Are Snails Bad for Potted Plants?

Snails can be charming creatures when you see them slowly crawling on leaves or in gardens. However, as much as you appreciate them outside, they might harm your potted plants. Some of us may not be aware of the threats these snails pose to our plants, but their damage can be disastrous. Here, we’ll discuss everything you need to know about snails and their effects on potted plants.

Types of snails that can harm potted plants

There are two types of snails; the garden snail and brown snail, that can harm your potted plants. Garden snails are the most common pests that damage plants in pots. They grow up to 1 inch in size, with brown and yellow shells, and leave a slimy trail while crawling. Conversely, brown snails are larger than garden snails and can grow up to 3 inches long. They’re mostly brown and leave holes on leaves and flowers.

How do snails harm potted plants?

Snails are slow-moving creatures, but they can destroy your potted plants in no time. One of the most common ways they harm plants is by eating leaves and stems. They target delicate and tender parts of plants, leaving them with holes or completely eating them up. Moreover, some snails feed on the plant’s roots, which deprives the plant of essential nutrients and eventually kills them.

Snails can also climb up into the potted plant and lay eggs, which hatch rapidly and produce mini snails that start damaging the plants’ roots and leaves. Their slimy trails can also become home to mold and bacteria, attracting other pests that’ll harm your plants, affecting their growth and health in the long run.

How to protect your potted plants from snails

While it’s hard to completely eradicate snails, there are some preventive measures you can take to save your potted plants. For starters, try using copper strips or tape around the pot or pot stand. Copper is known to repel snails, so creating a copper barrier can prevent them from crawling into your pots. You can also lay down sandpaper or eggshells around your plants as snails don’t like to crawl on rough or jagged surfaces.

Another way to keep snails away is by handpicking them off your plants or using chemical-free baits such as beer traps. You can create a trap by placing a small container with beer beside the potted plant, and the snails will get attracted to it, fall in the container, and eventually drown.

Conclusion

While snails might be adorable when crawling on grass, they can cause significant damage to your potted plants. They eat leaves and stems and damage the roots, leaving them unhealthy or eventually killing them. To avoid this, gardeners can take preventive measures such as using copper or sandpaper to create a barrier or handpicking snails off plants. Remember, keeping your plants safe and healthy is worth the effort!