Snail Control: How To Get Rid of Snails

This page is a general snail control guide. Using the products and methods suggested, you will get control of snails. Follow this guide and use the recommended products, and we guarantee 100% control over snails.

Snails can become an annoying pest around the home and garden. You probably first notice them from the slimy trail they leave behind as they are slithering around. While they are relatively harmless to humans, they can damage garden plants considerably and leave behind an unsightly mess from the slime residue that tracks everywhere they go.

Snails are mainly found outdoors near crops and gardens. This slow-moving pest feeds on leaves, flowers, fruits, ornamentals, and decaying vegetation. While snails rarely come indoors and are usually found outside in the yard, they might venture into garages and sneak under doors close to ground level if there's an infestation.

Fortunately, snails are easily controlled with the right DIY approach and the proper control products. The guide below shares some information about the common snails to help you understand how they function and how you can best tackle them on your property.

Identification

Before you can use treatment products, you need to confirm whether you are truly encountering snails by identifying them. Misidentification can lead to using the wrong treatment methods, which can cost you time and money.

• Snails are not insects. Instead, they are mollusks, much like clams and oysters. There are thousands of species of snails, and different species thrive in different conditions, like sea snails and freshwater snails. The one we are going to focus on is the common garden snail.
• Snails are easy to identify. They are usually just under an inch to 1.5 inches long, have a soft body, tentacles with eyes, and are usually colored brown or green. Another distinguishing trait of a snail is that they have a hard spiral shell, which they use as a shelter to crawl into. Those that don’t have a shell are called slugs.
• Snails are known by their calling card: the sticky and slimy mucus trails they leave behind whenever they move. This mucus is significant to snails as it enables them to crawl over rough surfaces and can keep their soft bodies from drying out.

Use the image and description above to identify snails on your property properly. If you are unsure, contact us, and we will help you identify the problem.

Inspection

Once you have confirmed that you are dealing with snails, you should proceed with an inspection to pinpoint where snails are active.

Where To Inspect

Snails are nocturnal and do most of their damage at night. They are drawn to moisture, so they can usually be found in damp, cool areas at night. In the daytime, snails go into hiding, usually under rocks, stones, or any shady area. They are big plant-eaters and chew large, ragged holes in leaves. Snails also eat seedlings and garden vegetation such as strawberries, lettuce, and cabbage.

Search the yard for leaf litter, woodpiles, dead vegetation, bricks, stones, and yard equipment. You should also check outdoor faucets and plumbing.

What To Look For

You're looking for snails themselves or signs of their activity, such as mucus trails and bite marks on plants. In the yard, look for areas where there are possible leaks or standing water. Make sure to address these areas before moving forward with treatment. Look under the leaves of plants in flowerbeds and gardens and also look for feeding damage in these plants.

Using a wooden plank is a good test to confirm that you have snails. At night, place the plank near the damaged plants, putting four rocks at each end of the plank to sustain the wood plank a couple of inches off the ground.

In the morning, you should see snails underneath this plank. You can get rid of them by throwing them in a bucket of water and rubbing alcohol. Once you have confirmed snail activity in these areas, you will treat them.

Treatment

Once you have confirmed snail activity, it is time to begin treatment. Remember to read all product labels, follow the application instructions on these labels, and wear personal protective equipment to stay safe.

We recommend treating snails with Ficam Insect Bait in the areas where you have seen them active.

Step 1: Apply Ficam Insect Bait

Ficam is an orthoboric acid insecticidal bait that mimics food and will allow snails to ingest it and ultimately kill them. You will apply Ficam all over the yard, especially in areas where snails have been seen (gardens, near fruit-bearing trees, vegetables, and areas of high moisture). 

To use Ficam, you will need a granular spreader, or you can shake the bait out directly from the container.

Determine first how much Ficam Bait you will need by calculating the square footage of the area you wish to treat. To do this, measure the treatment areas' length and width in feet, then multiply them together (length x width = square footage).

Ficam should be applied at a rate of 2 lbs. per 1,000 sq. ft. or 6 oz. per 100 sq. ft in garden beds or small areas.

Apply Ficam in a thin layer evenly all over the yard as a broadcast treatment, especially in areas with high moisture and near trees or vegetation where snails have been spotted. Monitor the area after a few days to check for snail activity. Reapply with a follow-up application every 4 to 6 weeks until snails are gone.

Prevention

After snails have been eliminated from your property, ensure they don't make a return with preventative measures. Here are some tasks we suggest:

• Start by reducing the moisture around your yard. Snails thrive in areas with high moisture, so do your best to reduce moisture around your home and yard, and you will see a significant change in the snail population.
• Rake and dethatch your lawn to improve air circulation. Trim back overhanging tree branches to reduce shade, and try not to do too much.
• Water your lawn with 1 to 1.5 inches once or twice a week in the morning. This will ensure your lawn gets the water it needs and gives it time to seep into the soil rather than sit on the surface.
• Also, reduce clutter around your yard; this means picking up dead vegetation, leaf litter, wood debris, stones, bricks, and any areas that might create a snail hiding spot.
• Removing snails or their eggs as soon as you see them will reduce your population. One snail can produce 430 eggs in a single year.
• Take a flashlight and visit your garden at night. You might be able to reduce the egg population by simply picking them off and killing them in a bucket of water and a little bit of rubbing alcohol. The eggs will appear in clusters of 40 to 100 and are small, creamy white balls 4.25 mm to 4.0 mm in size.
• Tilling the soil regularly can also target eggs hiding beneath the surface of your lawn and destroy them.

Key Takeaways

What are Snails?

• Snails are slimy pests that invade gardens and yards, damaging plant life via their feeding habits.

How To Get Rid of Snails

• Get rid of snails by applying Ficam Insect Bait in the areas where they are most active.

Preventing Snail Reinfestation

• Prevent snail reinfestation by reducing moisture in your yard or garden. Reducing moisture will make your yard or garden uninhabitable to snails, as the chances of them drying out go up. You can also locate and destroy snail eggs that may be present on your lawn by tilling the soil regularly.