Mega plague

How the professionals combat voracious slugs and snails

They have come to stay: Spanish snails.

(Bild: dpa-Zentralbild/Patrick Pleul)

This year, amateur gardeners are suffering particularly from the voraciousness of slugs and other pests. How do professionals actually solve the slimy problem? The "Krone" asked organic farmer Simon Vetter in Vorarlberg.

The list of circumstances that have brought home garden owners to the brink of a nervous breakdown this year is long: plummeting temperatures, endless rainfall, hail and so on. But public enemy number 1 is the Spanish slug. Its bright orange color causes nervous anxiety among gardeners, and some even reach for the garden shears. This is hardly surprising, as this year's damp weather is causing snail festivals.