Slugs & Snails

These animals are soft-bodied and wormlike. Snails have coiled shells and slugs have no shells. They feed at night, producing large holes in the leaves, stems, and below-ground parts of plants. Slugs and snails leave characteristic trails of mucus wherever they crawl.

Control: Protect plants by wrapping copper strips around the bases of stems. Attract them with pieces of potato or cabbage underneath a board; collect and destroy them during the day. Trap them in shallow pans of stale beer sunken deep enough so the container lip is even with the soil surface. Protect young seedlings by sprinkling bands of wood ashes or diatomaceous earth. Chemical baits are available.