Snails are often mistaken for slugs because they are both slimy. The only difference is the shell that houses them. A slug does not have a coiled shell, while a snail does. Looking for snails is never difficult if you intend to get rid of them during warm and rainy days. You can find snails at the base of the foundation of your house and in shaded areas. If you have lettuce in your garden, you will probably find snails there, too.
Recognizing Snails
The eyes of a snail are located at the tips of its stalks. They can be seen at the base of the short stalks with more slender tentacles. The tentacles are part of its sense of sight because whatever the eyes cannot see, the tentacles feel.
The mouth of the snail points at a downward direction to carry food from the surface. If you try to look at an aquatic nail through an aquarium, you will notice that the raspy tongue of the snail is scraping food from the glass. Usually, it scrapes off algae.
A snail also has flat-bottom, broad feet. They help the snail move forward.
Getting Rid of Snails the Natural Way
•Toads Go a Long Way – Pesticides should not be used. Pouring water onto the ground will be fine as long as you provide shade. The snails will gather themselves under the shade. Toads will be delighted to see the feast of snails and will kill them all for you.
•Use Your Favorite Drink – While beer is your favorite drink every Friday and Saturday night, you cannot use all types of beer to get rid of snails. Stale beer is the best beer you can use to get rid of snails. Set up commercial traps above the soil, near the damaged crops. Keep it that way until dusk. Then, pour in the beer. The next thing you know, you'll be sweeping away dead snails from the soil. Just keep doing this trick every night to make certain that there are no emerging infestations to occur. Dump the snails in an area where they can be eaten by their predators.
•Poisoning Not Necessary – Iron is dangerous when taken in by a snail. Sluggo and Escar-Go are products available on the market these days. You can scatter the pellets that contain iron phosphate around the damaged plants. This way, you get to kill these slimy pests without poisoning them. Iron phosphate has two purposes: to keep your plants away from the destructive pests, and to make your soil extra rich because of the added iron.
•Coffee Miracles – Studies show that when you need to get rid of snails, you can depend on caffeine. Your favorite coffee can actually be sprayed on the snails at night. Use the coffee dregs to kill the pests. A mulch of coffee grounds must be sprinkled around the damaged plants. Make sure that you use the already used coffee grounds.
•Copper Tops the Chart – Snails receive shock when they touch copper. Copper plant guards are now available on the market. Place your plants here for protection. If you do not want to purchase copper plant guards, then just literally protect your plants with copper. Adorn the frames of your plants with as much copper as you can. Since pennies are made of copper, you can place some around the top of the containers. To make sure that the pennies are secured to the plant containers, use hot-glue rings. Expect the snails to be captured immediately because of the shock they receive from the pennies.
•Old Planks or Boards – Put some old planks or boards at the top of your garden beds as covers to create a space for the snails to gather. They will all accumulate under the cover because they are sensitive to the heat of the sun. The next day, you will find dead snails all over as soon as you lift the old planks of boards. To clean the whole mess, just scrape the planks with a flat metal.
•Precious Fruities – Know which plants are prone to snail attack, and then leave rinds of fruits like lemon, grapefruit or orange around them. Keep the rinds close to the plants so that in the morning, you will find the dead snails all over the soil. Clean the mess properly by collecting all the dead snails and the fruit rinds. Old leaves of lettuce can also be used if you do not have lemons, grapefruits or oranges.
•Crowning Glory -- Using human hair is fun when it comes to getting rid of snails. You hair can serve as a protective barrier for your plants. Just surround the plants using the strands of your hair and when the snails pass by, they will be tangled up in the strands. Watch them be strangled as you wait for the time to clean up with whole mess. Since your hair contains nitrogen, it will make the soil richer.
•The Bugs Kill Them All – When lightning bugs are at their larval stage, they are very hungry. Because of this, they feed on the eggs of snails. Let the lightning bugs empty the whole garden of snails by letting the bugs stay in that area. Pesticides must not be used if you are using lightning bugs for killing, because the chemicals in a pesticide may kill the lightning bugs. Turn off the lights during nighttime to encourage the mature bugs to breed.
Snails look harmless because they do not bite you or give you annoying skin diseases. To your plants, however, seemingly-harmless snails are highly destructive. They eat up the nutrition that is supposed to be for your plants, and destroy leaves and flowers. You may notice that your plants are not healthy anymore, and that's because of these slimy pests consuming the beauty of your garden. Save your garden and make your home a more attractive and more comfortable place to live in by following these tips to get rid of snails.