WOODLICE AND SNAILS destroying plants..what to do?

[noonar]

DH has worked so hard to grow veg in our garden. we have thousands of woodlice and a good number of snails which are eating the plants faster than they are growing. any advice about how to get rid? (obviously, we'd prefer not to poison our 2yo!)

[snowwonder]

broken egg shells stop snails, as they cant slime across it. i think?

[GooseyLoosey]

We have the same problem - dh is now obsessed with snail anihilation. He waits until its damp and going dark and then sneaks out and... massacres them. Assuming that you would prefer a less blood thirsty approach, coffee grounds around the base of the plants also helps for the same reason as the egg shells.

Even massacre does not work on woodlice so I await other responses with interest.

[noonar]

thanks folks. the woodlice are the bigger problem tbh. harder to lob over the wall.

[seamonstr]

Have you tried beer traps? Very effective, but a bit labour intensive - you have to empty and refill every couple of days.

[geogteach]

What beer do you use in your traps? Sad as I am I actually bought beer for the snails and slugs last week and so far have trapped none, even though there are thousands of the buggers.

[seamonstr]

Really!? None!? Remember that you have to have the rim of the trap at just about ground level (1/2 cm above).

I just use any old beer in the fridge and end up with a stinking container of dead slugs and snails in very short order! (ew, but yay)

[noonar]

great idea. does it work for woodlice?

[thefuturesbright]

woodlice generally only eat dead things - they aren't a problem. Are you sure they are woodlice? Tiny little round armadillos? are you sure they are eating stuff?

[noonar]

they are DEF woodlice, and we have literally 100s of them...dh says they are infesting the stalks/ leaves of his plants