Snails – it only rained for a few days and now the garden is absolutely teeming with them. They seem to particularly like the asters. Collect? That's not much fun when there's a slug infestation
How to protect asters from slugs?
To protect asters from snails, natural barriers such as sand, stone dust, wood ash, spruce needles or lime can be created around the plants. Planting snail-repellent plants such as onions, garlic, lavender, rosemary, thyme or oregano near the asters also helps.
Asters – delicacies for snails
Snails are attracted to asters. Visibly like their mild taste. In the worst case, the snails eat the asters to the point that the asters die. The danger is particularly great in spring, as the asters are still quite small. In summer, a few feeding spots on the aster won't hurt.
Young plants are particularly at risk
If you sow your asters directly outdoors, you should protect the young plants soon - ideally when the first 2 leaves are visible. Even freshly planted, smaller asters that you have bought and planted should not be left unprotected in the garden. Unless you want to give snails a treat
Natural protection measures that keep snails away
Various measures have a preventive effect against snail damage to asters. On the one hand, there are natural barriers that you can build, for example in a circle around the asters. Anything that deprives the snails of water has an effect here. These include, for example:
- Sand
- Stone powder
- Wood ash
- Spruce needles
- Lime
You should also water the asters in the morning rather than in the evening. It is also recommended to plant robust varieties and species that are less attractive to snails such as rough leaf asters. On top of that, it helps to plant plants around the asters that snails don't like. These include:
- Onions
- garlic
- Lavender
- Rosemary
- Thyme
- Oregano
Further measures against the snail plague
If the natural protective measures do not help, tougher measures must be taken. Here are the most common ideas:
- Setting up beer traps
- Set up snail fences
- collect late in the evening (then they are on the move)
- Find and collect sleeping places (wooden boards, plastic panels, tall grass, large-leaved perennials)
- Sprinkle slug pellets (causes quick death as the snail is dehydrated)
Tip
The winter asters, also called chrysanthemums, don't like snails. So here you can forego protective measures.
