Anyone who struggles with snails in the garden will resort to anything that can help. Sawdust is also said to keep snails away. But – does this home remedy really help? Find out below what's behind it and how to use sawdust or sawdust in your vegetable garden.
Are sawdust effective as a snail repellent?
Sawdust against snails is not very effective, but can be used as a supportive method in greenhouses or indoors. Sawdust should be dry, 5cm thick, and laid out in a wide, closed ring around plants to deter slugs.
Is sawdust an effective way to repel slugs?
Sawdust absorbs moisture. As a result, it also absorbs the snail slime, making walking on sawdust uncomfortable and energy-intensive for the snails. So much for the theory. In practice, however, sawdust or sawdust have proven to benot very effective against snails. However, it can be used as a supportive snail defense if a few things are taken into account.
How should you use sawdust against snails?
First of all: Sawdust only has any effect when it is dry. Therefore, sawdust is not suitable for outdoor use where it is exposed to rain and wind. In addition, the sprinkled area must be as large and closed as possible to really dissuade snails from their path. Sawdust should therefore be used as follows:
- Use only in greenhouses or indoors
- Do not wet when watering!
- Spread 5 cm thick
- Lay out a wide, complete ring around the plants to be protected
- Renew regularly
- Only use sawdust from pure wood, not from scraps left over from table sanding, to avoid contamination with harmful substances!
What are the advantages and disadvantages of sawdust against snails?
Since sawdust has other advantages, it makes sense to cover plants with sawdust:
Sawdust canact as mulchand thus prevent the vegetable patch from drying out protect and inhibit weed growth.
But be careful!Sawdust is acidic and lowers the pH value of the soil. While this is desirable for some plants such as hydrangeas, azaleas, blueberries, potatoes, lilies of the valley, begonias or rhododendrons, other plants such as asters or chrysanthemums suffer and should therefore only be minimally covered with sawdust.
Which defense methods can be combined with sawdust?
In order to successfully keep snails away with sawdust, it is recommended to combine the home remedy with others. You can, for example:
- Plant snail-repellent herbs or flowers that snails don't like
- Set up a snail fence
- Collecting snails - most effective method!
Tip
Where there is hunger, all home remedies are of no use
If you have a serious snail infestation in your garden, you won't be able to keep the hungry slugs away from the bed. In this case, it is worth collecting the snails in the evening and disposing of them far away.
