Phlox is not one of the preferred plants, but is also eaten if the snails cannot find better food. A sunny location and fine, crumbly soil are not very tempting for snails. A snail fence offers more protection.
Do snails attack phlox and how can you keep them away?
Phlox can be eaten by snails, especially if no preferred food is available. To keep slugs away, phlox should be planted in sunny locations with fine, crumbly soil and a slug fence should be erected. Evening watering and slug pellets are also helpful.
This is what you can do against snails in your garden
Under no circumstances should you place a container of beer in your flower bed. This is so tempting for the snails that they will travel long distances and even come to you from your neighbor's garden, with a picnic on the way not out of the question. This will only increase the damage unnecessarily. Collecting the snails and their eggs and providing preventive protection is actually more effective.
Set up snail fences (€95.00 on Amazon) as a preventive measure. You can buy these ready-made from specialist retailers or build them yourself. The fences should be dug at least 15 cm into the ground and protrude 10 cm high from the ground. The fence has a sharply angled edge at the top that causes the snails to fall if they crawl up there.
If there is a heavy infestation and a large garden, slug pellets also help. There are different varieties that are more or less poisonous. Check with specialist retailers and choose a variety that is safe for other animals. The active ingredient methiocarb is very toxic, even for humans, and is not recommended under any circumstances.
Snails don't like that at all
Snails neither like fine crumbly nor rough soil. Loosen the soil regularly or sprinkle gravel or other rough material in beds that are particularly at risk from snails. Do not water your phlox late in the evening, snails like it moist. They will tend to avoid predominantly dry or sunny places. These locations are ideal for the phlox.
The most important tips against snails:
- Collecting snails and their eggs
- Snail fence
- possibly slug pellets
- do not water in the evening
Tips & Tricks
So-called snail fences are effective but non-toxic protection against snails. They are harmless to other animals and generally do not cause injuries.
