Pest control Long Beach becomes mandatory when you start noticing snails and slugs in your garden or inside the house. These are ugly creatures that you don’t want to look at twice. They can be quite troubling especially when they are in the garden. Most people consider control because of the nauseating look of these pests. In addition to that, in spite of their slow pace, they are capable of causing significant damages in a garden.
Identification
The first thing pest control companies Long Beach will want to do is to identify the problem. Knowing exactly what you are dealing with will help establish the best control strategy. Snails and slugs look the same. The only difference is that the slug does not have external spiral shells. They both move by gliding on their muscular foot which is also the part that secretes the mucus that helps them to move. To identify the presence of these pests, you need to look for the silvery slime trail that they leave behind as they move.
The adult snail will lay about 80 eggs. The eggs are spherical and pear shaped. These eggs are white and are usually hidden in holes. Both the snail and slug can lay eggs up to 6 times in a year. For a snail, it takes about 2 years to mature whereas the slug takes 3 to 6 months to mature.
Snails and slugs are active mostly at night or when it is cloudy or foggy. They will hide on a hot day. They hide mostly in the topsoil during the cold season. These pests also have a tendency of attaching themselves onto immovable objects such as fences, walls and trees.
Damage
Snails and slugs mostly feed on decaying matter. They will also make irregular holes in flowers and leaves. They also can chew on fruits and the barks of young plants. The main reason why pest control companies Long Beach are contacted is because these creatures will mostly attack seedlings and herbaceous plants. They prefer succulent foliage. They will also fee on ripe fruits which are close to the ground like strawberries and tomatoes. It is very easy to confuse the damage of snails and slugs to that of earwigs, caterpillars and other insects. This is why making sure you are dealing with snails/slugs is very important before you start controlling them.
Control methods
There are several methods that can be used in pest control Long Beach. They include the following:
- Handpicking. Eliminating the adults will hamper the infestation. You should handpick them and throw them away or even kill them. Tweezers and chopsticks can be used for handpicking.
- Traps. Traps include lying flat boards on the ground, inverted cabbage leaves or inverted flower pots. They mimic safe havens for the snails and slugs. You can then check the traps and eliminate the slugs/snails.
- Predators. Introducing predators will help. The main predators include ducks, possums, birds, tortoise and chicken.
- Place copper deterrents to help repel the pests
- Use salt water
- Spray with vinegar
- Pesticides
Controlling snails/slugs might not be easy for people with weak stomachs. You can consider enlisting the help of pest control companies Long Beach.
