Slimy plague

What really helps against slugs and snails

Hardly any garden is safe from hungry mouths

(Bild: Hronek Eveline)

The gardening year has barely begun and they are already crawling out of their hiding places and attacking delicate plants. However, there are a number of measures you can take to banish hungry slugs from your garden.

The mild winter and regular rainfall have ensured that the beds are now infested with masses of slugs. Neither flowers nor vegetable plants are safe from the hungry mouths of these slimy crawlers. The simplest solution for many amateur gardeners is to use slug pellets. It is easy to apply and the population of the animals is contained.

Plants are eaten down to the stems

(Bild: Fister Katrin/Katrin Fister)

However, this seemingly quick solution has numerous disadvantages. Slug pellets are poisonous - if other animals ingest them, they will also die. And this eliminates important helpers in the fight against the slug plague. For example, the vineyard snail preys on the slugs' eggs and the tiger snail attacks the snails when defending its territory.

The eggs and slugs themselves are also on the menu of slow worms, hedgehogs, toads and birds. In a near-natural garden, there is a balance between pests and beneficial insects.

The tiger slug also defends its territory against the red slug

(Bild: naturschutzbund/Stefan Kwitt)

Another way to keep hungry mouths away from lettuce and the like is to use so-called "sacrificial plants". For example, marigolds or marigolds can "distract" the slugs from the lettuce plants. Another strategy is used by gardeners who plant acelia or cranesbill as well as curry herb, rosemary or thyme: These plants deter slugs.

Mechanical control
The infestation can also be contained with special slug fences erected around the beds. Nevertheless, it is important to keep checking inside the fence, as there may still be clutches of eggs inside the fence from which the offspring can hatch. 

Runner ducks are slug catchers - but not everyone wants to or can keep them

(Bild: Franz Crepaz)

If you want to banish the slimy pests from your garden in the long term, you should go on regular "snail patrols". Especially at dusk and during or after rainfall, the animals come out and should be collected. "You should also look under bushes or shady hiding places, because that's where the snails like to hide," reports a diligent "snail collector", who is pleased with his first successes after two years of effective collecting. 

With a plan against the pest

The garden should no longer be altered in the fall. Snails like to lay their eggs under large clods of earth or in holes in the ground. Check stones and dark, damp hiding places for eggs and place them in the sun or destroy them immediately. Sieve compost carefully in spring and check for eggs. Regularly check the garden and collect slugs and snails.

Wooden boards laid out in the garden serve as a shelter for the animals - and as a trap for the collectors. Simply turn the boards over regularly and collect the animals. "It's time-consuming work, but this year I have noticeably fewer snails in the garden for the first time."

Other household remedies 
Coffee grounds, sawdust or sand spread around the plants can also deter the animals. However, these products need to be applied again regularly, as rain, for example, washes them away.