Although snails and slugs are not a scourge of garden crops, in rainy summers, as well as in spring and autumn, they can still cause a lot of trouble to the owner of the land. However, timely preventive measures will repel mollusks and will allow you not to resort to toxic chemicals to control pests.
Mechanical protective barrier
A mechanical barrier will protect plants from slugs and snails, which can be a moat with coarse sand, gravel, crushed eggshells and other materials with a rough and sharp surface. Mollusks do not like to contact their abdomen with the sharp edges of such mounds and will avoid the beds.
Spraying and powdering plants
Spraying the crops in the beds with plant-based infusions will help get rid of shellfish. The following recipes can be used to treat garden plants:
- Pour 500 g of hot pepper into 10 liters of water and leave for 2 days, then bring the infusion to a boil, cool and use for its intended purpose;
- coffee infusion from drunk coffee (you can also use instant drink) of weak strength;
- infusion of mustard powder at the rate of 2 tbsp. spoons per 250 ml of water, leave for an hour.
All of these infusions are less toxic than industrial chemicals, so their use is preferable, especially before harvesting garden crops.
You can also sprinkle garden crops with a mixture of tobacco dust and wood ash in equal volumes, dry mustard powder, and slaked lime. It is better to treat plants with them in the evening.
Timely weeding
Snails and slugs prefer moist, cool places to live. High-quality weeding of the area from weeds will reduce the number of shelters for mollusks, and a well-lit, heated bed will minimize their visits.
Planting plants with a strong odor
Slugs and snails do not accept proximity to plants that have a strong odor: sage, garlic, parsley, thyme, calendula. These species can be planted around the perimeter of the garden bed or alternated with them as the main garden crop. You need to take care of planting them in early spring.
Attracting Natural Enemies
In the fight against slugs and snails, their natural enemies, which can be attracted to the site, will help. For example, you can hang birdhouses for starlings, set up stones for lizards that will serve as shelter for them, organize a small pond for frogs - all these structures can also serve as decorations on your personal plot.
Timely measures taken to repel shellfish will help avoid the use of chemicals and significantly reduce the number of pests. Combining these methods also gives excellent results.
