Our Pest Control Expert, Julian Ives, has spent many years advising commercial growers and gardeners on the subject of safe and efficient natural pest control treatments.

Here he shares his experience on the problems Slugs and Snails can cause in the garden and how to get the best from the biological control measures we supply... 

SLUGS

Appearance and Lifecycle
The climate in the U.K is perfect for slugs!  The generally moist climate provides ideal conditions for slugs and snails. Slugs are in the same family as snails and have evolved from them. Slugs like to live in damp places as water is quickly lost from their bodies. They are active at night or on wet days. Slugs are hermaphrodites, which mean that both male and female organs are present on each slug. Eggs are laid in groups of 50-100 and they can each produce up to 500 eggs each! These eggs hatch in about three weeks in the spring. If laid in the autumn they can overwinter as eggs. The eggs are white in colour and oval shaped. Some adults will survive mild winters. They can reproduce all year round. There are many different species of slugs in the UK but the main damage is carried out by a few species which includes the Grey field slug.

Symptoms and Damage
The presence of slugs can often be detected by slime trails or near plants left by slugs. Irregular feeding holes on leaves are another symptom of damage. Slugs attack a wide variety of plants. They spend quite a high proportion of their life cycle underground so roots and root crops like Potatoes can suffer great damage from slugs. Seedlings and young plants can be totally consumed. If seedlings fail to appear they may have been consumed by slugs before they got the chance to germinate! Other plants that suffer badly are strawberries, vegetables and hostas, although there are not many plants that slugs will not eat! 

SNAILS

Appearance and Lifecycle
Snails are molluscs with soft bodies and a hard shell. They are hermaphrodites but still need to find another snail to mate with. After mating; snails will lay about 100 small white eggs. Snails hatch from eggs after about 14 days. Snails reproduce in the autumn and spring and are dormant in the winter. The two snails commonly seen in British gardens are the common garden snail [Helix aspersa] and Banded snails [Cepaea sp], which occur in higher numbers but are not so damaging.

Symptoms and Damage
Snails are active in wet weather and after dark. The first sign of their presence is often slime trails. The damage they cause in gardens is serious. They make holes in leaves, plant stems and flowers.  Snails can climb quite high up walls and tall pants and are more mobile than slugs over dry soils. Young leaves and shoots can be completely eaten.

Natural Choice Treatments
There are an increasing amount of natural slug and snail control and slug preventative treatments.  A combination of them - including copper rings, bands, tape and Slug Shocka matting - can be effective and safe to the user and environment. One of the main weapons used against slugs, nematodes, does not work very well on snails. This is due to snails occurring on the surface and therefore not coming into contact with nematodes applied to the soil. We recommend the Advanced Slug Killer granules for effective control of snails.