Look who I caught in the act this morning when I pulled my curtains.
Mr Snail (or was it Mrs?) was
making a quick getaway after a night-time raid on my strawberry patch, which
sits immediately below the window.
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With the warm damp weather, the snails and slugs have been
out in force the last few days. I know
they are part of Nature, but why do they have to munch so much?
I can see I am going to have to resort to some slug bait to
control the invasion or I am going to end up with no garden.
I remember one year, a while ago now, going out at night and
“harvesting” snails and feeding them to the hens the next morning. The chickens eventually got tired of their
snail diet and I had to drown the things instead.
I’m afraid I’m not so organic anymore – these days it is
much easier to use slug bait and be done with it.
Do you have a favourite method of getting rid of these slimy
little night raiders?
Margaret 😊
That is quite a brazen snail to be on the window like that. Good luck with the pesky critters.
ReplyDeleteI use crushed eggshells to deter the snails. They won't go over them. Safe for other pets to be in the garden & the eggshells decompose into the soil.
ReplyDeleteWe are organic here, I flick slugs and snails onto our flat garage roof for the birds, I too can't stand them.
ReplyDeleteOur garden is full of them. Now and again I pick up 20 or so and thrown them into the empty lot next door or out onto the road. Not options for you I'm thinking.
ReplyDeleteYou could gather a bucket full and eat them !
Grow yhe strawberries in hanging baskets- a bit of extra attention to watering but no creepy crawlies (ours get eaten by slaters too). As for snails? Copper tape round pots, you might be ale to get copper impregnated weed mat (works a treat in the bottom of the cold frame I raise seedlings in), beer traps, and these https://www.amazon.co.uk/Slug-Collars-Hosta-Halos-Without/dp/B0. I don't know if you can get these plant collars in NZ but they are fabulous. I have about 100 now which i have collected up over 15 years. Even used every year they have faded a biit but the plastic is very UV resistant and they haven't gone brittle yet.
ReplyDeleteI cannot think of the last time I saw a slug or snail. The area we live in is so dry those things would shrivel up in a day!
ReplyDeleteI got told by someone that beer in a ice cream container or small container entices them, then they drown in it. Supposedly works.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the snail battle. It's always a battle, isn't it? I use slug bait if egg shells don't work (and one year that didn't work, I have no idea why.)
ReplyDeleteWe don't have them here ...too cold and dry I think:)
ReplyDeleteEwww. Glad they don´t make their way up to the balcony (why ever) - or maybe we just luckily don´t have them in the city? Never thought chicken would eat those! To strawberries!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's a constant battle and I wish you luck. Slugs are more of a problem for me (the tiny ones you don't see until you find one inside the beautiful pepper you've just harvested). I do use a 'eco friendly' spray which deters the tiny ones for a while. I know where many of the big snails like yours overwinter in my garden and I tend to have huge clearouts, They always eventually return of course. So I use pellet slug repellant.
ReplyDeleteUgh snails! and crawling up your window too...the cheek of it...leaving their slimy trails on the glass in front of your eyes. We have discovered that we have loads of slugs and snails in the garden of our new house. They have been happily munching the flower seedlings that I planted. And even though we have a lot of blackbirds and thrushes here, the little pests persist. At our last property we used a thick layer of used coffee grounds all the way around the vegetable patch. It worked really well in keeping the slugs and snails away, they hate it. But only use coffee grounds if you don't mind the overpowering smell of coffee lol. We got the used coffee grounds from our local cafe, they were happy to give them to me by the bag-load. Happy snail hunting. Hugs, Rose x
ReplyDeleteThat could be Mr and Mrs as snails are hermaphrodites... I have resorted to using baits - specifically the Tui brand as they are harmless to birds and animals
ReplyDeleteBlessings
Maxine
Before I read your post, I could not for the life of me think what that was. I thought it something flying.
ReplyDelete