Snails are a plague for many hobby gardeners, because they attack the laboriously cultivated vegetable garden and leave bare stems in their wake. Some measures are important to prevent it from spreading in the first place.
There are several methods to keep snails away
digging up beds
Many snails overwinter in the egg stage. A clutch can consist of more than 100 eggs. These are located where there is a humid and warm microclimate. Dig up your beds in late autumn after the first frosts so that the eggs are exposed. Repeat the action in the spring after the soil has warmed up. This makes the snail eggs easy prey for birds and amphibians.
Proper casting
Plants that are particularly endangered by snail damage should not be watered in the evening. Even watering entire beds is suboptimal, since slugs and snails tend to settle in the garden in damp conditions. Here you will find an optimally accessible living space. Water the plants one at a time every two to three days and heavily in the early morning.
collect
The Spanish slug is not affected by drought and has few predators due to its strong secretion of mucus. To get rid of these unwanted visitors, you should use wet retreats to attract them. Check the hiding places in the evening and in the morning and collect the snails. Look for the ravenous mollusks under large leaves of rhubarb and pumpkins, too.
These are ideal hiding spots:
- old wooden slats
- upside down flower pots
- halves of orange peels
- broken roof tiles
Does coffee help?
Researchers from the US Department of Agriculture conducted a study in 2002 examining the effects of coffee on snails. They came to the conclusion that coffee solutions with a minimum content of 0.1 percent caffeine have a deterrent effect on the mollusks. This corresponds roughly to the caffeine content of an espresso. This solution was sprayed directly onto the plants. Many animals were still unimpressed. Only a 20-fold dose keeps them away from lettuce and vegetables.
tips
If you have no alternative use for stale coffee, sprinkle it on your crops. It does not harm them and works against unwanted visitors for a short time.