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IN YOUR GARDEN

Choose less toxic products for your home and garden. Look for this symbol before you buy.

SNAILS AND SLUGSSNAILS AND SLUGS

A

LESS-TOXIC PEST MANAGEMENT

mazing as it seems,our pest snails wereoriginally imported

from France for culinary pur-poses. Unfortunately, theyescaped to become a major gar-den and agricultural problem.Snails and slugs are closelyrelated. They both have soft,oblong bodies and producequantities of slime to helpthem move around. The most

obvious difference is that snailshave shells.

DETECTION

Are your vegetable and flower seed-lings being devoured overnight? Are

you finding large ragged holes in yourprized ornamentals? Do you see slimetrails across your walkways? If so, yourgarden is probably harboring snails

and slugs.Snails and slugs are active mostly atnight and on dark, cloudy days. Onsunny days they can be found in moist,shady spots. Look for their eggs in the

soil (about an inch down) or underrocks, boards, or plant debris. The eggsare laid in masses of up to 100 and re-semble small pearls. When you find

eggs, crush them or scoop them into aplastic bag, seal it, and put the bag inthe garbage.

LESS-TOXIC CONTROLS

Keeping down the population of slugsand snails requires persistence. Byusing a combination of two or more of the following methods, you should beable to reduce their numbers, and keepsnails and slugs at acceptable levels inthe garden.

HAND-PICK AT NIGHT To be effective, hand-picking must

be thorough and it must be doneregularly. Collect nightly until itshard to find snails and slugs, thencheck once a week.

The best time for hand-picking isafter 10 or 11 pm when they comeout to feed. You can go out earlier,but you wont find as many.

A flashlight and pair of gloves ortongs will make collecting theseslimy creatures easier.

Crush snails and slugs completely(otherwise they may recover and

walk away) or drown them in a pailof soapy water (they survive in plainwater). A few dead snail and slugbodies left on the soil surface will

attract more snails and slugs andmake your collecting easier, but largepiles will breed flies. Burying crushedmollusks 3 or 4 inches undergroundwill add nutrients to the soil andavoid fly problems.

USE BARRIERSBefore using barriers, hand-pick for acouple of nights. After the barriers arein place, check for snails and slugs

caught inside the barrier. Wrap a strip of copper (Surefire

Slug and Snail Copper Barrier Tape)around a tree trunk, flower pot, orthe wooden sides of garden beds orfences. Snails and slugs are repelledby the unpleasant reaction betweentheir bodies and the copper.

Cover seedlings with small cagesmade from plastic or galvanizedmetal window screen. Push the cages

into the soil so snails and slugs cantsqueeze under. Cover rows of vegetables with special

horticultural fabric (Fast Start

Seed Blanket) that lets in light andwater but excludes snails and slugs.

CONTROLLING

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PRODUCTS

Examples of trade names of products listed in this fact sheet:Copper Barrier: Safer Slug and Snail Copper Barrier TapeCoconut Oil Soap Barrier: SlugStop

Horticultural Fabric (Row Cover): Fast Start , Seed Blanket Baits containing Iron Phosphate: Sluggo, Escar-Go , Worry Free

Use a product like SlugStop

(coconut oil soap) to repel slugs andsnails. Apply the material in a ringaround individual plants.

Snails and slugs may cross barrierssuch as diatomaceous earth,lime, sawdust, ashes, etc., especiallywhen these barriers are wet. Lime,

sawdust, and ashes can also bedetrimental to your soil.

USE TRAPS Snails and slugs can be trapped

under upside-down flower pots,dark-colored plastic sheeting, andwooden boards. Place these trapsaround the garden and collect snailsand slugs in early morning.

Homemade or commercial pit traps

that use beer or yeast mixtures tolure snails and slugs to a drowningdeath may help, but hand-pickingwill probably still be necessary.

ENCOURAGE NATURALPREDATORSMany common ground beetles killsnails and slugs. Most of these beetlesare large (1 to 2 inches), black, tank-like creatures. They are found in thesame moist habitats as their prey: un-

der rocks, boards, leaves, etc. Avoidkilling these allies.

USE IRON PHOSPHATEBAIT Choose a bait product carefully.

Baits containing methiocarb killearthworms and beneficial insects.

Baits containing iron phosphate(such as Sluggo , Escar-Go , orWorry Free ) are safer for children

and pets than baits containingmetaldehyde. Nevertheless, alwayskeep this and all other pesticides outof the reach of children and pets.

After eating iron phosphate, snailsand slugs stop feeding and die within3 to 6 days. They often crawl intosecluded places, so you may not see

dead bodies. Reapply iron phosphate baits every

2 weeks.

PREVENTION

Snails and slugs find large expansesof ivy, nasturtiums, and other suc-culent ground covers particularlyattractive, and they also hide inclumps of agapanthus, lilies, daffo-dils, and iris. They are less attractedto plants with dry, hard leaves likerhododendrons, junipers, and bam-boo. If you cant remove the attrac-tive plants, regularly search themfor pests.

Moisture makes an area much moreattractive to snails and slugs. Avoidover-watering and use drip emittersto deliver water only where it isneeded. Water early in the day toallow the area to dry out before

nightfall. It may be necessary toremove mulch from areas withsevere problems.

Remove any boards and flower potsthat you arent using as traps.

PESTICIDES AND

WATER POLLUTION

Common household pesticides show up intreated wastewater and in Bay Area creeks,sometimes at levels that can harm sensitiveaquatic life. So, water pollution preventionagencies have teamed up with participatingBay Area stores to reduce the risks associ-ated with pesticide use. This fact sheet is partof a series of information pieces and store dis-plays aimed at educating Bay Area residentsabout less-toxic pest management. Look forthe Our Water Our World logo next toproducts in participating hardware stores andnurseries throughout the Bay Area.

Pest control strategies and methods describedin this publication are consistent with inte-grated pest management (IPM) concepts,and are based on scientific studies and testsin actual home and garden settings. Use sug-gested products according to label directionsand dispose of unwanted or leftover pesti-cides at a household hazardous waste collec-tion facility or event. No endorsement of spe-cific brand name products is intended, nor is

criticism implied of similar products that arenot mentioned.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For more information, contact: Bio-Integral Resource Center (BIRC)(510) 524-2567University of California Cooperative

Extension Master Gardeners in your area(in the phone book )Central Contra Costa Sanitary Districtwebsite: www.centralsan.orgUniversity of California IPM website:

www.ipm.ucdavis.edu

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This fact sheet was developed for the OurWater Our World program, which promotesless-toxic pest control and was originallydeveloped by Central Contra Costa SanitaryDistrict. The program is supported by theBay Area Pollution Prevention Group,the Bay Area Stormwater ManagementAgencies Association, and Bay Area waterpollution prevention agencies.Writing:Tanya Drlik, Bio-Integral Resource Center

Design:Lauren Wohl DesignPartial funding:Bay Area Pollution Prevention GroupBay Area Stormwater Management

Agencies AssociationThank you:UCCE Master GardenersParticipating stores

January 2001