Slugs and snails: protecting your patch safely

Slugs and snails are soft-bodied molluscs that feed at night and in damp weather. Snails carry a coiled shell, slugs do not, but they cause the same trouble, chewing holes in leaves and mowing down seedlings.

How to spot them:

1. Silvery slime trails on leaves, stems and the ground.
2. Irregular holes chewed in leaves, and seedlings that disappear overnight.
3. The slugs and snails themselves, hiding under pots, mulch and leaves during the day.

The damage they do: they are hardest on young, tender plants. A row of seedlings can vanish in a single night.

How to manage them, safely:

1. Go out at night and collect them. A torch after rain is the most effective method there is.
2. Remove hiding spots. Clear debris and old leaves where they shelter during the day.
3. Set simple traps. A shallow dish of beer sunk to ground level draws them in overnight.
4. Use a barrier. Copper tape around a bed edge gives them a mild jolt they will not cross, and a raised bed already makes it a longer climb.
5. If you need bait, choose iron phosphate pellets. These are effective on slugs and snails and are far safer around pets, children and wildlife.

We do not recommend metaldehyde snail baits. They are toxic to dogs, cats and native wildlife, and iron phosphate does the same job much more safely. For the full picture, see our guide to managing pests safely.

Plan your patch: our free planting calendar shows what to plant now where you live. Ready to grow? Browse our raised garden beds or build your own with the garden bed builder.

Image: Zachi Evenor, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.