What do garden snails run through ? What in our precious veggie gardens is at wager ? As cunning as they can be , garden snail can also be a bit of a nuisance in the garden when they eat up all the veggies we have drop calendar month develop . Here ’s what to keep an oculus on !

Garden snails may be the cutest pest in the garden . Or at least vie with caterpillars for the title!Personally , I love spotting snails in the garden .

They play their function in the food chain aspart of the rude ecosystem , being eaten up by birdie and small animals while use up debris and pestilence eggs themselves .

snail

Snails are part of the ecosystem and often don’t pose a big threat to the garden.

That said , they can use up more than their fair percentage of my favourite veg and greens in the garden .

Thebrown garden snail , Cornu aspersum , is originally aboriginal to the Mediterranean but has now found its way to every single continent apart from Antarctica . It ’s sneak its direction into many places it should n’t be , which can make it a pain in the neck .

So what do garden escargot eat ? Well … a lot !

what do garden snails eat?

This post will cover …

What Do Garden Snails Eat?

If it has foliage , a snail might corrode it . This meansalmost all your flowers , vegetables , and other leafy leafage is at peril . While knowing exactly what iseating your plantscan be hard , a slimy trail could indicate a escargot is the perpetrator !

Debris

Garden snails are omnivores , meaning they feed on just about any organic material . They often feed lots of detritus and bouncy plants , including tree bark , stems and branch , mushroom , algae , andseeds .

Calcium is also of import for snails since it helps them maturate their shells . They get their calcium from things like egg shells , clappers , drained escargot shield , dead animal tissue , soil , and green .

Vegetables

Snails like lots of vegetables . I would saythere are few vegetables off - limits for the garden snailto wipe out , but they do have some they favor more than others . This includes :

Lettuce

Much likeslugs , leafygreens and lettuceis a popular choice for garden snails . If you find that most of your lettuce gets munched on before you have a chance to reap it yourself , I highly recommendgrowing it in container . I mature my wampum in awine barrel !

Fruit

Snails like yield a ton , oftenleaving hole in the fruit . The lower and easy to eat , the good . So yourstrawberriescould very well be in prime snail - eat up territory !

They also enjoyapples , peaches , cherries , plum tree , apricot , pears , andtomatoes .

Flowers

Your blossom are n’t needs safe from snails , either . Some of their favourites include

Crops

snail have become abig problem in places they do n’t belong , where they ’re not aboriginal . In California especially , they are notorious for eating citrus fruit and vinery , and quarantine are in place to prevent spreading them .

Even so , theyoften pelt amongst foliageand can easy be transported into garden through container plant .

Frequently Asked Questions About Garden Snails

Snails are most active in the spring . This is when they ’re most ill-famed for esurient seedling . They ’ll eat until full , down about 10 % of their trunk weight unit . They can also enter menses of lethargy during the summertime and the winter . During this clip , they retreat into their shell and cover themselves with a protective mucous secretion layer . While in this hibernation of form , they eat significantly less .

Like any support organism , snails need to salute water . This maintain them hydrous and energetic . Most of their water comes from their food , but they also get it from their surroundings . They really bask living in humid places !

The best style to naturally get free of any pest is to look at its habitat , eating habits , and who eats it . To make your habitat less escargot friendly , try incorporating plant snails do n’t care amidst ones they do , and encourage snail - eating animals to take up your garden as a residence . you could see more detailed tips onhow to get rid of escargot in this article .

snail in the garden

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Visual of how to grow lettuce in a wine barrel with copper wire around it to prevent garden snails from eating

two large baskets full of freshly picked apples

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how to get rid of snails in the garden

snails in the garden

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Pin image answering: “What do garden snails eat” and which crops to keep an eye on.