THE COASTAL GARDENER:Slug it out with snails in your garden

It wouldn’t seem like much of a contest, and they don’t really seem like worthy foes. At their largest, they’re a couple of inches long. Their top speed is .003 miles per hour. Flat out, with no breaks or meal stops, it would take one of them two and half months to get from Fashion Island to South Coast Plaza. They only have one foot; we have two. We also have two hands and opposable thumbs; they don’t.

So why are we locked into endless combat with one of the world’s lowliest creatures? Iraq would appear infinitely more winnable than the war we wage in our own backyards. The gardener vs. snails and slugs.

They seem to eat anything that’s green and juicy. Petunias, basil, succulents, daffodils, annuals, perennials, herbs, vegetables, even citrus trees.

They chew the leaves and flowers, leaving behind a battlefield of holes, tattered foliage and silvery trails. Where one day there were growing, blooming flowers, the next morning there are only scattered remains.

The main offender is the Brown Garden Snail (Helix aspersa), a species that terrorizes gardeners throughout much of the United States, as well as Europe, Africa, Australia, Mexico and South America.

Snails and slugs like moisture and are most active at night when the weather is damp. Lush, overwatered yards are their Eden.

When I first inherited my garden, snails were everywhere. My attempts to grow sweet peas and vegetables were thwarted by the attacks of these relentless gastropods. But today I hardly ever see a snail. In fact, I can’t remember when I last saw one in my garden. Why? Where did they go?

There are three reasons, I believe, why I don’t have snails in my garden and my neighbors do.

First, when I began tending my garden and its resident snail population, I began picking them. For some, the idea of picking up a snail is impossible, but for me it’s no big deal. My hands have been in the soil my entire life.

Early on, when I saw a snail in my garden, I “harvested” it — onto the roof or out to the street it went. Considering that the snails in your garden live for two to three years, hand-picking is a very efficient method of control, and it’s organic and free. A snail removed today is one less for the next three years.

The second thing I did was use a bait. Being an organic gardener, I will not use the common snail products that contain metaldehyde, like Snarol, That’s It, Corry’s or Deadline. They’re poison; are highly toxic to mammals, including pets and children; and don’t work very well anyway.

I did occasionally use an organic product called Sluggo, which is safe for pets, people and the environment. Sluggo contains iron phosphate, a naturally occurring soil ingredient.

Metaldehyde, the traditional snail bait, does not kill snails and slugs directly, but stimulates their mucous-producing cells to overproduce in an attempt to detoxify the bait. In theory, the cells eventually fail and the snail dies. In sunny or hot weather, they die from desiccation, but if the weather is cool they usually recover.

Metaldehyde baits break down rapidly when exposed to sunlight or moisture. Sluggo, on the other hand, is less affected by water and sunlight. Ingested, even in small amounts, it causes snails and slugs to cease feeding immediately, retreat to a cool shady spot and die.

But perhaps the primary reason I don’t have snails in my garden anymore is that I water appropriately. After 30 years of visiting hundreds of local gardens and talking to thousands of gardeners, I am convinced that a garden over-run with snails is also an overwatered garden.

My garden gets water only when it needs it, not when the clock on an irrigation timer says to. My garden is healthy, lush and snail-free.

Whatever your battle plan — harvesting, organic snail-baiting or proper watering — you can bring an end to the war you are waging in your backyard. It worked for me; it can work for you. Remember, you’re also smarter than the snail.

ASK RON

Loved your article on blueberries. However, I heard that some varieties need a boy plant and a girl plant in order to make fruit. Is that true?

Bobbi

Not exactly. Most blueberries produce fruit much better if there are two different varieties in the same vicinity.

However, the most popular variety, called Sunshine Blue, does not need cross-pollination. Sunshine Blue is also naturally compact, evergreen and has attractive pink flowers. One Sunshine Blue blueberry plant is all you need.

ASK RON your toughest gardening questions and the expert nursery staff at Roger’s Gardens will come up with an answer. Please include your name, phone number and city, and limit queries to 30 words or fewer. E-mail stumpthegardener@ rogersgardens.com, or write to Plant Talk at Roger’s Gardens, 2301 San Joaquin Hills Road, Corona del Mar, CA 92625.

is the nursery manager at Roger’s Gardens in Corona del Mar.