I have recently built and planted a few box gardens with various herbs and vegetables; however, I am having issues with snails.
I was told that magnolia flowers are a good natural repellent but they don't seem to working very well.
Does anyone have any other suggestions for biodynamic solutions?
I have had very aggressive slugs in the past, and here is what I have tried and my assessment of the solutions. I am assuming that any solution for slugs will work just as well for snails.
| Solution | Success? | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Coffee grounds | No | Did not seem to have any affect |
| Ground-up hazelnut shells | No | Did not seem to have any affect |
| Ground-up egg shells | Partial | Appears to work, but you need about 12 inches in radius around the plant for it to be effective, and you need to reapply after rain, so it is not a low-effort solution. |
| Diatomaceous earth | Partial | This works, but it's a waste of time because as soon as the diatomaceous earth gets wet (including from watering) it becomes useless. |
| Beer traps | Yes, but... | This absolutely works. HOWEVER because the beer trap works by attracting slugs to it, you ultimately get more snails/slugs in your garden which may or may not cause more damage to your plants if the slugs eat your plants on their way to the traps. You need to drain and re-fill the beer traps every few days and after rain, and it is 100% disgusting. I consider this a high-effort solution. |
| Water in the morning | Yes! | My garden would be covered with slugs when I watered at night, but when I changed to watering in the morning my slug problems mostly went away. They seemed to be attracted to the moist ground and are active at night. |
| Anti-slip tape | Yes | Similar in principle to the copper tape suggested in other answers, but presumably much cheaper. This is sandpaper-like tape that goes on steps to prevent slipping. The slugs appear to not to like to go over it. Only useful if you have a raised bed. See image below. |
Figure 1: Anti-slip tape on raised bed
I don't know if beer and coffee count as biodynamic, but those are two home remedies you could try fairly inexpensively and with what you have on hand.
Beer Trap: Fill a shallow sour cream or yogurt type container with an inch or so of beer, and bury it in the garden box so the top edge is just even with the soil.
The slugs are attracted to the beer, go in to have some to party at night, and in the morning you can clear them out!
Coffee Grounds: Circle your plants or the edge of the garden box with coffee grounds. The snails are supposed to not like the grittiness and so won't cross the barrier.
If the planting is in boxes and not directly into the ground, stick adhesive copper tape to the sides of the boxes - slugs and snails don't like to cross over it because it gives them a mild electric shock. Available at most garden supply shops or via Amazon.
