Snails
 

I spent the day out in the garden and to my horror my little apple tree seems to be dying - the leaves are all curled up and it is covered in snails!! At least 20 of them! I am reluctant to put down slug pellets as my neighbours cat seems to prefer my garden to go to the toilet - another problem! and while I cant stand the cat dont want to harm him either! What should I do - I dont think I can pick them off the tree I really hate them!! About the cat - have used mothballs, citronella spray, repellants from the pet shop and the hardware nothing works - now I am just trying to get grass to grow in his "area" and when its established he will have to go elsewhere! Any ideas?

snails
 

Hi jojodub, I am not sure if this works for snails but do no it works for slugs!! I had lots last year, and put down little bowls of beer, or cider, seems to attract them and then they drown. Other than picking them off everything, not sure what else you could do. little bliters!! :)

Cat
 

Fill a few large mineral bottles with water and leave them around the ''cat'' toilet, it's supposed to deter them.

Beer!
 

I heard the beer thing too but also wasn't sure if it was true.

I googled it though and apparantly it is - this website has other ideas too. Good Luck.

http://www.sustainable-gardening-tip...en-snails.html

I have a post up about pigeons if anyone has any ideas on those :( pleeeease

The bottle thing really does work. I had 3 local cats ripping up my flowerbeds to do their business. After putting down a couple of wine bottles they haven't been back and my sweetpea is flourishing!

Another tip for snails is to put a strip of copper all the way around the base of the tree. The slime that snails and slugs use to move reacts with copper to give them an electric shock!
Obviously you'll have to knock them off the tree first for this to work though. Leave them on a gravel path and let the birds get them as revenge for your poor tree!

I HAVE A 7 YEAR OLD, THAT LOVES TO COLLECT SNAIL.Maybe I should start hiring her out:}}

Snails hate copper- you can buy copper tape from the garden centre that you can stick loosely round the trunk and that should stop the snails in their tracks! (Replace regularly to allow for growth)
A good mulch of used coffee grounds around the base of the tree will both feed the tree and repel your invaders too.
Of course you have to get rid of the snail off the tree first- maybe a jet with a hose if you can't bear handling them- otherwise rubber gloves.
I'd also look for other causes of the leaf curl. The snails may just be taking advantage of already weakened defenses.
Also there's a safe slug killer -ferramol pellets - that can be used sparingly if you thnk you have to many of the beasties.

Snails and cat update
 

Well, here is a bit of an update on the snail situation - I did the beer trap and caught many of them but was sickened when I had to empty the container so I searched and found pet/bird friendly slug pellets which did a great job. The best solution happened with the help of a pair of thrushes who moved into a tree behind my house! They are very busy finding and eating as many of the slimy creatures as they can! It is facinating to see them carry the snails to a rock and hit them off it until the shell breaks! The cat situation continues - the area he uses has shrunk as the grass seed has taken a bit, I will keep trying to get the grass to grow and hopefully he will move to someone elses garden! Thanks for all the advice!

Another way to keep the snails off the tree is to go to your local hardware/plumbing shop and buy a roll of PTFE tape. Rap this around the trunk of the tree for about 4-6 inches. The snails cannot get past it coz its too slippy and they just fall back down. Of course make sure that they cannot pass onto the tree from an adjacent wall or other tree.

Snails and slugs
 

Well I had terrible problems with the slugs and snails. They were on the strawberries, flower beds and pots. So I contacted Chorcai (JT member) and I got some crushed oyster shells from him. I put them round the flowers, in the flower pots and round the strawberry plants. Low and behold not a slug or snail to be seen and they also make the beds and pots attractive looking. They retain the moisture in the pots etc., and so less watering and certainly less weeding as they keep the weeds down. I now have healthy beds and pots and had lots and lots of strawberries. So a BIG THANK YOU to Chorcai (THE SHELL MAN) and well done for innovation.