I seem to have a ton of snails in my garden as of late. Does anyone know of a product that will kill them? Thanks....tom
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Snail Killer
Beer or Yeast & Honey Mixture
Snails and slugs are attracted to the scent of stale beer or a mixture of yeast and honey. •Put out a saucer filled with stale beer, or the yeast and honey mixture (listed below)
•Sink it into the ground so the top of the saucer is at ground level
•Slugs and snails will get into the mixture and drown.
Keep in mind this will only reliably kill slugs if the trap is deep enough so that slugs can't reach over the top to get out. So in the case of slugs, use a deeper trap like a deep yogurt container, or a deep plastic cup. Something that is too deep for a slug to climb out of, so it drowns in the beer.
Check the container daily to make sure a frog or something else hasn't accidentally fallen in, and also to empty and refill every couple of days.
Yeast & Honey Mixture:
Now, if you normally don't have beer around, a very effective alternative is boiling some yeast and honey in water. The proportions aren't very critical, just mix some up.
Once that is made, continue as above. Bury a dish up to the rim in your garden and fill it with this mixture. You’d be amazed at how well this works. The snails and slugs will glide right in and drown themselves. We’ve also heard old grape juice works well, but we have never tried that.
Copper Deterrents
Snails and slugs cannot tolerate copper; it gives them a slight electrical shock on contact. Knowing this is great, but keep in mind that it creates a barrier only. It won't kill them, it will only keep them out of an area that doesn't already have a problem.
This can be very helpful for raised beds, trees, containers, flower pots, and other areas in your yard or garden.
Snails and slugs are attracted to the scent of stale beer or a mixture of yeast and honey. •Put out a saucer filled with stale beer, or the yeast and honey mixture (listed below)
•Sink it into the ground so the top of the saucer is at ground level
•Slugs and snails will get into the mixture and drown.
Keep in mind this will only reliably kill slugs if the trap is deep enough so that slugs can't reach over the top to get out. So in the case of slugs, use a deeper trap like a deep yogurt container, or a deep plastic cup. Something that is too deep for a slug to climb out of, so it drowns in the beer.
Check the container daily to make sure a frog or something else hasn't accidentally fallen in, and also to empty and refill every couple of days.
Yeast & Honey Mixture:
Now, if you normally don't have beer around, a very effective alternative is boiling some yeast and honey in water. The proportions aren't very critical, just mix some up.
Once that is made, continue as above. Bury a dish up to the rim in your garden and fill it with this mixture. You’d be amazed at how well this works. The snails and slugs will glide right in and drown themselves. We’ve also heard old grape juice works well, but we have never tried that.
Copper Deterrents
Snails and slugs cannot tolerate copper; it gives them a slight electrical shock on contact. Knowing this is great, but keep in mind that it creates a barrier only. It won't kill them, it will only keep them out of an area that doesn't already have a problem.
This can be very helpful for raised beds, trees, containers, flower pots, and other areas in your yard or garden.
Tried beer. Didn't work. Always drank it before I gave it to the snails. I'm assuming the snails here have a preference for Bohemia. I do because it's close to what we drink in Canada. Tried many thing over the years to get rid of snails. Eventually used a Slugbe gone granular product. May be available at local hardware stores or Ochoa in Santiago. Just lay it on moist soil, they it eat and swell up and die.
exactly what I am looking for - is it available here? tried beer as well with little success...tom
thanks exoman
thanks exoman
Don't know. Other Dr1 members may know. May head back to Canada for a week. Can bring a bag back. Let me know what you find.
My mother used to use plain yellow corn meal around her begonias to keep the snails off...they won't cross it because of the texture of the corn meal.
Are they large enough for escargot? If so, just eat them. I can;'t say the same for slugs. I suppose someone somewhere eats slugs, but I woulf have to look it up.
My French girlfriend Bernadette grew up in Burgundy, and told me about they time she and a village women went on a snail hunt and captured a large bunch of the, which they put in a bucket. Bernadette counted the snails, and then went to bed. But she forgot to put a cover on the bucket, and by morning, all the snails had escaped!
My French girlfriend Bernadette grew up in Burgundy, and told me about they time she and a village women went on a snail hunt and captured a large bunch of the, which they put in a bucket. Bernadette counted the snails, and then went to bed. But she forgot to put a cover on the bucket, and by morning, all the snails had escaped!
Tried escargot. Didn't like it. Prefer oysters. The best ones are really slippery, go down well, and taste delicious with no lingering aftertaste. I'm biting my typing digit here because I want to make another double entendre!
If you did not like escargot, try a different recipe. Garlic is essential. Snails are a bit like scallops and Mexican callo de hacha: they do not have a lot of flavor, it is the spices and the butter that render them tasty.\
I also like oysters. And clams, except for that horrible dish known as Manhattan clam chowder. Manhattan oughta sue tem for hanging that name on it.
New England clam chower is nearly always good.
I also like oysters. And clams, except for that horrible dish known as Manhattan clam chowder. Manhattan oughta sue tem for hanging that name on it.
New England clam chower is nearly always good.
Hola Xavier,
Our Atlantic Canadian clam chowders tend to have more than clams, probably pieces of cod or lobster. They go light on the cream which is the way I prefer it. The fish stews tend to be heartier versions of the chowders. POP Village where I stay does an excellent job of cooking their fish. The langouste is another story. Basically burnt offerings and salty beyond belief. Best langouste I've had so far was at the beach bar in Luperon. They take it out of the shell, lightly cook it, add a tomato basil sauce and serve it on a bed of pasta.
Good suggestion but I'm guessing Tom is dealing with a snail population explosion given the current climatic conditions. Salt, diatomaceous earth, and other desiccants are short term labour intensive remedies. The SLUGBEGONE granules are a natural way of killing the snails on a large scale. There may be similar products available here.
Salt or the diatomaceous earth both sound a whole lot like a "natural remedy" than SLUGBEGONE. Unless you can show me a SLUGBEGONE bush you are shaking those granules from. The word natural has been twisted so far out of reality that it no longer has any meaning at all. All natural pills? Right! Off a pill tree? How much processing does it take to make them natural?
I have heard that Ducks and Geese will eat them up fast & love em .. maybe borrow some for a little while.. if thats an option..
My dad used to have lots of Geese when he was a young lad. Very smart , they take themselves out and come home at sundown making a racket.
My dad used to have lots of Geese when he was a young lad. Very smart , they take themselves out and come home at sundown making a racket.
Hola Derfish,
Checked out several slug killers and they were, overall, the best natural solution. Cats, mice, etc. Can eat them with no toxic effect. I know the word natural can be convoluted by the chemical industry but I do have a background in environmental toxicity. I check before I use, regardless of what I am using. The fact that they can be placed on the ground anywhere on your property and not affect other living animals gives me a level of comfort with the product.
My sister used to make Tofu, and since she was vegetarian (she is in Heaven now) she called Tofu "natural." It took at least a dozen processes to turn whatever one starts with into tofu and then she'd bake and mix it with other stuff before serving it as a natural food. I'd ask her for a definition of natural and basically for her it meant vegetarian. I pointed out into her yard at a rabbit hopping around one day and said If I were to be able to catch that rabbit and know how to kill it and saw off a leg and cook it that would be natural, but there is nothing natural about this. Same sis also got into selling "natural vitamins" at one point. The makers of these vitamins claimed that they had discovered a place on earth where God's flood didn't touch and these drugs were made from plant derived material from there. They didn't even hint as to where on the surface of earth that spot was, but seemed to believe it! I am only spouting off, and have no idea whether your bug killer is environmentally friendly or not.
Der Fish