- the essentials in brief
- What do snails eat? - Table
- Slimy water police - snails in the pond and aquarium
- What don't snails eat?
- What do snails like to eat in the terrarium
- What do baby snails like to eat?
- Snails eat lettuce - what to do?
- Snails eat strawberries - what to do?
- frequently asked Questions
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The eating habits of snails are a reflection of their way of life. Slugs leave a picture of misery. Snails clean up and eat away the waste. Find out here what snails eat and what not. Clear tables clarify important differences.
The diet of snails is varied - and not always vegetarian
Table of Contents
Show all- the essentials in brief
- What do snails eat?
- What don't snails eat?
- Snail food in the terrarium
- Baby snails favorite food
- Snails eat lettuce
- Snails eat strawberries
- frequently asked Questions
- Slugs eat fresh greens such as lettuce, cabbage, potato leaves, parsley, basil, horseradish, and strawberries.
- Shelled snails prefer to eat decomposed plant remains, rotten grass, mulm, fungal threads, rotten fruit and carrion. Snails do not eat fresh green.
- Snails do not eat vegetables and flowers with thick fleshy leaves or plenty of tannins/bitter substances, such as artichokes, chard, garlic, rhubarb, onions, cyclamen, begonias, coneflowers, lavender, sea lavender.
- treat: cucumber, clover, oatmeal
- vegetables: Kohlrabi leaves, carrots, radishes, lettuce (also wilted), boiled potatoes
- fruit vegetables: Slices of tomatoes, aubergines (overripe pieces are best eaten)
- fruit: chopped berry or fruit tree fruit (soft and rotten or fresh)
- herbs: parsley, basil
- wild plants: nettle leaves, dandelion
- Supplementary feed: fresh autumn leaves, egg shells as lime donors
the essentials in brief
What do snails eat? - Table
Slugs love to eat our vegetables
Destructive eating habits make slugs a dreaded garden pest. As omnivores, the beasts mercilessly devour what hobby gardeners have lovingly planted in beds and tubs. Their invasive appearance of course hides the fact that not all snails are the same. Harmless antithesis to sluggish slugs are snails worthy of protection. The question arises: What do shelled snails actually eat in contrast to slugs? The following table provides a compact overview:
| slugs | shell snails |
|---|---|
| salad | rotten grass |
| cabbage | withered plant leaves |
| carrot leaves | fungal threads |
| potato leaves | decomposed plant remains |
| fruit vegetables | rotten fruit |
| horseradish | mulm |
| basil, parsley | cadaver |
| strawberries | |
| young petals | |
| tagetes |
A special form of slugs are the predatory slugs, which spice up your diet in a horrible way. Slugs (Limacidae), like the well-known tiger slug (Limax maximus), engage in cannibalism. Where the opportunity arises, other slugs are devoured alive. Despite this diet, which takes some getting used to, predatory snails are now considered welcome beneficials in natural gardens.
The video below is peppered with meaningful hints and tips on what snails eat and how to get rid of the pests:
youtubeWhat do snails eat in winter?
Falling temperatures put an end to the big eaters in the fall. Before winter comes, all snails disappear and reappear in spring. Slugs crawl into frost-free soil layers to overwinter there. The molluscs have nothing to oppose the freezing frost and die off. The frost-resistant clutches of eggs from which young snails hatch just in time for the start of the new gardening season are more robust.
Shell snails also stop eating in winter. Because shelled snails cannot crawl into the ground, they have developed an alternative survival strategy. Before the first frost, they look for a sheltered niche in the garden or forest. There the snails close their house with a lime cap.
digression
Slimy water police - snails in the pond and aquarium
Pond snails prefer to eat algae, dead plant parts and excess fish food
At the sight of bladder snails (Physidae), mud snails (Lymnaea stagnalis) and other water snails, concerned pond owners ask themselves: What do snails eat in the pond? A quick glance at the menu gives the all-clear. Snails in the garden pond prefer to eat algae, carrion and dead plant remains. Mulm, fish droppings and excess fish food are also cleaned up. Swamp snails (Viviparidae) are even able to filter plankton and floating algae out of the water. With these food preferences, the busy water dwellers make an important contribution to crystal-clear, premium-quality water. Knowledgeable aquarists appreciate this and settle useful aquatic snails in the aquarium.
What don't snails eat?
Snails have an aversion to plants that are permeated with tannins, bitter substances and essential oils. Numerous species make these ingredients in large quantities to keep the slimy greedy gorges at bay. A number of plants develop thick, leathery or hairy leaves as an ingenious defense against snail damage. The following table names vegetables, herbs and flowers that experienced hobby gardeners certify as snail-free growth:
| vegetables | herbs | flower |
|---|---|---|
| artichoke | Comfrey | aster |
| chicory | goose cress | cyclamen |
| endive | Ragwort | begonia |
| garlic | chamomile | Busy Lizzie |
| chard | peppermint | Nasturtium |
| radish | oregano | lavender |
| rhubarb | sage | coneflower |
| asparagus | thyme | sea lavender |
| onion | lemon balm | crying heart |
Furthermore, snails lose their appetite for ornamental grasses of all kinds and most ferns. Because the insatiable pests also ignore moss, natural gardeners use liverwort extract against snails.
The culinary aversions of snails in the garden and forest can be summed up in one sentence: snails with shells do not eat fresh green in the wild. This empirical statement does not apply to snails that live under controlled conditions in the terrarium and have to eat what is on the table.
tips
Snails prefer to eat tender plant leaves. Experienced hobby gardeners plant young vegetables with a slug collar as ideal protection against slugs in the garden. This precaution also applies to young anti-slug plants until they have developed a sufficient amount of tannins and bitter substances or hardy leaves.
What do snails like to eat in the terrarium
The food buffet for snails is quite diverse
Glossy snails (Zonitidae), glass snails (Vitrinidae), edible snails (Helix pomatia) and other beauties of snails have nothing against living behind glass, provided the basic conditions are right. One of the pillars of successful snail husbandry in a glass house is a varied, species-appropriate diet plan. The following tips sum up what snails like to eat in the terrarium:
Snails in the terrarium are demanding and have an aversion to monotony. Changing daily specials are therefore trumps if you want to feed your pampered pupils healthily. On the other hand, if you serve cucumber, clover or oatmeal every day, bored snails will go on hunger strike until a new treat is served.
What do baby snails like to eat?
Baby snails do not differ from their snail parents in terms of their food preferences. If they are born as small slugs, they prefer to eat tender lettuce leaves, fine dandelion leaves and white clover leaves. Because the mini snails hatch at the same time as the seeding season, seedlings and seedlings in the bed are in great demand among the insatiable young people.
Small snails with shells are not particularly keen on fresh plant leaves or strawberries. Rather, they imitate their parents and look out for withered leaves, fallen petals, rotten mushrooms and similar plant debris. In the terrarium, mini snails are happy about pieces of cucumber or tomato.
Snails eat lettuce - what to do?
Lettuce seems to be snails' favorite food
In the salad bed, snail damage is the biggest and usually the only pest problem. This is hardly surprising, since tender lettuce is at the top of the menu for insatiable snails. In their greed for the tidbits, slugs ignore numerous control methods that achieve the best results in other beds. So what to do?
The best measure against snails on lettuce is a snail fence. Specialist shops have proven models for every budget. The cheapest solution is a snail fence made of plastic, which will keep the voracious rabble away from your lettuce bed for a season. A premium solution is a galvanized steel fence with a significantly higher purchase price. The investment pays for itself quickly because the stable snail fence usually lasts the gardener's lifetime.
Snails eat strawberries - what to do?
To protect strawberries from snail damage, natural hobby gardeners use their bag of tricks. The secret of success in a snail-free strawberry bed is straw. A layer of straw acts as a barrier for approaching snails. A positive side effect: mulching with straw prevents direct contact of strawberries with soil and thus prevents rot.
frequently asked Questions
What do predatory snails eat besides snails?
Predatory snails are omnivores with a tendency to cannibalism. If there are no tasty slugs slithering past, predatory slugs like to eat tender plant leaves, aromatic mushrooms or algae. Predatory slugs like to eat their fill of eggs from slugs and Spanish slugs.
What snails do hedgehogs eat?
Hedgehogs are crepuscular and nocturnal insectivores. The cute spiny animals don't disdain a fat snail either. All kinds of slugs are eaten, such as garden slugs, Spanish slugs and predatory slugs. Because snails retreat into their shells when threatened, hedgehogs bite off their little teeth on these snails. Understandably, Roman snails and other shelled snails are not on the menu of hedgehogs.
Snails eat basil - what to do?
In the tough struggle with snails for your basil, you are ahead of the game with a combination of natural control methods. Mulch the root disc with sharp materials such as grit, (46.95€) sawdust or pine needles. Sprinkle some coffee grounds over the mulch layer every two to three weeks. In mixed cultures with sage, thyme, mint and marigolds, snails will avoid your basil. The best protection for the herb bed with basil is a snail fence made of plastic or stainless steel. Ideally, you should plant individual basil with a snail collar.
What do snails eat in the forest?
Snails are masters at adapting their eating habits to local conditions. Because delicious lettuce and delicious basil cannot be found in the forest, slugs devote themselves to other green plants with tender, young leaves. Some snail species have specialized in algae and lichens. Mushroom slugs eat mushrooms with enthusiasm. Snails remain true to their reputation as beneficial creatures and eat plant waste, carrion and mulm.
Which is the largest domestic snail?
The largest domestic snail is a predatory snail from the slug family. A tiger slug can grow up to 20 centimeters long. The largest snail is the Roman snail, which boasts a shell measuring 5 centimeters in diameter. In comparison with the world's largest snail, tiger slugs and Roman snails are at a disadvantage. With a length of up to 65 centimeters, the sea snail knight's helmet is a real giant that is native to the coasts of Australia.
tips
Are voracious slugs making your life hell in the garden? Then hire a brigade of feathered bodyguards for your ornamental and crop plants. Ducks like to eat fat snails and eat the eggs with great relish.