Gardener’s secret weapon: Banish snails for good with burnt lime

Is your garden infested with voracious snails? An experienced gardener can use this method to get rid of the pests for good.

Snails are the bane of every gardener. These small creatures appear in gardens as early as the beginning of spring and don't leave until early autumn. They are attracted by easily accessible food and the possibility of sheltering in a safe place.

The presence of snails in the garden doesn't bode well. Although they are slow, they can severely destroy carefully tended crops overnight. How do you get rid of snails? If every other method has already failed, try the method of an experienced gardener. One product will eradicate snails one by one.

Snails are the most numerous group of mollusks. Depending on the species, they feed on fungi, algae, lichens, wood, dead leaves, plants, or other mollusks or insects. The biggest threat is slugs, which are snails without shells. They are particularly fond of cabbage vegetables, such as cabbage or lettuce, for unknown reasons. They can seriously damage crops overnight.

How do you get rid of snails? There are many ways to do this. Many gardeners opt to scatter ready-made molluscicides, but these pose a threat to crops and to dogs or cats running around the garden. For this reason, natural methods are becoming increasingly popular. If you want to eliminate pests, prepare a beer trap or crush eggshells around the beds. Oatmeal, coffee grounds, or rice will also work.

Snails move on a foot covered with mucus. For this reason, many gardeners recommend using products that absorb their mucus, preventing them from moving further. Unfortunately, many snails can produce so much of it that no trap is a problem. In such a situation, you need to resort to strong measures that will disable the pests once and for all. Such a product is burnt lime. You can buy it in construction and gardening stores. A package costs about 10 dollars.

The product should be scattered around the beds and in places where snails travel. Perform the treatment in the evening on a dry day. Repeat it the next morning and afternoon. The lime is so highly alkaline that the snail dies immediately upon contact with it. It is a very drastic but effective method that will eliminate pests for a long time.