+85 votes
by (220 points)
Help  my garden is being eaten alive by snails! Any useful ways to stop this? I can't use pellets I have pets
Help  my garden is being eaten alive by snails!

65 Answers

+26 votes
by (770 points)
Broken egg shells
+29 votes
by (2k points)
Someone told me to put coffee granules around the potted plants and it has worked!  
+48 votes
by (670 points)
Crushed eggshell or beach shells scatter around the base . the won’t crawl over them
+36 votes
by (1.4k points)
Crushed seashells work
+8 votes
by (1.5k points)
Ceedarwood essential oil.  
+59 votes
by (2.3k points)
I've tried allsorts over the years and had no joy so I found one way to sort it was to go collect them up in a bucket and relocate them to a nearby woods
+52 votes
by (690 points)
I've been told porridge oats. The eat them then it expands inside them and they explode.  
by (3.2k points)
@pirn39353 haha! That's a new one on me! But might invite rats!  
by (690 points)
@tingey my neighbour does it and it appears to work. Any type of food will invite rats.  
by (820 points)
That's vile
+51 votes
by (690 points)
Salt in water in a pot and drop them in gets rid of them with out killing birds
+20 votes
by (1.3k points)
Diatomaceous earth, animal friendly, kills garden pests, good for hedgehogs as they eat the dead slugs and snails while also eating the diatomaceous earth which kills any parasites living in them. You can also use it on dogs and cats to kill fleas and parasites, aswell as in the home to kill fleas eggs and bugs ect. Even safe for people to ingest  
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151161308368
+12 votes
by (1.7k points)
Ferrous pellets work or go out at night with a torch and bucket, labour intensive but satisfying
+78 votes
by (680 points)
You can get pet safe slug pellets
+48 votes
by (1.2k points)
Slug pubs! Sounds mad but get containers, sink into ground until level, fill with beer. Put a little roof over to protect from rain. Empty it every few days they will be full of dead snails/slugs cc
by (1.1k points)
@fullbodied45 you can use coca cola instead of beer
by (690 points)
@fullbodied45 that works very well.  
+29 votes
by (2.2k points)
Tried DE round my gherkin plants. useless.  
+24 votes
by (2.4k points)
I put pellets down and found they were no use at all. Maybe because they were 22 calibre and not 177, or the fact they were made of lead put them off who knows ?  
+21 votes
by (750 points)
Do you water your garden in the afternoon evening? I've switched to morning watering and I haven't seen any slugs as of yet
+55 votes
by (730 points)
Ducks. They love slugs. I would love to have ducks. Not very practical tho. Lol
by (2.7k points)
@noach as do hedgehogs  
+75 votes
by (680 points)
Garlic water
+65 votes
by (740 points)
If there getting into plant pot/containers put a line of Vaseline around it, or vaporub , they won't go over it
+34 votes
by (690 points)
Borrow a duck or 2 for a few days  x
+12 votes
by (710 points)
So many different suggestions here--which really works?  
+74 votes
by (670 points)
Midnight walk of death.  
+17 votes
by (700 points)
Put cheap bear in cups and into the ground. Only thing that worked for me with slugs. I'm guessing it would be the same for snails. They love it and dround.  
+16 votes
by (740 points)
Salt, cheap and works.  
+38 votes
by (680 points)
Cat food
+73 votes
by (680 points)
Egg shells
+20 votes
by (3.7k points)
Put them in your compost bin. They will love it and stay there
+84 votes
by (1.1k points)
Like you I have dogs and cant use pellets, I have tried everything from copper pipe to sheep wool, snail traps, egg shells and copper tape. The best thing that works for me is salt. When the weather is dry i sprinkle it around the plant. In the wet weather I have to go out at night with a torch and salt pot, when I find one I sprinkle a bit on salt on them.  
by (490 points)
@spectrum does salt not harm the plants? Or it's not enough to do anything? Curious
+53 votes
by (700 points)
Egg shells sharp and slugs and snails don’t like x
+45 votes
by (1.2k points)
Copper tape
+31 votes
by (2.7k points)
Yes It's so difficult isn't it! I try not to as I've got hedgehogs in the garden. I am trying coffee grit, broken egg shells and I also have a bag of grit. They don't like uneven surfaces apparently. Some people put some ale in a cup and sink it into the ground and they will go in there. I don't like that idea though. Try and attract hedgehogs as they eat the slugs and snails. They like messy gardens though, not tidy. Areas where there are piles of leaves here and there and obviously a shallow dish of water.  
+81 votes
by (750 points)
I’m going to try nemetodes this year. Waiting for them to arrive off Amazon
+83 votes
by (730 points)
Egg shells crushed
+81 votes
by (710 points)
I us bran circled around plant.  
+29 votes
by (720 points)
Nematodes from amazon
+8 votes
by (640 points)
Salt is good
+58 votes
by (730 points)
A glass of beer in the garden, they love it! Then drown  
by (490 points)
@assemble Chapman seems like a good way to go
+2 votes
by (540 points)
Cook them.  
+68 votes
by (1.4k points)
Cheap cat biscuits they eat the biscuits not your plants
+33 votes
by (750 points)
I also have a problem with snails. I use organic slug pellets that is safe for pets and and wildlife.  
+70 votes
by (730 points)
Sprinkle hair clippings around your plants and at the boundary of your garden. The slugs and snails will recoil from 'walking' over them and go in the opposite direction without any harm to them x
+68 votes
by (750 points)
Nematodes! They don't last as long as 6 weeks like they say but they do last a few weeks
+76 votes
by (650 points)
Egg shells around plants , or salt if u want rid completely
+81 votes
by (740 points)
Q. v. c channel are selling great stuff that's safe for pets
by (880 points)
@pontone yep I got this
+40 votes
by (1.8k points)
I went out after every rain with some gloves and a pot, collected the snails and dumped them in the garden bin to be taken away. Did it 3 or 4 times and 3 years later I only see a couple a year now
+69 votes
by (1.8k points)
Garlic wonder granules ebay
by (1.4k points)
@lohman Wow do you get Vampire Snails  
by (1.8k points)
@soften474 lol
+71 votes
by (1.2k points)
Egg shells
+85 votes
by (710 points)
I've just bought slug nematodes on Amazon. Haven't used it yet though
by (880 points)
@untie is it wild life safe and pet safe
by (710 points)
+38 votes
by (710 points)
Egg shells around the plants
+16 votes
by (770 points)
Get th salt they dont it
+15 votes
by (2.4k points)
Get a duck
+58 votes
by (1.1k points)
Egg shells
+44 votes
by (1.4k points)
I saved this to try
+9 votes
by (700 points)
Egg shells can help. If you are walking during the day for exercise collect the snails and put them in hedgerows or on roadside grass verges . Over time you'll clear most if not all .  
+34 votes
by (1.1k points)
Sink glass jars and fill with a little beer/lager, they fall in and are done for.  
+3 votes
by (560 points)
Salt is cruel
+45 votes
by (1.6k points)
The pellets don't harm pets it says on the tub.  
+33 votes
by (700 points)
Egg shells
by (1.8k points)
@whitethroat do u have to bake the egg shells first a friend said you do ‍♀️
by (700 points)
I didnt need to. crush them a bit. The rough surface stops them from wanting to climb over them to get to the plants
+68 votes
by (720 points)
Gather them up, take them for a walk, put them somewhere else.  
by (490 points)
@scabious they come back lol . I used to throw them over my fence, and they would climb back over haha
by (720 points)
I know, just not into poisoning them etc <3
+56 votes
by (680 points)
Bake egg shells in oven low heat until very brittle crush and sprinkle round plants. Snails slugs will stay away
+67 votes
by (710 points)
I chop up cucumber, lettuce leaves, tomatoes and black bananas, and scatter the pieces around the plants for the slugs and snails to munch on. This stops them from eating my plants.  
+85 votes
by (690 points)
Works well the snail crosses onto the second copper tape completes the circuit a small charge. And the snail is stopped. It's a 9 volt battery. My Hosta's are snail free  
+67 votes
by (990 points)
I use coffee grounds and the tea out of used tea bags. Apparently they don't like the way it sticks to them
by (1.8k points)
@prodigious do you just sprinkle the grounds around the plants or have to do anything with them first Ps I have loads of coffee grounds  
by (990 points)
@portwin . Just sprinkle around plants and leave it .  
by (1.8k points)
@prodigious thank u x
+30 votes
by (690 points)
I dont know if this works but if you slice some cucumber and put it in a tinfoil tray and place in the garden by plants, apparently the cucumber reacts with foil gives of a smell you wont get any slugs or snails so l read yesterday. Worth a try.  
+75 votes
by (1.1k points)
Definitely beer traps
+74 votes
by (2k points)
Chickens are fab at getting rid of slugs and snails otherwise it's about sharp grit and physically removing
The Gardening Tips Group is where you can always find questions, answers, advice, reviews & recommendations from other community members about do-it-yourself outdoor projects and gardens for flowers and vegetables.
...