Having snails in your garden, home, or aquarium can be annoying. If left alone, snails can eat plants, leave a sticky trail around the house, and overwhelm your fish tank. Luckily, you can get rid of slugs and protect your home garden. With both natural approaches and pesticides, you can get rid of swarms of slugs that plague your home.
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Method 1 of 3: Getting Rid of Ground Snails
Step 1. Make a beer trap to catch snails
Pour the beer into a small container, such as a can of sardines. Bury the can in planting or near a place frequented by slugs, but keep the top of the can sticking out of the soil (approximately 2.5 centimeters high). The smell will attract the snail's attention and make it sink into the container.
- Add yeast to make the trap more attractive to snails.
- You may need to use a few traps as these are only effective for slugs that are nearby.
- Alternatively, you can also use a plastic cup, yogurt cup, bowl, or pie plate as a beer container.
- Do not leave the can opening at the same level as the ground, as other beneficial insects may die when sinking into it.
Step 2. Pick up and dispose of the slugs if time permits
Snails are most active in the morning or evening. Therefore, these two times are the best moments to take snails. Put the snails that have been taken into a bucket or container to be transferred to another place.
- You can also kill the snails that have been collected.
- To speed up the process, you can place the pot or bowl upside down in a garden or area where snails are common. There's a chance that a slug will hide under it so you can easily find it.
Step 3. Spray cold coffee to kill the slugs
The caffeine in coffee has such a bad effect on snails that they will die when you spray them with coffee. However, you'll need to wet the snails so they die so make sure you spray enough coffee.
Make a coffee spray by brewing a pot of coffee and cooling it. Put the coffee in a spray bottle for use in the garden or home
Step 4. Use homemade garlic spray to keep and kill slugs
Spray the garlic mixture on the garden, yard, and house to taste. If you see a snail, you can moisten it with garlic spray. This mixture can kill snails and keep other snails away.
To make the garlic mixture, soak 3 crushed garlic cloves in 1 tablespoon vegetable oil overnight. After that, strain the liquid into 1 liter of water. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle. Add 1 teaspoon of liquid soap, then shake the bottle before using the mixture
Step 5. Use iron phosphate bait to kill the slugs
Iron phosphate is a molluscicide that can kill snails and snails. Place traps around the garden or in places where snails usually visit. After that, the snail will be attracted to approach the trap. When its body hits the iron phosphate trap, the snail will die.
- You can find iron phosphate traps at garden supply stores or the internet.
- A trap like this makes the snails stop eating. However, it usually takes about a week for the snail to die.
- Iron phosphate is the safest trap you can use because it is non-toxic to humans and pets.
Step 6. Use a molluscicide containing ferric sodium EDTA to kill slugs quickly
Spread the produce in the late afternoon or early evening to keep this poison "fresh" when the snails become active at night. Sprinkle molluscicide around areas where snails frequent. Snails will be attracted to bait that has been mixed with molluscicide. Once the trap is eaten, the snail will die in 3 days.
- This product is generally safe to use around the yard, but make sure you keep children and pets away from the area.
- Use the molluscicide sparingly (in a thin layer). Do not sprinkle the product in a thick layer as other animals may eat it and become sick or die.
Step 7. Raise the chickens to eat the snails
Chickens love to eat snails, so to naturally control the snail population, let your chickens roam in the garden or yard. Chickens will look for snails to eat so you don't have to throw away any snails yourself.
- Ducks also eat snails, but these birds prefer snails.
- Make sure applicable laws and regulations allow you to keep chickens in your yard.
Step 8. Attract natural predators of snails to live in your garden or yard
These predators include frogs, toads, turtles, birds, opossums, and snakes. The "selection" of predatory animals will depend on the environment in which you live. Therefore, talk to the manager or your local agriculture and gardening club for recommendations for a suitable biological controller for the area you live in. Usually, it is recommended that you plant plants or shrubs, as well as establish natural habitats (eg rock gardens).
You can also search the internet for the best ways to attract natural predators of snails according to where you live
Method 2 of 3: Limiting Snail Activity
Step 1. Water the soil in the morning to prevent snails from laying eggs
Snails need to lay their eggs in moist soil. Since snails usually lay eggs when they are active at night, make sure the soil is dry before nightfall. If you water the plant in the morning, the soil has time to dry out throughout the day.
If possible, use a watering system or sprinkler hose to help manage soil moisture to prevent snails from breeding
Step 2. Remove damp and rotting organic waste around the yard or garden
Snails are so attracted to damp, rotting organic waste that they will wander around if you don't clean the litter often. Check for organic waste around the yard and garden once a week. Make sure you throw it away and place it in a compost bin or trash can.
Keep in mind that a compost heap can be a “paradise” for a flock of snails. Keep compost piles away from yards and gardens. Also, surround the pile with abrasive barriers to reduce slug activity
Step 3. Surround the garden or house with an abrasive barrier to keep slugs away
Some of the options that can be used include eggshell fragments, diatomaceous earth, gravel, wood ash, and cedar wood chips. All these materials are difficult for snails to pass, so they can keep snails away from the garden or house effectively. Spread the abrasive around the location you want to protect from slugs.
- Crush egg shells as a handy home option.
- You can find diatomaceous earth, gravel, wood ash, and cedar wood chips at garden supply stores or the internet.
Step 4. Sprinkle used ground coffee around the garden as caffeine can keep slugs away
This mollusk is so sensitive to caffeine that it will instinctively stay away from ground coffee that has been used. Spread the coffee over the ground or around the foundation of the house as necessary.
If you don't drink coffee, contact a coffee shop in your area. The shop may want to give you ground coffee that has been used for free
Step 5. Use copper wire or tape to limit snail activity
Copper provides a shock to the snail so instinctively, this animal will avoid it. You can tape copper tape around potted plants, around the edges of the garden, or where snails flock to. If you want to use copper wire, tie the wire around the pot or make copper garden stakes.
- As another option, you can scatter copper coins around your yard or garden.
- You can get copper tape at garden supply stores or the internet.
Step 6. Plant plants that repel snails naturally
These plant species include digitalis (foxglove), euphorbia, Japanese anemone, daylily, succulent, astrantia, salvia, and fennel. These plants give off odors that snails don't like or on surfaces that snails cannot climb or cross. If one of these plant species is available in your garden, there's a good chance that snails won't come to your yard.
- For example, you can place potted plants around areas where snails frequent your home.
- Keep in mind that digitalis is a poisonous plant so this species may not be a good choice if you have children or pets.
Method 3 of 3: Keeping the Aquarium Slug Free
Step 1. Quarantine the plant for 2 weeks before placing it in the aquarium
Aquarium plants are the most common source of snails. Oftentimes, these plants carry eggs or baby snails that can reproduce in the aquarium. Fortunately, you can prevent this by quarantining the plants that carry eggs or baby snails for 2 weeks before placing them in the tank.
If you see snails during the quarantine period, remove them from the plant immediately
Step 2. Treat the plant with a mixture of bleach and water in a ratio of 1:19 before placing it in the aquarium
Make a bleach solution by mixing bleach and water in a 1:19 ratio. After that, dip each plant into the solution and remove immediately. This solution can kill snails or snail eggs attached to plants. Rinse the plant in clean water before placing it in the aquarium.
You only need to soak the plant in the solution for one second. This means you can just dunk the plant in and take it right back out
Step 3. Clean the entire aquarium and remove the gravel
You can take all the slugs directly if possible. Transfer the fish to a temporary tank, then remove the water from the tank. Remove all items, including gravel and substrate, then brush the snails from the aquarium walls.
- For best results, replace gravel and substrate with new material.
- Clean the plants and other decorations before you put them back in the tank. One way that can be followed to clean plants and decorations is to dip them in a cleaning solution made of water and bleach in a ratio of 19:1. This solution can kill snails and eggs attached to plants or decorations.
- If you don't want to remove all the plants or decorations from the tank, use a siphon hose to remove the gravel and substrate. In addition, you also need to take the snails that stick to the walls of the aquarium yourself.
Step 4. Add the snail-eating fish
Some fish eat snails and can help clean the tank. When selecting a predatory fish, check the information to make sure the selected species will not eat other fish. Also, make sure the fish are not too big to fit in the tank.
- For small aquariums, you can choose zebrafish or dwarf chain loach.
- If you have a large aquarium, choose a clown loach, pictus catfish (a type of catfish), koi, or large goldfish.
- Alternatively, add a predatory snail to the aquarium. This species feeds on other snails and does not reproduce often.
Step 5. Place a snail trap in the aquarium to catch and dispose of snails
This trap attracts the snail into the cage and prevents it from escaping. With this trap, you can catch and remove all the snails without harming the other fish.
- You can get traps like these from pet supply stores or the internet.
- You can also make your own snail trap by attaching large lettuce leaves to the aquarium wall. Leave the leaves overnight, then remove them in the morning. These leaves can attract the attention of many snails and make them stick to the surface of the leaves so you can easily remove them from the tank.
Step 6. Add fish-friendly copper sulfate to the tank to kill snails
This mollusk is so sensitive to copper that it will die if the aquarium water contains copper sulfate. Most fish will not be affected by copper, so it can be a safe choice for use in most aquariums.
- If you are afraid that your pet fish will die after copper sulfate is added, check the species information to see if your fish species is sensitive to copper.
- Do not follow this method if you are keeping shrimp or ornamentals as both animals are sensitive to copper.
- You can get copper sulfate from pet supply stores or the internet.
