LifestyleSnail invasion? Use beetroots to protect your garden

Snail invasion? Use beetroots to protect your garden

Create a trap for snails
Create a trap for snails
Images source: © Adobe Stock
Agnieszka Woźniak

21 July 2024 17:19

Snails are the bane of many gardeners. Fortunately, there's a simple and humane way to eliminate these uninvited guests. Use a vegetable you surely have in your kitchen – beetroots.

They seem to appear out of nowhere, especially after the rain. Snails are unannounced guests that no gardener wants to see on their plot. While a few individuals do not pose a significant threat, a larger number can seriously damage crops.

Snails in the garden

Holes in leaves, silvery slime trails, seedlings eaten down to the ground, gnawed fruits and vegetables, especially those growing low. These are signs that snails have settled in your garden.

The home plot is a true paradise for them. Not only do they find their favourite plants as food, but they also provide conditions they love.

Beetroot trap

Instead of using chemical plant protection products that can harm the environment, it's worth trying natural and humane methods. One of them is using beetroots as bait to create a snail trap. This method is not only eco-friendly but also safe for other garden inhabitants.

How to create it? Cut the beetroots into thick slices. Place them in one spot in the garden, preferably where you have observed signs of snail feeding.

Then, leave the bait overnight. The snails, attracted by the smell of the beetroots, will gather around them.

Wait until morning. Put on gloves and collect all the snails gathered around the beetroots. Move the snails to another location, as far away from your garden as possible, so they don't return to your crops. Remember always to wear gloves, as snails can carry various pathogens.

If you don't have beetroots, you can as effectively use other vegetables and fruits, such as potatoes, carrots, or apples.

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