Land snails

Treatment

Once they are in the garden and have multiplied, it is often only a combination of measures that will help. It is best to use gentle products, as slug pellets can be dangerous to pets, small children and other wildlife. Here are the most effective:

• In small gardens, detection and collection is the most effective method. During the day, they hide in shady, moist places, such as under groundcover plants or on the undersides of plant pots and other objects. Providing 'hiding places' during the day, such as large leaves, will make searching easier. In larger gardens, trays can be placed so that snails can be easily collected by turning them over. Snails become active at dusk and after rain

• Snail collars: These can be made of plastic or sheet steel. The top edge is usually bent horizontally. This prevents the snails from moving forward. Snail fences are suitable for whole beds, while snail collars can be placed around individual plants: These rings can be placed around beds or plants to prevent slugs from getting through. Snail rings made from softwood sawdust or rock flour will help in the short term until the next rain. Rings of coarse sand, which slugs avoid, can help for longer

• Beer trap: Fill a jar halfway with beer and bury it in the ground with the rim sticking out. This will reduce the number of ground beetles falling into the deadly alcohol. However, we advise against using the beer trap as slugs can detect the yeast in the beer up to 100 metres away, depending on the weather. This may attract more slugs than were originally in the garden. Also, hedgehogs or beneficial insects such as bees and bumblebees can be poisoned by the alcohol!

Prevention

• The best way to prevent snails is to work the soil properly. You should not dig up your beds in late spring as slugs and snails can lay their eggs in the exposed clods and crumbs over the winter. If the previous year's infestation was particularly bad, it is advisable to dig up the soil in winter. This will allow some slug eggs to reach the surface and freeze in the frost. But be careful: digging in winter can also disturb or freeze beneficial soil organisms

• water well: Slugs and snails can move around more easily on damp surfaces. For this reason, water the garden only in the morning during the summer. By the evening, the soil will have dried out and the nocturnal snails will be less able to move around

• Encourage beneficial insects. These include hedgehogs and toads, which are natural enemies of slugs and snails. Hedgehogs should be provided with hibernacula, such as piles of leaves, dead wood or layers of brush. Common toads also like similar places. Compost heaps can also be used as hibernacula. The tiger snail is also a good snail hunter. The predatory tiger snail is native to our country and can even be bought online and released in the garden: If you have a large, fenced garden, you can get Indian runner ducks. As well as looking incredibly cool, they love to eat snails and snail eggs. They also like vegetables such as lettuce. That's why it's best not to let these friendly creatures into your beds until late in the year. This will allow the runner ducks to eat the remaining snails and their eggs over the winter - repellent plants such as mustard, nasturtium, fern and tomato leaves. These can be sown as intercrops or spread over the beds as mulch.