How to Identify Slug and Snail Eggs in Your Garden

Slugs and snails slowly chew through plants, sometimes killing them. Fortunately, they are easy to control. Identifying snail and slug eggs can help you spot a problem before it becomes too serious.

What do slug and snail eggs look like?

Slug and snail eggs look very similar. Creamy white, yellow, transparent or opaque, they are oval in shape and usually about 1/8 inch in diameter. They are laid in clusters of 20 to 30 or as many as 100.

Eggs are laid in gelatinous masses, usually in dark, damp places. They are common in compost piles, soil, under pots or trays and bags.

When you squeeze a slug or snail egg, it will be squashed and flattened. It will not pop or release liquid.

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How Slugs and Snails Harm Your Garden

Slugs and snails feed on plants. A mild infestation may only affect the appearance of the plant. However, a severe infestation can affect the health of the plant, especially young plants and seedlings. Yields of fruit and vegetable crops may be reduced.

Slugs and snails like to eat:

• Bean
• Broccoli
• Narcissus
• Hosta Plant
• Salad
• Primrose
• Strawberry

How to Tell if You Have Slugs and Snails

Slugs and snails are slow moving, but they can still be elusive and hard to spot. You will know you have slugs and snails by their presence, but more often the evidence is plant damage and slime trails.

Present

Slugs range in length from 1/4 inch to 2 inches and are gray or brown in color. Snails have coiled shells that are brown, gray, yellow, white, or green.

Slugs and snails are more common at night than during the day. When it is light, they hide in the shade. They like to cling to vertical areas such as trees, fences or rocks.

Path of mucus

Slugs and snails leave behind a slime or slime trail that looks shiny after it dries. Slime trails are usually found on flat surfaces but are sometimes seen on leaves.

Crop damage

With their sharp teeth, they chew through leaves, flowers, and fruits, leaving holes and jagged leaf tips. The chew marks are uneven. They chew both the top and middle of the leaf.

How to get rid of slugs and snails

With so many natural methods to choose from, you don’t need to use poison to get rid of slugs and snails.

Manual removal

Wearing waterproof gloves, remove the snails and slugs from the plants by hand. You will find them on and under leaves or around rocks and fallen branches. Drop them into a bucket of soapy water to kill them.

Trap them

Lay out flat pieces of wood, shingles, or cardboard to attract slugs and snails. Check under the trap each morning. Pick out any slugs and snails by hand and drop them into the soapy water.

Throw them away

Bury the plastic bucket in the ground to the brim. Fill the bucket to 1 inch below the brim with beer or one teaspoon of yeast mixed with three ounces of water.

Slugs and snails are attracted to the smell of fermentation and will fall into the bucket. Strain the bucket every morning and change the mixture once a week.

How to prevent slugs and snails

Once you’ve eliminated slugs and snails from your garden, prevent them from coming back by eliminating their hiding places and creating barriers.

• Eliminate hiding places: Remove flat, wet materials in the control area to avoid attracting slugs and snails.
• Create a copper fence: Add a copper foil belt around the garden. The copper creates a slight shock that deters slugs and snails.
• Add raw materials: Add borders of diatomaceous earth, sawdust, gravel, lime or sand. Coarse, dry substances exhaust slugs and snails before they reach the garden.
• Introducing Carnivores: Encourage predators such as snakes, snails, beetles, fireflies, turtles and ducks. Predators eat slugs and snails.