Home : Outdoors : Garden and yard : Slugs and snails Get rid of them

Slugs Snails. Slugs and snails remove them with ease

A great way that is most effective in dealing with slugs and snails is to buy chemical pellets and the slugs eat them up and appear to die after eating these pellets. You can find them in any home center near you. But if this process fills you with dread and you would like a couple of alternatives then read on.

• Get rid of snails by crushing egg shells and placing them around the base of your tender plants, flowers and through out the garden. The slugs and snails do not like to rub their belly across them and will stay away from your plants!
  
  
• Scatter powdered chalk around lime-loving garden plants to repel slugs.
  
  
• Another method in getting rid of snails is to put a jam jar with beer in the bottom and then you sink the jar half into the soil near your tender plants. Snails and slugs are very attracted to the smell so they throw themselves in and get stuck! Of course when the jar has a few slugs in it you have to get rid of it.
  
  
• I have heard of gardeners going around in the early hours of the morning with a torch and manually removing these slimy little critters. And this works as well!
  
  
• You can bait snails with a bit of lettuce or cabbage leaves, placing them out in the evenings and in the morning you will find snails and just throw them away! Other items that work are slices of turnip, potato or inverted grapefruit rinds trick the snail for your capture as well. Wait until they are snacking away on their goodies and them pitch them in the garbage!
  
  
• You can also deter slugs and snails by lining the exterior of your garden with salt. Slugs and snails won't cross over the salt.
  
  
• Snakes and salamaders are great for getting rid of snails and slugs. Don't kill off the snakes in your garden because they will control these other pests.
  
  

• Putting a few clay pots in your garden, just laying them on their sides - the snails and slugs will gather here in the shade during the heat of the day. You can wash off the clay pots in hot soapy water and dispose of snails as they come to your pots.

Visitors comments

doesn't work Comments By: P Caldwell on 2004-09-28 I've tried the crushed egg shell trick. It doesn't work. doesn't even come near working so my tip is don't bother. I have millions of the buggers in my garden and would love to find a safe way of getting rid of them   Slugs and Snails Comments By: Ingmar on 2005-03-12 Shall try this spring the JAVA solution, since my whole lawn is infested with those critters and my Hostas just fade away; I hope it will work. Thanks for the tip.   Love your idears, but want to Love them more Comments By: Katy Carrow on 2005-04-27 Great idears, but instead of having people KILL the snails, I worked with the snails to protect my plants. I use your treats (food scraps) and feed the snails in a couple of places in my yard and they leave my plants alone. Why can't we all just get along!? :) thanks for the advice.   GardenSnails Comments By: Jack on 2005-05-17 Can you cook and eat garden snails? Tipking says: I would say no!   no need to kill animals. Comments By: N on 2005-06-19 no need to kill animals.   Slug deterant Comments By: R. W. B. on 2005-08-05 Tried commercial bait for slugs...didn't work. Tried beer in a cool whip lid and it worked great. The slugs actually began crawling to the lids while I was still pouring the beer. (we keep the beer in the cabinet with all the other "poisons")   snails as pets Comments By: kath on 2006-06-09 more advice than comment.my grandson loves snails can garden snails be kept as pets   Slugs & Snail removal Comments By: Cinders on 2006-11-11 The beer is good but it has to be a yeasty beer and not lager for best results. A band of copper around a plant pot will stop them, they hate to cross the metal. Snails have a homing instinct so if you throw them over a fence, they will make their way back!   snails Comments By: suru on 2009-08-29 i have put coffee near my snails and they haven't come back 4 years   a good use for yucky Belgian beer Comments By: EmilyD on 2010-04-28 I love that tip! My BF will probably think it's heresy, buy I hate the way the Belgian yeasts smell. I'm happy to sacrifice a pint to the snails. I'm also going to try the coffee route - is it grounds?   slugs Comments By: mick ireland on 2010-06-11 we have tried egg shells and slulg pellets all failed the plettes just attracted more so i tried the beer that seemd to work so one night i went out to find more than 30 slugs eating my lettece so i put salult over them it worked so i am looking for where they come in and put some to prevent them getting in to my garden   getting rid of the pesty critters from my cabbage Comments By: Terri Gardner on 2010-07-04 will the coffee grounds around the outer part of your garden really get rid of the pesky little critters from my cabbage plants or would it be better to cut down my tiger lily flowers Â