Slugs and Snails! How do these affect my garden?

Everyone with a garden will encounter slugs and snails in within their plants one time or the other. Snails and slugs belong to a large group of animals known as mollusks. The slugs have descended from various groups of snails due to the reduction or complete loss of the shell, but their way of life is almost identical.

Most people would call slugs an absolute nuisance as they are found chewing plants. They don't do as much damage as it is thought. Most slugs eat decaying plant matter and parts of plants not used for human consumption. However, this can still be a problem to gardeners as they make the plants look unsightly.

There are different species of snails and slugs. The most common types of snails are Land snails.

Land snails can be interesting to watch but they are hated by gardeners all around the country. They mainly eat our lettuce, spinach and cabbage and they are well known for traveling extremely slowly. However, many people do not realize that a snail can cover the length of a football pitch over night. They can travel at around a meter for every five minutes. Shell is the most defining feature of the snail. This shell acts as a protector from the weather and from predators such as birds. All garden snails are land snails and they are active during the night.

There are a variety of species of slugs and some slugs are even kept as pets. Sea slugs are particularly fascinating and easy to keep which makes them a favourite with some aquarium keepers. Most slugs cause damage to people's plants and are considered pests all around the country. They particularly like to feed fruit plants and plants that are close to the ground.

Both slugs and snails are unique in the fact that they do not have separate sexes. Most of their species are both male and female though they do still need a mate to breed.

Differences between Slugs and Snails
The main difference between a slug and a snail is that snails have shells and slugs do not. This means that more people consider slugs to be more disgusting than snails as they just look like long and slimy pests.

Both snails and slugs have breathing holes which they rely and they have them in different places. In slugs it is on its right side and in snails it is just under the shell.

They both have mantles but again they are in different places. This is a rough protective skin and it can be found on the slug's skin and for the snail it is just under the shell.

The way that they move around is also the same as they use a special type of 'goop' that they create. This slime is useful to gardeners to help identify if they have a snail or a slug problem.

So the only real difference between the two is that one has a shell and the other one doesn't.

Where are Slugs and Snails Found?
Snails and slugs can be found in moist areas and some snails even live in freshwater ponds. Some can make it into our homes through basements and cracks in the foundations of our homes.

The moist conditions of our gardens are the main reason for many snails and slugs to be accommodated there. Basically, slugs and snails can be found almost anywhere especially in winter and cold months.

Control Measures for Snails and Slugs
Snail and slug control is fairly easy compared to most garden pests. The most effective way of trapping and killing them is by using beer traps.

Beer traps can be made up of a plastic cup. They will be filled with little beer. Then it can be buried along with the soil. .Slugs and snails are attracted to the beer and they usually fall and drown. Beer traps generally kill around 4-5 slugs and snails a night though slugs are the creatures that gets caught in these traps easily.

Another way to control slugs and snails is to make your home and garden as dry as possible. By keeping freshly cut grass it will eliminate the moisture and make it harder for them to get about. Pulling weeds from your garden is another way to do away with moisture within the garden.

Making sure that you remove all dead and rotting leaves from garden is another good idea as they can make good hiding places for both snails and slugs. Cultivating the soil in your garden frequently also helps as it unearths any slugs that may be hiding.

If everything fails you could use slug control remedies such as slug pellets which will effectively kill slugs and snails. However, these can be poisonous to pets and they should also be kept out of reach of children.

So whether your problem is with land snails or with slugs, there is always something you can do to control the problem. However, you may not necessarily eliminate the problem altogether.