Say Goodbye to Slugs: Easy Eco-Friendly Garden Solutions
Eco-Friendly Ways to Get Rid of Snails and Slugs in Your Landscape
Snails and slugs are common pests in landscapes throughout San Diego. These destructive pests may be slow, but they can turn the leaves of your beautiful plants into Swiss cheese in no time. They have voracious appetites and will happily munch away on plant foliage and feed on the ripening fruit and vegetables you’ve been waiting to harvest.
Slugs and snails are attracted to shady and moist environments. You’ll know they’ve arrived by the ragged holes in leaves and slime trails they leave behind.
Common Snails and Slugs in San Diego
Brown garden snail: These snails are the most common and destructive. They can wreak havoc in your garden if you don’t take action.
White garden snail: These snails are about the size of a dime and are an invasive species.
Various slug species can cause damage to the plants in your landscape. The most common in our region is the gray garden slug.
Here's the thing: Slugs play an important part in our ecosystem. Slugs break down decaying plant matter, which then provides a food source for birds, snakes, toads, and turtles. So, if you’d rather not eliminate them altogether but rather keep them away from your garden without harming them, we’ve got some eco-friendly ways to do it!
1. Be on the lookout for their presence
Have you had problems with slugs in the past? If so, you should keep your eyes peeled for slugs regularly before they do significant damage to your plants. Slugs are most active at night or on cool and damp cloudy days. Bring a flashlight because it may help you spot them. Inspect plants in shaded areas, check the low-growing foliage, and examine the soil underneath the plants. You can also find them hiding under flat stones and rocks.
Although snails and slugs vary in color and size, they are easily identifiable by their extensible eyestalks (they resemble alien antennae). If you see a silvery slime trail, that’s a sign of an infestation.
2. Pick them off by hand
Ok, if you’re easily turned off by snails and slugs, you may want to hold off on this method. However, it’s pretty effective when done regularly. When you see them, put on gloves, grab them, and toss them into a bucket of soapy water. For best results, handpick early in the morning or after dusk.
Note: If you decide to pick them off by hand without wearing gloves, be sure to wash your hands afterwards and refrain from touching your face.
3. Make the habitat less hospitable
Slugs and snails enjoy hanging out in moist, shady spots in the landscape. They also love areas that are heavily mulched. But when the day gets brighter and hotter, you’ll find them under branches, logs, and piles of fallen leaves.
Fall is the peak season for snails and slugs — it’s the season they lay their eggs. Fortunately, you can create an unfavorable habitat for snails and slugs by removing plant debris and dead leaves from your landscape. When applying mulch, make sure to use no more than 3 inches. Also, when applying mulch, keep it away from the base of your plants. By doing so, slugs won’t burrow into it to reach covered stems.
4. Put up a barrier
You can keep these slimy pests from damaging your vegetable or herb garden by applying copper tape along the edges or tops of the raised beds. Copper tape is effective because snail and slug slime creates an unpleasant reaction, it’s like a mild electrical shock.
You can also warp copper mesh or copper wire around the base of plant!
5. Make the move to drip irrigation
Snails and slugs love moisture. So, if you’ve been using an overhead watering system, consider switching to a drip irrigation system; that way, water won’t pool on the leaves. Always water in the morning, which gives the soil time to dry out by the evening (when slugs are most active). Another option is to grow drought-tolerant plants that require less watering.
6. Grow plants that won’t whet their appetite
Snails and slugs will munch on almost anything, and they’re especially fond of feasting on beans, cabbage, basil, marigolds, leafy vegetables, dahlias, and strawberries. That said, they can’t stand plants with highly aromatic leaves, including herbs such as rosemary, lavender, and sage. They’ll also steer clear of ornamental grasses, many woody plants, and plants with prickly, leathery, or fuzzy foliage, like bay laurel, red yucca, Mexican bush sage, and others.
Experience Quality Service. The Difference...Is Growing
Are slugs and snails taking over your property? Is your HOA or apartment community looking for a new landscaping company you can trust? Westturf Landscape Management Inc. has served Carlsbad, Vista, and the entire region of San Diego since 1972. In addition to our exceptional landscape maintenance services, we also offer IPM services to create a sustainable and resilient landscape.
Call us at 760-650-3120 or message us online for a free quote.
Let's work together
Do you have a landscaping project in mind? is it time for a new HOA landscaping company? Westturf Landscape Management is ready to help. We offer a wide range of services, from synthetic turf installation to weed and brush clearance and complete landscape transformations. When it comes to quality, efficient landscaping services, we have you covered.
We are looking forward to hearing from you.
Westturf Landscape Management
701 Mercantile Street
Vista, CA 92083
Phone: 760.650.3120