Hamburg - There are natural ways to fight the snails plaguing your garden. For example, a thick layer of sawdust and lime around your vegetables can provide protection, reports NABU, a German environmental protection organization. That's because snails avoid rough surfaces. Additionally, the lime burns their pad. Special fences sold in speciality shops and the regular clearing away of snails also help.
Traps that use beer tend not to work, despite persisting myths. The smell of beer can actually attract snails from neighbouring gardens.
NABU advises against fighting snails with poisons, since those poisons can also hurt birds, amphibians and rodents. Instead, home gardeners should try to create environments attractive to hedgehogs, toads and blindworms, all natural enemies of the snail. All those animals feel especially at home in gardens that are situated close to natural habitats.
And, before you get carried away with your frustration over snails, NABU reminds that snails serve an environmental protection role in the garden. "After all, they eat decomposing plant parts and dead animals."
