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Trying to control snails/slugs organically in a very small garden but I don't want to kill them myself.

Organic
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  • You are right, killing is never humane, I'll edit the question. In fact I'm unable to kill them myself, I currently pick them up and move them down the road. The garden is too small to keep animals or even have a pond so I was hopping I could somehow invite natural wild predators over. – Organic May 19 '16 at 13:05
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    If you have any kind of water, even a vernal pond which dries up in the summer you will attract more wildlife. Some of them will eat slugs. – kevinskio May 19 '16 at 14:50
  • My garden is too tiny for a pond (6x8m). Every meter is precious growing space. – Organic May 20 '16 at 11:30

1 Answers1

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The main natural predators include hedgehogs, some birds (song thrush for instance), some beetles, shrews, frogs, and newts. There's a more comprehensive list in this link

http://www.haywardm.supanet.com/predators.html

The trouble is, some years when the winter has been mild and damp, the population of both snails and slugs rockets, and there are nowhere near enough predators to make a significant impact (this is the case this year in the UK, where we're expecting 50% more of them about than usual, and there's too many in a 'normal' year anyway).

Bamboo
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    What natural predators will depend on whereabouts you are. Hedgehogs have been introduced in some places, and caused problems for other wildlife. – vclaw May 19 '16 at 20:43