Slugs cause a lot of damage in the garden. They also do not disdain the foliage and flowers of the hydrangea and, especially in humid weather conditions, can eat up entire plants bare in a very short time.
Snails like to nibble on hydrangeas, but there are simple ways to keep them away
Preventive measures against the pests
There are a number of things you can do in advance to avoid a snail invasion in the hydrangea bed.
Properly mulch
Covering the soil around the hydrangea with a layer of mulch has many benefits. Unfortunately, fresh plant residues such as leaf or grass clippings offer the snails optimal living conditions and thus attract the animals. Therefore, mix dry straw under the mulch material and apply only a thin layer of mulch (€239.00).
Water in the morning hours
Water the plants in the morning to allow the leaves to dry well. The slugs are mainly active in the evening and at night and prefer plants with fresh, moist foliage. Therefore, refrain from watering the plants and water the hydrangea with a wide stream.
borders of the beds
There are various barriers you can use to keep snails out of the hydrangea bed:
- Snail fences and snail collars
- coffee grounds
- ash
- sharp stones
- sawdust
Fighting snails
In order to keep the number of pests under control, you should collect crawling animals in the evening. Lay out boards in the bed or place upside down flower pots near the hydrangea. The snails hide under these traps, so that you can easily collect the animals the next day.
promote beneficials
Make the garden as natural and varied as possible and offer beneficial insects such as hedgehogs or toads a suitable shelter.
Beer traps do more harm than good
You often hear the tip to bury beer traps in the bed to fight the annoying slugs. The smell of the barley juice is so tempting for the animals that the snails from the neighbor's garden are also magically attracted to it. As a result, you often have more snails in the garden than before.
Avoid slug pellets
Slug pellets (7.49€) promise quick success in combating slugs. However, keep in mind that with this remedy you will not only kill the slugs, but also the beneficial slugs. If pets or children ingest the active ingredients, they often also show symptoms of poisoning.
tips and tricks
Snails such as the Roman, grove and garden band snails prefer to feast on withered leaves. Smaller snails also clean the branches of the hydrangea from algae and fungi, thus ensuring plant health.