Snails are unwelcome garden visitors because they cause extensive damage to vegetables and ornamental plants. Oatmeal is often discussed as a way to combat it. You can find out here whether and how oatmeal helps against snails.
Oatmeal can work against snails in two different ways:
In a nutshell
- twice the effectiveness of oatmeal
- 2 different uses
- additional additives recommended for the natural effectiveness of oatmeal
Table of contents
- Oatmeal barrier effect
- Use oatmeal as a block
- Oatmeal attractant effect
- Lay out oatmeal as an attractant
- effectiveness of oatmeal
- frequently asked Questions
Oatmeal barrier effect
Some hobby gardeners report an effect of oatmeal that keeps them at a distance. This is shown by the fact that they avoid crawling over the flakes. This suggests a surface structure on the oatmeal that makes it uncomfortable for slugs to walk over it. Numerous other examples show that they largely avoid rough surfaces, as is the case with limestone, for example. In addition to the unpleasant feeling, there is also the difficulty in moving over rough surfaces. Rolled oats have a coarse surface that results from the pressed seed shells. The larger the oatmeal, the better the effect.
Use oatmeal as a block
When using and applying oatmeal as a blockage to the plants, you should consider the following:
- ideally use large rolled oats
- border the complete border with oat flakes (alternatively: individual plants with oat flakes).
- Oatmeal and ground should be dry
- Apply in a thick layer with a minimum height of three centimetres
- at the latest after rain or wetting by watering, drying off residues and filling up places to the required height
- make sure that the oatmeal barricade stays evenly for at least two weeks (snails check passage several times)
- ideally spread oat flakes continuously as a preventive measure
In cottage gardens with numerous plants preferred by snails, a complete garden border with oat flakes or the distribution at known entrances as Barrier.
Tip: You can read advice and tips on the Internet that recommend soaking the oatmeal beforehand for greater effectiveness. You should not do this with oat flakes as a barrier, because the resulting softer consistency means that the oat flakes lose their rough surface and thus their effect.
Oatmeal attractant effect
Some home gardeners report oatmeal as a treat for snails. They are very nutritious and can even attract snails in search of food directly to the plants if they are placed in or on the bed. If they eat the oatmeal, the path is clear to the plants, which then act as the next sources of food. But this can also be taken advantage of by keeping the pests away from through oatmeal flower and vegetable beds, to be lured in another direction.
Lay out oatmeal as an attractant
snails like moisture, also in relation to their food. That is why they usually do not eat dried-up lettuce leaves or tubers, but prefer juicy plant parts - with the exception of the snail. Therefore, the oat flakes should also be mixed with water as an attractant, which still attracts snails.
- use twice as much water as oatmeal
- mix both together well
- Consistency should be mushy, slightly sticky after a short steeping phase
- Distribute in flat layers on a flat plate, cardboard or similar
- position in the garden in several places as a path in the desired direction
- Check spots several times a day and, if necessary, set up new feeding stations or fill them up
Tip: Luring with softened oatmeal can be used not only to change direction and expulsion of snails use in your own garden. The snails usually remain in close proximity to the food source and can easily be collected and released elsewhere outside of the garden environment. Forests, for example, offer an ideal habitat for most snails.
effectiveness of oatmeal
The effect of oatmeal against snails cannot always be described as effective. This is less due to the principle of action, but to the fact that snails do not perceive the attractants sufficiently well, Soaked rolled oats are not among their favorite foods or they are simply less sensitive to the rough surface of oatmeal are. It is therefore recommended to increase the effect with additional ingredients to the oatmeal. These should be added to the soaked oatmeal and/or mixed with the oatmeal barrier prior to application. The following is particularly good for this:
- attractant: spinach, parsley, lemon verbena, cat food, wheat bran
- path blockages: rosemary, thyme, coarse limestone, crumbled egg shells
frequently asked Questions
Snails aren't stupid. They feel the ground in front of them with their fountain pens. As a rule, they do not "walk" on sticky surfaces if they can pose a danger to them. In addition, snails can stick to the edge of the glass and thus get to the oat flakes without getting on them with their bodies. In rare cases, of course, they can lose their footing and fall into the oatmeal mass, get stuck and die in agony.
Yes. Therefore, you should think carefully about which types of snails you have in the garden and whether you actually want to get rid of them. Not all are to be regarded equally as unwelcome pests in the garden. The Roman snail, for example, is under special species protection. In addition, snails also contribute to a balanced ecosystem in your garden, which can lead to an imbalance if all snails are completely expelled.
Some self-growers and hobby gardeners have had problems with the application of soaked oat flakes in the Vegetable bed directly on the plants made the experience that more and more snails made their way there have searched. Although snails usually prefer the oatmeal porridge and neglect the herbivores, there are so many snails that one If there is "overcrowding", many of them still switch to the plants - snails, which would not be there without the soaked oatmeal would be.
