Even with the chickens running around all spring, when I put in the garden, I always have to bait the heck out of it to keep the snails and slugs from eating every leave that comes up. I really don’t like spreading poison around, and I’m always looking for new ways to keep pests at bay without having to poison.
This summer my aunt told me to try drying eggshells, crushing them and sprinkling them around the bases of the plants. Apparently this will deter the little pests from crawling over that part of the ground because the shell grindings cut up their feet! Sounds brutal, but better than having poison out that little animal mouths and bird beaks might try to eat. Not only that, but eggshell is good for the soil, adding calcium to the mix. I have 6 chickens so I have no shortage of eggshells!
Over the summer I’ve been collecting and drying eggshells, then crushing them to grit and collecting the grindings in a jar. I’ve about got enough now to do a lot of the seedlings.
To dry the eggshells:
- Collect eggshells from baking and cooking projects. Put them in a wide bowl or open container of some kind. (You don’t need to rinse off the yolk!) Make sure that the shell halves are not nested or sticking together — this will help them dry faster.
- Put the dish with the eggshells in the greenhouse or somewhere in your house where some warm, dry air will dry the shells over the course of a few days.
- After about a week, the shells should be dry enough to crush. I crush mine between two big plastic container lids. You could also use a couple of baking sheets pressed together, or even a mortar and pestle. Grind the shells into as fine a grit as you can. The more sharp edges, the better!
- Store your shell grit in a jar or some other closable container and save for spring, when those little stinkers hatch out and start to wreak havoc on your garden.
In the spring, when you begin to put your plants in the ground, you can then sprinkle a generous amounts around the bases of your plants. Replace the sprinkles as needed to help deter the slugs and snails!
I have not tried this myself yet, so I’ll update this when I do. My aunt says it works pretty well in her garden, so I’m hopeful!