Which Plants Do Snails and Slugs Like to Eat? Vegetables, Herbs, and Flowers

Vegetables, herbs, and flowers that slugs love

To save a lot of time and trouble with slugs and snails, here’s a simple trick:

Don’t grow plants that snails and slugs love to eat.

Slugs and snails are usually selective and there are some flowers and vegetables that they simply can’t resist eating.

In this article, you’ll discover which plants are their favorite food so that you can avoid growing them in the future.

However, I’d also like to introduce a completely different approach here: ‘the sacrificial bed strategy’.

If you’re looking for slug-resistant plants, you’ll find more information here:

Which vegetables and herbs do slugs not like to eat?	Which flowers and perennials are slug-resistant?

The sacrificial bed strategy

An interesting idea is to create a so-called ‘sacrificial bed’ for all slugs and snails to enjoy.

If you plant a bed and fill it with the plants they like most, then most of them will gladly stay there and leave the other plants in peace.

Personally, I consider this to be one of the cleverest methods of slug control.

In the sacrificial bed, snail life traps can be set up, to collect and relocate the snails easily.

If there are certain gates through which slugs and snails enter the garden, the bed could be placed there, so that they’re caught before they reach the vegetable garden.

The danger, however, is that this could attract even more slugs and snails.

So, you must make sure that a sacrificial bed really does contain enough space and plants so that the slugs and snails are satisfied and aren’t interested in migrating to other flower and vegetable beds.

This strategy works only if there’s enough space available.

The following lists show which plants would be perfect for a special slug bed.

Absolute slug magnets

• green salad (lettuce, pickle salad – red varieties are more resilient)
• almost all types of cabbage (Brussels sprouts, Savoy cabbage, white cabbage, red cabbage, pointed cabbage, Chinese cabbage, etc.)
• strawberries (not the leaves, but the fruits)
• pepper plants
• zucchini, courgettes (unfortunately, also the fruits)
• pumpkin (especially the young plants, rarely the fruits)
• cucumbers (as long as they’re still small)
• kohlrabi (cabbage turnip)
• beans (shrimp and runner beans)
• mustard
• celery (especially the young plants)
• buckwheat
• cress.

They also like (second choice)

• lentils
• radishes
• chili plants
• spinach
• carrots
• asparagus
• peas.

Herbs that slugs like to eat

Most herbs aren’t afraid of snails.

A herb garden, therefore, isn’t usually a place where a lot of slugs and snails can be found.

The list of herbs that slugs love is therefore short:

• basil
• lemon verbena
• parsley (young plants)
• dill (cucumber herb)
• marjoram (sometimes).

Which flowers do slugs and snails like to eat?

Flowers are particularly suitable for a snail-catching or sacrificial bed.

Here you’ll find a short list of flowers that are usually attacked first.

Fortunately, there’s a much longer list of flowers that snails don’t particularly like.

These snail-resistant varieties are therefore easy to avoid.

The level of attraction, even for the following list, depends on:

• variety/species
• age (young plants are normally endangered)
• health/strength (sick plants are vulnerable)
• season
• location
• surrounding plants.

Slugs’ favorite flowers

Flowers with the power to attract slugs:

• marigolds
• delphiniums (larkspur)
• hostas (Funkia)
• dahlias
• zinnias
• lupins (lupines)
• sunflowers
• dandelions
• petunias
• bellflowers (Campanula)
• asters (a big difference in varieties)

Snails also like these species

(if there’s nothing better on offer)

• Baby’s breath (Gypsophila)
• clematis
• daylilies (Hemerocallis)
• irises (depending on variety and season)
• mallow (hollyhock, Malva)
• Coreopsis (tickseed)
• chrysanthemums
• marigold flower (Calendula)
• Datura (moonflower)
• summer ragwort (leopard plant)
• gazania
• Madonna lily
• woodland sage
• tansies
• Rudbeckia (coneflowers)
• burning love (Maltese cross)
• tree mallows (lavatera)
• Vicia (vetches).

How can you protect these varieties?

If you really like these flowers or you’re a vegetable gardener, there are several ways of protecting vulnerable plants.

Since beer traps and slug pellets help for only a short time but are counterproductive in the long term, using them isn’t helpful.

It’s better to use slug barriers and to attract natural enemies.

Barriers for slugs and snails

Mechanical obstacles such as slug collars, copper rings or garden cloches are easy to set up and keep even the snails’ favorite foods safe.

Particularly effective are slug fences made from galvanized metal. They can protect beds for many years.

With a little skill, it’s also possible to build an electric slug fence.

You can also do many little things yourself. You’ll find some upcycling ideas here: Slug control DIY.

In addition, you can surround a breeding bed with wood or stones and then protect it with Schnexagon – a new protective anti-slug coating that’s also suitable for raised beds.

 

Attracting natural enemies

It’s in your long-term interest to make the garden resistant to snails by trying to attract as many enemies as possible to the garden.

A near-natural garden that contains a large variety of species is usually well prepared against snail or slug population booms.

If snails have many natural enemies, they can’t multiply explosively.

You’ll find more information here:

Promoting biodiversity in the garden	Attracting hedgehogs to your garden

Using life traps

A quick, simple method is to collect and relocate the slugs.

This is best done with snail traps (without beer).

You’ll find more information here:

Snail life traps	Effective slug control