The common garden snail is a nuisance to most gardens. Snails have some beneficial properties but mostly they damage vulnerable plants. Snail damage can quickly ruin the attractiveness of your vegetable garden. Tender, freshly sprouted plants are a prime target for the common snail. If you don’t take precautions to protect your plant leaves, the snail population can quickly destroy many tender shoots. Use organic snail control to protect your plants from snails.
Are Snails Good for a Garden?
There are some positive aspects to having snails in your garden. Snails feed on dead plant matter which can speed up natural decay. This can increase the fertilization process by removing unwanted waste. Snail slime in particular is an excellent, nitrogen-rich fertilizer. Snails are also higher in the food chain than other common garden pests. As a result, snails can protect your plants from smaller bugs.
- Garden snails eat other pests that are lower on the food chain.
- Snails speed up natural decay by eating dead plant matter.
- The snails in your garden will also eat the plants you’re trying to grow.
- Snails will devour all parts of your plants, from root, to leaf, to fruit.
Some gardeners also find the presence of garden snails aesthetically pleasing. However, it comes at a cost. Snails are opportunistic feeders that love to eat your growing plants. They won’t only go for the leaves. If given the chance, snails will eat the roots, fruits, vegetables, and stems of the plants you are growing.
Are Snails Good for Potted Plants?
Most common species of snail are bad for any plant, potted or otherwise. Potted plants are at special risk though because most species of snail will target the tender leaves of your plants. This spells danger for your container garden because potted plants tend to have more delicate leaves than most garden plants.
- Snails are bad for your potted plants.
- Almost all species of snail will eat common potted plants.
- Consider switching to snail-deterring potted plants like ferns.
If you’re suffering from a snail infestation, consider switching to potted plants snails hate. Things like ferns, hydrangeas, and Japanese anemone are generally avoided by the snail population. These won’t get rid of snails outright but your plants will be safe from snail and slug damage.
Do Snails Destroy Plants?
Snails absolutely destroy plants. Garden snails are called slimy invaders by many gardeners for a reason. Garden plants tend to lose their green leaves to garden snail species such as the brown snail or black snail. After snails have eaten the leaves, your plants can’t photosynthesize and will die.
- Snails can quickly destroy plants by eating all their leaves.
- Keep a close eye on places like water features for signs of snails.
Common types of snails are serious pests. To make matters worse, they can be found in any moist location. They tend to haunt a garden water feature in particular and can devastate your seedlings.
How Do You Get Snails to Stop Eating Your Plants?
There are several ways to get rid of snails. The best methods are snail traps, homemade snail killers, and pesticides. Pesticides can kill off nuisance snail populations quickly but may not be safe for your garden. A safer snail killer is a spray bottle full of vinegar. Vinegar will kill snails when sprayed directly on them, thus ending your snail infestation. Use this pet and plant-safe snail and slug killer to protect your plants.
- Spray snails with vinegar to kill them quickly.
- Try a pet-safe pesticide to kill snails.
- Consider spreading snail repellents on the ground, such as coffee grounds and salt.
You can also consider snail repellents to protect vulnerable plants. The most common method of protecting plants is to pour a ring of salt around your plants as a protective barrier. However, pouring salt on the soil can damage plant growth. Instead, use coffee grounds. A 1–2 inch (2.5–5 cm) circle of coffee grounds around your plants will stop snails from attacking. This is because snails hate the coarse texture of coffee grounds and avoid crawling over them. They will head elsewhere for food, leaving your plants safe.
Why Are There So Many Snails in Your Garden?
Nuisance snail populations tend to crop up anywhere that’s moist and offers protection from the sun. This makes gardens a prime target already but if you have a big infestation, excessive plant waste may be to blame. Dead organic matter from garden plants attracts snails to feed.
- Snails and slugs are attracted to areas with a lot of water and protection from the sun.
- Clear plant waste from the ground to remove an easy food source.
- A clean garden will attract fewer snails than a garden where dead and dying plants are left on the ground.
Regularly prune and toss out dead or dying parts of plants to make your garden less attractive to snails. Failing to do so leads to dead plant matter and a snail buffet. Thus, regular garden clean-up is an important part of organic snail control. Depriving the brown garden snail of an easy food source is the first step to preventing a pest issue.
Are Snails Good or Bad for Plants?
While the brown snail has some beneficial properties, most gardeners will find them to be a pest. Bad snails are known to chew up growing plants. In fact, a single snail can kill a plant if given enough time. Let’s recap all we’ve learned about protecting plants from snails:
- Snails can be good for a garden but are usually pests.
- Potted plants are especially vulnerable to snails.
- The brown snail will target fresh green leaves, which kills plants.
- Use organic snail killers to prevent snail infestations.
- Spread effective snail repellents like coffee grounds at ground level to keep snails from healthy plants.
- Regularly clean your garden to reduce the number of snails you attract.
Remember that keeping snails out of your garden is vital if you want healthy plants. If you see snails, treat them as pets and remove them from your garden as quickly as possible. This will help your plants thrive.
