I first noticed a few of these pretty golden colored shelled snails last year after I planted a lilac bush that was shipped from another state. They grow to about a half inch long.
This year they have multiplied like crazy. I tried Safers Insecticidal Soap and I think they crawled away for a little while but are back a week later. They eat holes in the leaves of almost everything, and must be stopped soon! Please help!

Iron Phosphate.

Sluggo is one brand name. I'd go with one just having Iron Phosphate as the active ingredient if it's just snails / slugs you have an issue with. Sluggo Plus contains spinosad that targets some other critters, too...but no need targeting other things if you're not having issues with them.

I haven't had snails, but I did have slugs that demolished a few squash plants. I sprinkled garlic powder on the plant and a little of the surrounding soil. That ended the problem for me.

Is your garden fenced? Do you have pets?

A shallow pan or bowl with rubbing alcohol or beer--they don't distinguish type--lures slugs in and they literally die from alcohol poisoning. Imagine it works for snails too.

Sluggo works well. As an alternative, you can hand pick. Go out at night, which is when they're most active. Take a flashlight and some kind of container (1/2 gal juice or milk carton, glass jar with lid) with some water in the bottom. Put the snails in the container. You can keep the same container several nights in a row. I used to pay my kids 1 cent per snail but that was years ago. The price must have gone up.

If you have slugs it's easier to cut them with a scissors (used just for that purpose). Or you can pick them up and put them in the container but it gets pretty slimy.

Escar-go or Sluggo works best and adds iron to the soil. The beer trap works because they are attracted to the yeasty smell and then drown in the liquid.

I also used to pay the kids a penny each to go out in the evening with flashlights and plunk the slugs into soapy water. Once one of my sons dared the other to lick a slug for five bucks and he did. If you are going to hand pick, I would recommend using disposable gloves or having a good scrub brush handy to remove the slime.

Some people put out cabbage leaves, half grapefruit peels or boards and then lift them up to remove the slugs underneath.When I find snails now, I just throw them over the fence into the State Natural Resources area.

I remember reading a few years ago on a thread that one of our illustrious colleagues tossed them into the street. Never told us how many cars ended up skidding on the slime into the ditch.

quote:

I remember reading a few years ago on a thread that one of our illustrious colleagues tossed them into the street

On a related note...

After I got done massacaring Potatoe Beetle larvae this morning and took my gloves off, I saw some I missed...and started chucking them to the other side of the driveway.

I'll bet dollars to donuts those !@#%!@#! larvae can't survive the crawl across the gravel driveway. I hope. It's much easier then squishing them and I don't need gloves

There are a few options you can use and avoid the chemicals suggested. Beer works nicely. Cheap beer, poured into shallow pie pans and set outside at night will attract all sorts of slugs, snails and insects. Add additional beer as it evaporates.

If you lay down boards along your paths, many creatures will crawl under those to hide from the sun. During the daytime, flip over boards and squish things you don't want living in your garden.

If you go outside and hand pick the offenders in the evening and early morning, you can eliminate a huge number of things. Take a small bowl and pour a little salt in the bottom. Wear a pair of gloves and pull snails off by hand, dropping them onto the salt, which will kill them.

Thanks for the suggestions. I sprinkled some escar-go around and also hand picked many snails, sprayed with neem too. I still saw a few snails yesterday but not anywhere as many.
While doing this I found a huge spider and lots of baby spiders it was guarding in its's web, I sprayed this also but the big one got away.by the way, how does iron keep the snails away?
Terry

The information for Escar-go (Gardens Alive) is that the snails eat the iron phosphate, which is mixed with a bait to attract them, and it causes them to stop feeding and die within a few days. It breaks down into iron and phosphate, which are normal soil components.

In an organic garden with good soil and a good mulch put down you will create a very good habitat for the slugs and snails and you can spend a very large sum of money on controls such as the Sluggo. Traps placed where they congregate and baited with stale beer can also help, but I find that if I do have a problem then spraying the plants leaves with cold caffeinated coffee will deter them from munching on that plants leaves. Slugs and snails are food source for things such as toads, birds, snakes, etc. and those critters will help you if allowed to.

In my old place I had a huge slug problem because of the dampness and using escar-go once knocked them down for several years after. Where I am now I only have a few snails which I feed to turtles or toss over the fence. Some people might feel that beer traps are more "natural" than iron phosphate, but I don't.

Why spray the spiders? Though they will eat some beneficial insects, they are valuable in keeping your insect population down in the garden and are generally considered to be valuable predators.

I believe the only poisonous spider you might ever encounter is the Northern Black Widow which supposedly ranges from Florida to southern NY. I grew up in southern NY and never saw one in my life.

Please don't indiscriminately spray spiders.

Wayne

adirondackgardener,
I get bit up so much when I try to work in my yard, sometimes I feel like the insects are taking over my garden. I have to spray or else we we get all bitten up.
Gnats are another prob;em, I have to wear sunglasses to go out in the daytime because the gnats fly into my eyes otherwise. I live near the Susquehanna river in NY and I don't think any mosquito/gnat control is provided by the authorities.
Terry

Hi Terry,

Spiders are your buddies in the garden. Yeah, they're all scary looking and I'm the first one to get the heebie-jeebies if there is one crawling on me, but they eat all sorts of garden pests, including gnats and mosquitos. Please give your spiders a break.