How to safely deter slugs and snails (without harm)
Slugs and snails are important parts of our ecosystem. The average garden has around 35,000 living underground (so toxic pellets are ineffective – as well as cruel and harmful to pets and wildlife). And also provide essential food to many other wild creatures like birds, frogs and hedgehogs.
Slugs are basically the same creatures, just without the shell. They move using a muscular ‘foot’ (freshwater and sea snails breathe through gills, like fish). Garden snails feed on dead wood, fungie, algae and decaying plants and animal droppings, helping to recycle nutrients. Each one can lay up to 100 eggs, before hiberating in winter.
Why avoid slug pellets?
Commercial slug pellets don’t just kill slugs and snails. They harm the wildlife that eat them. They also contaminate garden soil.
Never pour slug pellets down drains. Take them to your council’s hazardous waste.
Slug pellets are also dangerous to dogs, and they can resemble kibble.
Keep dogs away from slugs, snails and amphibians, as they can carry lungworm. Symptoms may not appear for several weeks and can include:
- Coughing
- Tiredness
- Difficulty breathing
- Unusual bleeding
Lungworm is a veterinary emergency. Change water in outdoor ceramic bowls regularly to help reduce the risk.
Beware of some ‘natural slug/snail remedies
Natural does not always mean safe. Some remedies do more harm than good. Avoid:
- Broken glass, which can injure wildlife, pets and people.
- Coffee grounds, spices or essential oils (may harm wildlife or pets).
The best remedy is nature!
Organic wildlife-friendly gardens are the best long-term approach. These will attract creatures that keep check of slugs and snails anyway. Many creatures eat them including:
- Thrushes and blackbirds
- Hedgehogs
- Frogs and toads
- Beetles and centipedes
- Field mice
- Slow worms and glow-worm larvae
- Foxes and badgers
Read The Good Slug Guide!
The Good Slug Guide is a great book to read, from an expert of 30 years. Who dispels many myths, saying the best solution is simply to learn to live with slugs and snails.
For instance, although hedgehogs and frogs eat slugs and snails, they also eat beetles that eat more slugs! And as the average garden has so many, you’ll never ‘win’ with slug control products. Some slugs also eat other slugs, so you could be killing the slugs that do the work for you.
Instead, just disturb the natural world as little as possible. Leave nature’s predators alone in an organic environment, and use no-dig gardening, to avoid disturbing the soil.
Learn more on how to create safe havens for:
- Garden birds
- Hedgehogs
- Frogs (ensure ponds have sloping sides and avoid netting).
A few humane safe ideas to try
If you need a helping hand, here are a few better options:
Molluskit is a barrier made mostly from recycled material, invented by a ‘garage tinkerer’ who loves earthworms! The ‘comb design’ clicks together to stop access to plants above ground (and blocks access to root/bulb systems).
It’s tested by Scotland’s Rural College to be 86% effective, as 95% of a garden’s slugs and snails are underground. For larger gardens and allotments, buy multiple kits to fit together.
Grazers G2 is a mix of plant extracts and calcium (good for plants) that’s applied to plants, to make them unpalatable to slugs and snails. This company makes a similar product to deter cabbage white butterflies and red lily beetles.
The main product is used to make grass unpalatable to wild rabbits and other creatures (so don’t use on grass where pets eat).
Found an injured snail?
Leave snails on walls alone, as most are likely not dead but in ‘suspended hibernation’. They usually ‘come back to life’ when it rains. Small snails with soft shells are usually okay (the shells harden with age).
If however you find an injured snail:
If the shell has a small crack:
- Pick it up by the body (wash hands before touching pets) and place in a small ventilated plastic box with air holes, lined with damp paper towels (away from dirt that could cause infection).
- Mist the container daily (with bottled or filtered water), ensure no debris blocks the breathing hole near the shell opening.
- Snails need calcium, so place washed eggshells or cuttlefish bone next to the snail. And easy-to-digest moisture-rich foods like sliced cucumber, lettuce or courgette.
- Once you see a thin translucent film, the new shell will harden in a week or two. Once solid, return the snail to a shady damp garden spot.
If the shell is completely smashed:
- If the shell is badly smashed and liquids oozing out, the snail will not recover. And will slowly die of dehydration over several days.
- Experts say it’s kinder to give a quick heavy stomp to immediately euthanise the creature, to stop further suffering.
- It’s difficult to do, but important to do this quickly. And with enough force, to ensure the creature does not feel anything (a partial crush will make things worse). Use a flat-soled shoe, heavy brick or large stone.
A Slow Passion (learn more about snails!
BBC Radio 4 amateur scientist winner Ruth Brooks once spent years relocating snails from her garden, only for them to find their way back again. Her frustration turned into fascination, and she eventually embraced sharing her garden with them.
Sometimes the best approach is simply to slow down and garden with nature. And accept that slugs and snails are part of a thriving wildlife-friendly garden.
