Although most people are aware that snails are a part of nature, this does not mean that we enjoy sharing our garden spaces with them. Garden snails can cause a lot of damage to your lawn and garden. If these slow-moving gastropods have you wondering, “How can I regain control of my garden?” you’ve come to the right place.
What you need to know about garden snails
The gastropod mollusc or shelled gastropod is the formal name given to what we know as a land snail. And even though garden snails are small, they pack a powerful punch! Here, we’ll go over everything you ought to recognise about these leaf munchers.
Snails are nocturnal
Garden snails, like so many prey species, are nocturnal. It’s a necessary survival technique. They are also lively following rains and on overcast days with some cover. They spend much of their time hidden away, quietly chomping on anything they can find. They forage for food at nighttime or very early in the morning since they are nocturnal.
Snails have a large appetite (and aren’t fussy eaters)
Speaking of snails chomping on anything, snails are herbivores, which makes your green garden plants that much more enticing!
They graze on fresh leaves, stems, and bark, along with crop species such as mushrooms, berries, and lettuce. But, land snails really aren’t picky when it comes to food, and it is frequently the adolescent snails who do the most feeding.
Snails need calcium-rich foods to maintain the hardness of their shells and they use their powerful sense of smell to sniff out these types of foods. Snails will attack your homegrown broccoli, bok choy, turnip greens, watercress, and kale because of their high calcium content.
Slimy snail trails
One of the more icky aspects of snails is the slime trails they leave behind. It helps move around your garden by providing traction. It also provides them with the stamina to climb vertical surfaces. When the temperature rises, the mucus protects their bodies, keeping them from drying out.
One important thing to note is that although their slime is unpleasant, it won’t harm you.
5 reasons you don’t want snails in your garden
- Snails have a rough, raspy tongue that they use to scrape the edges of plant leaves. Once snails begin munching through your garden, you’ll notice huge holes and chips on the surface of your plant leaves, which might harm or even kill your plants. However, that’s not all they do.
- Nobody likes to pick a fresh lettuce leaf from the garden only to discover a snail. Garden snails are unattractive and filthy, making your yard or garden a less pleasant place to be.
- They are carriers of disease. Snails can transmit illnesses and parasite worms to household pets and humans.
- Snails are typically pests of seedlings and herbaceous plants because they favour juicy leaves or flowers. They are also major pests of turfgrass seedlings and ground-ripening foods like strawberries and tomatoes, as well.
- Some predators of garden snails are beetles, rats, mice, turtles, salamanders and some birds. Other pests may therefore see snails in your garden as an invitation to enter.
You can anticipate these slow pests arriving in mass in the warm wet summer months and in winter for the winter rainfall areas. Look out for the below signs of invasion to see if you’re dealing with a snail problem.
Spotted: you’ve got a snail problem
Before using any pest control in the garden, it’s important to correctly identify the problem. If you know what to look for, you may easily detect when these pests are feasting on your plants.
- Usually, healthy seedlings will vanish overnight, and foliage and blooms will have ragged holes, beginning at the bottom of the plant.
- Check for glossy streaks on the leaves and silver-grey slime tracks on the plant, dirt, or containers.
- Snails flourish in situations that protect them from the sun’s heat due to their slimy, damp bodies. The easiest approach to spot them in the act is to look for them by torchlight, either before or after daybreak.
Also read: Spring and summer pest management: how to prepare for warmer weather, Home and garden pest protection for a pet home
Get rid of garden snails with Efekto Zero Snail
Our newest product, Efekto Zero Snail, is an eco-conscious snail and slug bait formulation.
The active component iron (Fe) prevents snails from feasting on your plants after they consume the specially formulated pellets.
What’s in the box
1 x 1kg or 500 g of Zero Snail pellets
Here’s how to use Efekto Zero Snail:
- To protect your plants against snails, scatter pellets around the soil or near them.
- Applying Efekto Zero Snail pellets in the late afternoon or evening will yield the greatest results because snails are most active at night or in the early morning hours.
- Remember to scatter evenly and don’t heap the pellets.
- It is best to apply it to moist soil that has no standing water.
- Re-apply every three weeks.
Get the most out of your garden with our range of garden protection products.
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