Here are some more ideas in response to the many questions that I have received about organic pest control techniques. It is very encouraging that so many people are willing to revert to natural organic methods in their gardens.
So how do you control an over population of garden snails without chemicals? This is important information to know as you don’t want to spend your time and money preparing a garden only to wake up and find it all eaten. There is no way I would use any commercially prepared bait as there are children, pets and birds to consider. When I plant new seedlings it is inevitable that they are going to be attacked by slugs and snails. Slugs and snails can range from 1/4 inch in length to over 6 inches, both live in cool, moist places, such as under rocks or pieces of wood. They come out mainly at night and on cool, humid days, when they feast on tender foliage and decaying plant material on the ground. Before you apply any type of poison you might consider setting up some beer traps. Yes beer!
You can make a beer trap using any old plastic packaging (such as a plastic drink bottle cut in half, or an old ice cream container) half-filled with beer. Snails are attracted to these traps because they love the sweet, sour and yeasty smell of the beer. When the snails crawl into the trap, they either drown or the alcohol poisons them.
So how to do it you ask? Dig a small hole in the soil amongst the plants you wish to protect. Make it just big enough so that the lip of the trap is level or just above ground level. Dig one hole for each beer trap. Fill the trap about half full with cheap beer. For heavy infestations, use more traps, placed more closely together. Beer, wine or any yeast product mixed with water is effective. The beer in your traps will become diluted and ineffective after rain, so be sure to replace with fresh beer after rain, or watering the area. Sugar water (5% sugar solution) is also a highly effective liquid to use inside your trap and much cheaper and easier as most of us have sugar at home. Empty the traps every three days into your compost.
Another technique to use in conjunction with the beer trap is to place salt on the paths that lead to new garden beds. Snails famously dislike salt, it is like acid to their skin, so they won’t go anywhere near it. I sprinkle the salt just on dusk as the snails and slugs are more active then. Be very generous with the amount of salt used. The salt will dissolve after rain and can blow away in a strong wind, in that case just keep topping up the salt. I find this such an easy pest control solution that I always have some cheap salt in the house. A few weeks ago I also wrote about then benefits of crushed eggshells sprinkled around plants as a snail repellant. Always wash the eggshells beforehand as the mucus from the eggshell may attract other pests. No point in getting rid of one vegetable garden pest only to end up with another one. Snails and slugs have a soft underbelly which makes it difficult for them to travel over crushed eggshells.
Did you ever consider coffee grounds for organic pest control? It is simply amazing how useful so many things in our normal daily lives can be used to help prevent garden pests in a natural and sustainable way. You need 10 parts water to 1 part coffee grounds. Mix them together in a container which can be used to spray on the garden. Give it a shake if it has been standing for too long to mix it all together again and spray it over the leaves and soil near the plants. Cover a fair bit of the ground surface as you really want the slugs and snails to get a fair dose of the caffeine as that is what kills them. If it there is heavy rain re-apply the spray. Only the best coffee grounds for snails and slugs, instant coffee will not work.
Another helpful tip is to position ceramic flowerpots upside-down to trap snails and slugs. They will accumulate there to hide and rest in the shade. Overturn them and remove the snails daily until the infestation is eradicated. Copper wire can also be laid around the garden perimeter as a control barrier for snails. It acts like an electric fence. If the snails or slugs try to pass over the copper wire they will get a very small zap. This causes them to backtrack and leave your plants alone.
Another way to think of barriers is to grow certain plants around the periphery of your home. They not only look nice, but will also deter pests. Plants known to repel ants and aphids include spearmint, peppermint and pennyroyal. You can use the same trick for fly control. Just substitute the above plants with mint and basil which repel flies, but have the added benefit of smelling good to humans.
You may be interested to learn that ants hate cucumbers, especially cucumber peels. Just spread some cucumber peels where ants enter your home. The more bitter the better! If you spot the holes where they are creeping into your house, squeeze some lemon into the hole or crack as another way to stop them. A natural fruit-fly catcher related to wine is to put something sweet like beer or wine mixed with dish soap into the bottom of narrow-necked wine bottles. The flies go into the jar and either fall onto or land on the surface of the liquid. The detergent decreases the normal surface tension, so they sink and drown. The narrow neck means the flies can fly in, but it is very difficult for them to fly out before they fall into the liquid. Easy and cheap!
And don’t forget my favorite, the soap spray which is a favorite amongst organic gardeners for general pest control. All you need is 3 teaspoons of dish washing soap, and two cups of water. Dissolve the soap in water, pour into a sprayer bottle and use it to control the aphids that love to destroy roses, citrus and other garden plants. This also works on mealy bugs and other pests. It is even effective on cockroaches, which I consider amongst the toughest of pests.
For more information, hints or tips on organic pest control techniques please send me an email.
