slaked lime. To prepare the solution, you will need 10 liters of warm water, in which you need to dilute 300 g of dry slaked lime.
Fighting slugs and snails in the garden - video
Fighting snails and slugs - photo
Pests in the garden can cause a lot of problems for the owners of the plot, so it is necessary to take urgent action. How to get rid of snails and slugs in your dacha in a short time so as not to cause damage to the soil, in a simple way? Let's figure it out together.
10 ways to get rid of snails in your dacha
How can you fight snails and slugs in your garden? Choose one of the options below and take action!
Method number 1. Table vinegar
Perhaps this method is the most effective and affordable. You need to prepare a mixture of 60 ml. table vinegar(9%) and 10 l. purified water. Now pour this solution into the largest and most visible crevices of the snail and slug cluster. Manipulations are best carried out in evening time when the pests are preparing to crawl out of their shelter. The slugs will die because the vinegar leaves acid burns.
Method number 2. Means "Thunderstorm" or "Meta"
The listed types of preparations are sold in gardening stores. They contain metaldehyde, which belongs to the category of poisons. When working with the product, protect your hands with gloves. There is also no need to scatter granules throughout the garden so as not to damage the crop. Place a few crystals of the drug near the plants that are most often attacked by snails. To overcome pests, slugs only need to touch the poisonous drug.
Method No. 3. Directional agent
Tired of fighting snails in your dacha? Find out how to get rid of them in a simple and no less in an effective way! If you want to find the answer to a question, it is not at all necessary to buy poisonous drugs. Go to the Gardening Store and purchase a harmless product designed to combat slugs in your garden. It is sprayed in places where shellfish accumulate, does not harm plants and crops, and is safe for humans and animals. But the smell of the composition itself will force the snails to leave your area.
Method No. 4. Fresh milk
If you have the opportunity to purchase a high-fat village product, take advantage of it. You will need a three-liter jar and 1.5-2 liters. milk. Pour the drink into the container, dig a hole next to the beds in places where snails accumulate. Place the container in the recess so that the neck of the jar is level with the ground. Snails are attracted to the smell of milk and will crawl into the container and die. Periodically replace the contents of the jar with fresh milk.
Method No. 4. Lime
Not every amateur gardener knows how to properly deal with snails in their favorite garden, and this is not surprising. Professionals advise sprinkling lime around the beds several times. After rain, the procedure is repeated. The lime causes the slug's slippery body to dry out, causing it to die.
Method No. 5. Straw or sawdust
Snails by nature hate surfaces that can damage their delicate bodies. Use straw or sawdust; rustling surfaces will repel pests. Sprinkle the contents around the garden beds and any areas where slugs tend to gather. As a result, you will get rid of annoying snails. Sawdust or straw will help eliminate the problem at the dacha, use a simple method.
Method number 6. Alcoholic drinks
Summer residents who have been specializing in gardening for many years now use a method called “Giving the snails a drink.” Pour fermented grape, plum or apple juice into cans. An analogue is beer, missing compote and other options “with a degree”. Place containers throughout the area where slugs are most likely to be found. Snails are attracted to the smell, so they crawl into containers and die.
Method No. 8. Weeding beds
The simplest and “correct” method of dealing with uninvited guests is considered to be regular weeding of the beds. It is enough to eliminate weeds in a timely manner, preventing the grass from thickening and moisture accumulation. After all, these are the factors that attract snails.
Method number 9. Polyethylene
To try to get rid of slugs and snails in your summer cottage, you will need cling film or a large sheet of polyethylene. Spread the product along the paths and free places on the ground. The next morning you will find large clusters of pests under the film. Sweep everyone away uninvited guests into a bucket of water; the shellfish will die in the liquid.
Method No. 10. Traps
Use the planks small size, thick burlap or metal sheets. The soil on the site should dry thoroughly, so there is no need to organize watering. Are you wondering how you can get rid of annoying snails? After this, moisten the soil at the dacha in the places where you will place the traps. Under the scorching sun, pests will find shelter under the boards; in the evening you can collect slugs and eliminate them in a simple way.
1. Experienced gardeners advise using a little trick. The garden can be sprinkled with tobacco or shag. Acidified water will also help greatly in this matter. Conifer needles proved to be no less effective.
2. Try to find out the active habitat of the snails. Sprinkle the area with ground pepper. You can treat the leaves and soil with the composition. Black or red pepper will harm the shellfish, after which they are unlikely to return.
3. Dig small ditches around the area or plants. Sprinkle the gutter with pepper, ash or tobacco. Slugs and snails simply cannot overcome such an obstacle. In most cases, pests escape to a neighboring garden.
4. Try to find out which plants the snails prefer most. Plant garlic, onions or sage around them. As alternatives, rosemary, bay leaves and parsley also work well.
Methods for preventing the appearance of snails
1. It is best to take care in advance to ensure that pests do not cause you any inconvenience. Removing snails and slugs is much more difficult. The main thing is to create unfavorable conditions for mollusks. The harvest, in turn, will not be damaged.
2. Eliminate all weeds in a timely manner. As soon as you decide to get rid of snails, you need to mow the grass in your dacha and along the paths in a timely manner. Dry soil that is too wet sunny days in a simple and banal way. Snails happily live in places where there is constant accumulation of moisture.
3. When planting crops, observe the density of planting of cuttings. There should be sufficient distance between plants so that there is no shadow for pests. Systematically remove the lower leaves from lettuce and cabbage.
4. Till the soil regularly; pests often hide in cracks. After harvesting, get rid of any remaining leaves and fruits. Otherwise, the snails will have something to eat during the cold season.
If you seriously care about your harvest and are asking yourself the pressing question of how to get rid of the ubiquitous snails in your favorite dacha in a simple and effective way, you should carefully study the above recommendations. All means are available, and the technology for processing the site is not difficult.
If you are the owner shady garden, or in some parts of your area there is high humidity soil, then snails may settle in the area. Many gardeners are sure that snails are harmless, but this is not the case.
It’s hard for many to imagine that a snail in the garden could cause harm. This small, clumsy creature may seem weak and defenseless, but it does a lot of damage to the crop. A person is used to getting angry at flies, suspicious beetles and larvae, but in his eyes snails look helpless. What can land mollusks do in the garden?
In nature, snails feed on various remains of vegetation and fungi, but in your garden the mollusk will not bother looking for plant remains, and at the first opportunity it will start eating fresh shoots already in early spring. And when the harvest time comes, the snails will begin to slowly but very confidently destroy the long-awaited fruits. However, the harm of snails does not end there - in the cold season they move straight into your cellar. A dark, damp and cool place full of tasty fruits becomes a paradise for the mollusk.
There are several types of snails that often settle in the garden - among them there is even grape snail, destroying the corresponding berries at the moment of their ripening. Other snails live either on fruit trees, feasting on the fruits, or on the ground, where they primarily do not mind eating berries.
Fighting a snail in the garden
Dealing with snails is not difficult for several obvious reasons. Firstly, this creature is quite large compared to beetles, flies or ants. It turns out to be quite easy to notice it on the leaves of a fruit tree or on a currant bush. Secondly, snails are extremely slow. They will never be able to escape from you, even if you give them a couple of hours to do so.
However, you don’t even have to catch snails, because it’s even easier to lure them. To do this, you will have to sacrifice sweet compote, which must be placed in a wide bowl near fruit trees and bushes with fruits. You will have to wait a long time for the snails - for obvious reasons, by the time the mollusk crawls to the bait, ants and many other insects will have time to feast on the compote.
However, snails will come sooner or later, because they have a very subtle sense of smell.
However, the slug is even more harmful in the garden, because it not only eats plants and fruits, but also leaves behind a layer of mucus on the leaves. After a slug’s visit, the plant cover is torn off and deteriorates, which is why the crop can become seriously ill. Slugs look like “naked snails”, that is, they have the same body shape, but lack a shell. You've probably met such individuals in the garden that slowly crawl about their business and seem completely harmless. Most of them go out “hunting” at night, so you can’t even imagine how many of them there are in your own garden.
There are a number of methods to combat slugs and snails, but the easiest way is to regularly weed the area. The mollusks hide in the weeds and crawl out at dusk, returning to their place again in the middle of the night. Also, another cunning method suggests attracting frogs to the site that eat slugs. To do this, you need to place vessels with water at different ends of the garden, from which frogs will certainly come to drink at night. They will meet naive mollusks that will just go hunting for your harvest.
However, attracting frogs sometimes turns out to be very difficult, and one frog still cannot cope with the army of snails and slugs on the site. Therefore, if there are really a lot of shellfish in your garden, then it is better to buy them at a gardening store natural remedy for treating soil against snails and slugs. It will not harm the soil and plants, but it will be destructive for the pests living on your land.
V. Kostenko