Snails can become a real plague in the garden pond over time. It's good if you know how to get rid of them easily.
Water snails are basically found in every garden pond. Regardless of whether you have a large pond or a mini pond - snails are actually at home in any standing body of water. They are not always harmful to the pond as they eat algae and keep the pond clean. But sometimes the snails get the upper hand. Also, they don't look very pretty. Therefore, many pond owners are looking for an agent that removes the snails. A few options are presented below.
How to fight snails in the garden pond
Fighting snails in the garden pond is often a tedious task. After all, the little animals multiply incredibly quickly and become a nuisance. They are also very robust animals that can withstand high temperature fluctuations. However, there are some ways to reduce snail growth or banish them from the pond altogether.
❶ Prevention is better than aftercare:
The little animals usually come into the pond with new water plants. In the various shops, they usually do not pay attention to whether there are snails on the plants to be sold. The buyer then takes the plants with him and places them directly in his pond. This is not very sensible, because not only snails can stick to the plant, but also pesticides. The plants are finally treated with pesticides to look beautiful and remain as pest-free as possible. But that is not good for the water quality. Therefore, it makes sense to water the purchased plants in a bucket first. This can take several hours. Keep changing the water. This allows the pesticides to be washed off and the snails to be removed as well.
❷ let nature take its course:
Snails reproduce mainly when there is enough food. If the water quality is good and there is enough food, snails feel like they are in paradise and multiply endlessly. It may therefore be helpful toreduce food supply. If you keep fish in the pond, you can feed them a little less. The slugs don't like this and will stop breeding. In this way you can contain the plague somewhat, but not get rid of it completely. So you will still have snails in the pond. Nevertheless, the number of snails can be significantly reduced in this way.
❸ use natural predators:
Although the snail is a very robust animal, it has a number of predators that make life difficult for it. Some fish prefer to eat the snails and snails also eat each other. The predatory snail, for example, is one of the snails that is often used when the native snails get the upper hand. However, you should note that these snails also reproduce.
Other predators are dragonfly larvae or simply garden birds such as blackbirds, which also like to help themselves to the pond. The newt is another enemy that likes to eat snail nests and their eggs. The fire-bellied newt, for example, is very undemanding and can be easily integrated into the garden pond. Some insects also eat the eggs and nests of the snails.
❹ Lay out snail traps:
Snail traps can be used to efficiently remove the snails from the pond. These are available at pet stores. But you can also quickly build them yourself. Snails, for example, love fresh vegetables. Cucumbers are at the top of their menu. If you don't want to buy a snail trap, you can replace it with fishing line. Simply attach the cucumber to the string and hang it in the pond. The snails smell the cucumber and will pounce on it. After a few hours, you can then remove the cucumber and the snails from the pond.
By the way, this also works with an empty yoghurt pot. Here you should note that you must first put a few stones in the cup. Then put the cucumber slices on top. Then place the cup on the bottom of the pond. This guarantees that the cup stays at the bottom of the pond and the snails can climb into the cup. While they are busy eating, after a few hours you can fish the cup out of the pond. You can then rinse the mug with hot water and reuse it. The only problem: You have to repeat this method a few times. However, it is an efficient way to remove the snails from the pond.
❺Catch snails by hand:
Another way to fight snails is to fish them by hand. It depends on the size of the snails whether this method is promising or not. Large snails can be fished out quickly in this way, for example. To remove small snails, it is advisable to use a yoghurt cup or net.
Never resort to chemistry!
You should avoid using chemicals. Even if the snail plague is still so bad. Any chemical agent eventually affects the natural flora of the water. So stay away from chemicals and try to fight the snails with the methods just mentioned.