solemama.freeforums.org

Hi there,

I'm currently being driven mad by snails. We've tried to make a trap using some sugar, alcohol and cabbage but it doesn't seem to be working and my herbs and veges are taking a beating.

Do you know of any good ways to deal with them naturally? Home remedies would be appreciated but any links to commercial outfits making enviro/animal friendly pest controls would also be helpful.

Thanks in advance!
Amy

I always found beer traps worked with snails, but also something to consider, snails are actually the cleaners. Typically they only eat sick and dying leaves anyways. Maybe start checking your leaves to confirm if it is the sails eating your herbs, or do you have something else in there. Those tiny green catepillars usually make a massive dent in my garden. You only need one moth to lay a bunch of eggs and your fighting them off everything for ages afterwards. I have bought a product called EcoOil, which I'm going to have a try with if I get hammered by pests again this year (so far so good, but then I'm hitting a sudden water shortage and I'm struggling in other ways now).

These snails are not cleansing- unless they think my brand-spanking-new Cucumber seedlings are sick and dying!

We ended up collecting and killing off a bunch of the bigger ones. The seedlings are still taking a beating so we're going to go back out at night and kill some more. Having a chat to some other locals it seems that Armidale has a snail infestation- which isn't surprising as we've had a damp year.

I've come across EcoOil before- a store up here carries a few of the EcoOrganic Garden products and someone from the company ran a stall at the Sustainable Living Expo we had in September. You might be interested to know that the same company also sells packs of beneficial insects- lady bugs and the such. Check them out here: http://www.ecoorganicgarden.com.au/gg.php

We got rid of our snail problem with chickens. They think snails are yummy.

I have whacked a big ring of fine mulch around my herbs. It keeps the snails off just like salt, or crushed egg shells.. too dry and prickly for them