This article discusses natural or homemade snail killers and slug repellents for combating snail issues. While some may sound familiar, others might be new to you.
Whatever the case, the information provided here helps you figure out what to apply to your snail issues.
Natural Slug and Snail Killers – 10 Deterrents
Snails in your yard or around your property could present many challenges, including the risk of snail-borne parasites that could negatively impact humans.
Examples of snail-borne parasitic diseases include fasciolopsiasis, schistosomiasis, angiostrongyliasis, clonorchiasis, and many others.
Apart from the risk of diseases, snails also cause damage to roots, seeds, and shoots.
This adversely affects crop yield, among other things. When faced with this challenge, you’ll need to take urgent steps toward fixing the problem.
You may Find Homemade Snail Killers More Suitable to your Needs.
Most people seeking homemade pest control options tend to have similar objectives.
These include causing no environmental damage, preventing diseases, low-cost options, and maintaining air quality. What more?
Personal safety and those of household members and pets are guaranteed.
These reasons make homemade snail killers a preferred option for many homeowners. Thankfully, there are many options for homemade snail killers, as you’ll soon find out.
Homemade Slug Repellent & Snail Killers
Is there anything like the best homemade snail killer product?
Well, it mostly depends on what works best. In other words, most people seek fast and problem-free results. So, whatever remedy or treatment meets such needs are automatically considered among the best.
However, homemade snail killer treatments aren’t guaranteed to work the same with every user.
How efficient such treatments are is predicated on what ingredients are used, the composition of such elements, and how well the application process is.
In a nutshell, homemade snail killer remedies may not be standardized.
Whatever the case, you might want to consider diatomaceous earth, coffee grounds, salt, eggshells, pine needles, ammonia, copper tape, nutshells, seaweed, and natural predators.
i. Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous earth is a widely used product for pest control. It’s effective against a wide range of pests, including snails. It consists of microscopic green algae that appear in powder form.
With food-grade diatomaceous earth sprinkled around snail-infested areas, it cuts through their bodies.
This causes dehydration in snails and slugs. You may have to reapply several times, especially when it gets wet. Dried diatomaceous earth does the most damage to pests.
ii. Coffee Grounds
Coffee grounds can come in handy for killing and repelling snails and slugs.
Here, you can either use ground coffee beans or coffee grounds. Like most of the remedies discussed, the application is quite simple. Have your coffee grounds sprinkled around the soil you’re protecting?
Any snails or slugs around will quickly retreat or may get killed in the process. So, what makes coffee a good candidate for snail control? Caffeine is known to poison snails and slugs when ingested.
iii. Salt
Apart from being one of the most common food ingredients, salt also serves other functions, including pest control. All that’s needed here is the uniform sprinkling of salt around target areas.
This product serves to dehydrate snails and slugs. They’re killed within a short period.
iv. Eggshells
You might want to get some eggshells to prepare your homemade snail remedy.
Here, eggshells are crushed into smaller pieces and sprinkled around garden plants or soil most targeted by snails. Now the logic is to create an uncomfortable terrain for snails to move around.
While these creatures may endure to an extent, they might eventually be overwhelmed as your eggshells are likely to pierce their bodies.
v. Pine Needles
Pine needles can be used to kill snails as well as repel them. Apart from their pointed edges, these needles also have acidic content.
All you have to do to get started is sprinkle pine needles around snail-infested areas. These creatures are immediately repelled. Those not lucky enough are killed by it.
vi. Ammonia
Ammonia can come in handy as a snail and slug killer.
However, you’ll need to know how well to prepare this remedy. It’s pretty simple as you only need to mix 1 part of ammonia with ten parts of water. Having mixed your solution, spray around affected areas.
This kills both snails and slugs and dissolves them.
Your plants benefit from this treatment as they absorb the nitrogen contained within ammonia. This control method is low-cost but gets the work done effectively.
You may have to repeat applications in some situations to get desired results. A knapsack spray will help with a practical application.
vii. Copper Tape
Copper tapes also work exceptionally well to repel and kill snails and slugs. How so? When placed as barriers, the mucus secreted by slugs reacts with the metal when they move.
This gives off small electrical shocks. To be effective, you’ll need to fasten it around potted plants or other target areas frequented by snails.
viii. Nutshells
Similar to eggshells, nutshells also have the same effect on snails.
Here, nutshells will need to be gathered and crushed. When sprinkled around plants, these nuts create an impenetrable barrier to snails and slugs. The sharp edges pierce them.
Snails are likely to be killed when trapped with no escape route.
ix. Seaweed
Whether powdered or fresh, seaweed is an effective snail repellent and killer. The salt content in this weed serves the repellent function.
Place the seaweed around or sprinkle its powder around areas you wish to protect. Snails immediately sense danger and retreat.
x. Natural Predators
Natural snail and slug predators include beetles, hedgehogs, frogs, birds, etc.
You can leverage these to kill or ward off pests like snails. However, this option is only acceptable when introduced predators don’t pose other problems.
You don’t have to buy any of these predators. All you need is to provide an inviting environment such as shelters, installing a pond, providing bird feeders, etc.
Conclusion
There you have your homemade snail killers. We’ve discussed different types that have proven effective, either as a snail repellent, killer, or both.
You can try any of these options to control your snail population.