How to Get Rid of Garden Snails

Garden snails, along with slugs, are unassuming creatures until you've seen their damage. A glistening slime trail is among the first signs you have that these mollusks are parading around your yard. Next, you may see defoliated plants and half-eaten fruit. These creatures are such effective feeders that entire plants may be skeletons of what they were the day before. Removing the slime-covered creatures from your garden doesn't require dangerous chemicals, just a little dedication and time.

Board or drip tray

Small stones

Beer

Jars

Iron-phosphate snail bait pellets

4-inch copper flashing

Copper foil

Staple gun and staples

Paper clips

Eliminate items around your garden that provide cover for snails and slugs. These moist-bodied creatures hide during the day and stay out of the sun, coming out to feed on foggy, moist days and in the evening.

Boards, flower pots, weeds, wood, stones and other debris provide dark, moist homes for snails during the day. Without a safe daytime retreat near their food source, snails and slugs will move elsewhere to find their foods.

Set up a snail "house" as a trap once you have removed other shelter. Place a board, flower pot drip tray or other item on small stones near your damaged plants. The stones keep the board or item slightly elevated to provide snail shelter.

Remove the snails in the morning after the sun has come up and temperatures are rising. Feed the snails to pond ducks, or place them on bird feeders for local wildlife to enjoy.

You can also bury jars so that the opening is at ground level in the garden and fill them with beer. The beverage will draw snails and slugs and cause them to drown. Refill the traps every couple of days.

Wet the soil and sprinkle iron-phosphate-based snail baits at a rate of 1/2 to 1 teaspoon per square yard. Iron-phosphate baits, which line shelves of hardware stores under a variety of names, are safe to use around children and pets, unlike the much more common snail baits containing metaldehyde.

Apply the bait frequently around the areas snails and slugs travel. Iron-phosphate baits are safer and, in some cases, more effective than metaldehyde. Once ingested, the bait causes the snails and slugs to stop feeding, killing them over time.

Install copper flashing -- at least 4 inches tall -- around your garden with 1/2 to 1 inch stuck below the soil line. Copper interferes with the snails' mucus, creating an electric shock-type sensation.

Metaldehyde is dangerous to pets and children and particularly attractive to dogs.

For trees and planting boxes, wrap with copper foil and fold out the bottom ends at a 90-degree angle. Staple one end of the foil to the tree with the staple parallel to the tree trunk to prevent excess wounding or damage to the plant. Overlap the ends by several inches and attach with large paperclips to allow the band to slide as the tree grows.

For more information on snail prevention, visit How to Keep Snails Out of Your Garden.