Slugs and snails: how to recognise damage?
Slugs and snails can cause huge damage to your plant in a short period of time. You can recognise the damage they cause by the typical holes eaten out of the leaves. Of course, you will also spot their slime trails. Slugs cause more damage than snails.
How to prevent (further) damage?
There are a lot of things you can do to get rid of slugs and snails. Make sure to carefully organise your garden and to keep it tidy. This ensures that slugs and snails have less shelter. Also work the ground regularly to kill slugs, snails and their eggs. Additionally, don’t rid your garden of natural predators like hedgehogs and toads. Slugs and snails don’t like strong smells, like coffee grounds or garlic. Another thing they hate is copper.
More specifically, you can surround your plants with a sharp surface. Egg shells, gravel or sea shells are hard to cross for slugs and snails. You can also place a slug fence. This barrier out of plastic or netting can be placed around your plants. The top edge is turned back at an angle of 30 degrees. Slugs and snails cannot cross it because of this. Finally, you can place small containers with beer in the soil. Slugs and snails love the yeast in beer and will drown in it.
About slugs and snails
Slugs and snails come in all colours and sizes. Snails have a shell, whereas slugs do not. They have a tongue that contains thousands of miniscule teeth. This tongue works like a file, ripping leaves into small pieces. The top speed of most common garden snails and slugs is about 45 metres per hour. They enjoy cool and humid environments.
