Pests and Diseases: Slugs and Snails
You will notice that most winter crops are quite leafy, which means slugs and snails will have a feast if you’re not vigilant!
Here are some of our go-to methods for getting rid of these pesky little critters:
• In a home garden my favourite way is to make a beer trap by cutting 3 sided windows into the sides of lidded plastic containers (like yoghurt and hummus containers). Fill with beer to just below the level of the windows and put a lid on the container (to stop rain diluting the beer). Place among your plants in the garden, sitting the bottom of the container about 1-2 cm deep in the soil. The critters will come from far and near, just clear them out every day and leave the beer there for a few days before replacing. This is an especially good remedy for anyone brewing their own beer!!
• Try leaving an upside-down plate, wooden board, or split bamboo on the ground overnight, with some lettuce or cabbage leaves under it to attract them - the slugs and snails will hide under it at sun-rise - but clear it out in the morning or they’ll head out again at night!
• Try to keep your garden free of debris that offers good hiding places
• Unfortunately raised beds offer lots of nooks and crannies, so check them out thoroughly
• Water in the morning, rather than the evening
• There are plenty of natural slug and snail predators: thrushes and blackbirds, frogs, chickens (although they seem to like snails but not slugs), and ducks.
• There is a certified organic slug slug bait called IronMax (based on Iron phosphate) but it is very difficult to get hold of and eye- wateringly expensive!
