Pests & diseases › Slugs & Snails
Slugs & Snails
Soft-bodied molluscs that leave silvery slime trails and chew ragged holes in leaves overnight.
Symptoms
- Ragged holes in leaves with smooth edges
- Silvery slime trails on soil and leaves at first light
- Seedlings vanishing overnight
- Holes chewed into strawberries, courgettes and potatoes
Lifecycle
Active any month above freezing — peak damage in cool damp spells April to October. Lay eggs in soil clusters.
What to do
- Nightly torch hunts after rain — pick into a bucket of salty water
- Beer traps sunk to soil level
- Nematode drench (Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita) in spring and autumn
- Copper tape around pots and raised beds
- Sharp grit, crushed eggshell or wool pellets as a barrier
If it's bad
- Ferric phosphate pellets — wildlife-safe organic-approved alternative to metaldehyde (which is banned in the UK)
Stop it coming back
- Water in the morning, not evening — dry surface overnight
- Clear hiding spots: long grass, planks, upturned pots near beds
- Encourage frogs, hedgehogs, ground beetles and thrushes
Crops it goes for
Asparagus
Basil
Beetroot
Cabbage (Red)
Carrot
Celeriac
Celery
Chard (Swiss Chard)
Chives
Coriander
Courgette
Dill
fennel bulb
French Beans
Lettuce
Lettuce (Butterhead)
Lettuce (Cos/Romaine)
Mizuna
Mustard Greens
Oregano
Pak Choi
Parsley
Potato
Radish
Rhubarb
Rocket
Rosemary
Runner Beans
Sage
Spinach
Squash & Pumpkin
Strawberry
Sweetcorn
Thyme
Watercress
Plan the plot, track every sowing, cook the harvest
Sowing reminders and harvest forecasts for your own frost dates, the Seed Tin, Scan Centre for any label or packet, and the Potty Mouth Garden Club. Free to start.