Keeping Slugs and Snails Away from Plants

Written by Amy Gordon (last updated March 13, 2023)

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Slugs and snails love to snack on the plants growing in your garden. Getting rid of them can be a big hassle, and can often involve steps that you do not want to take. If you would rather not kill the slugs or snails, but just want to keep them away from your plants, here are a few things that you can try.

  • Eggshells. Dry out any eggshells from eggs that you use in the home. It is best to save up a few eggshells and place them on a baking sheet to put in the oven while something else is cooking. Putting the eggshells in the oven will dry them out and make them easier to handle. Once the eggshells have dried out, crush them up. While the shells need to be in small pieces, do not make the pieces too fine. Place the crushed up eggshells around the base of your plants, flowers and throughout the garden, especially near the plants that are most popular to the snails and slugs. Slugs and snails do not like to rub their bellies across sharp eggshells and will stay away from your plants.
  • Chalk. To keep slugs away from lime-loving plants, scatter powdered chalk around the plants and the slugs will scatter. Slugs will not cross chalk. Make sure to only do this around plants that will not be harmed by chalk, otherwise keeping the snails and slugs out will not do any good.
  • Salt. Slugs and snails are made mostly of water. Salt is an extremely effective way to kill these little creatures since it dries them out. If you do not want to kill them but just keep them out of your garden, sprinkle a line of salt around the exterior of your garden. The slugs and snails will stay away from the salt line, since they know it means death if they try to cross it. Once again, remember that salt can hurt your plants, so be careful where you put it.

Author Bio

Amy Gordon

Amy Gordon loves keeping things simple, natural, and safe so she can spend more time having fun. Every day she learns new things about making life at home easier and she loves to share it with you! ...

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What is five more than 8?

2014-08-28 02:45:50

Bonnie

Awesome tips! I want to try using eggshells now. Thank you!


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