Yates Blitzem
Kills snails and slugs by dehydration.
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Gastropoda
What are Snails and Slugs?
Slugs and snails are members of the very large Mollusc family. Technically, that means they're soft bodied animals that all have a broad, muscular 'foot' for moving around. Some molluscs form themselves a protective shell out of calcium carbonate, but many don't have a shell at all. Most have rasping mouthparts called a 'radula', that can do some serious damage to plants when they feed.
They prefer moist environments and live off decaying animal matter, algae, and plant material such as leaves and stems. Slugs and snails are most active on cool, wet nights with high humidity.
Symptoms
Look for silvery trails, which can dry and appear like gold dust. These trails are the mucus snails and slugs secrete to move around.
The most common clue is holes chewed in the leaves of plants, along with seedlings being chewed through at the base of stems.
How to protect your plants
Remove hiding places like rocks, pots and pipes if they're close to your garden plants. Check and bait any protected, moist areas that they can use as shelter during the day.
Plants impacted
- Begonias
- Nasturtiums
- Lilies
- Brassicas
- Lettuce
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