3 Ways to Attract Snail-Eating Birds to Your Garden

Forget plenty of chemicals and copper tape and beer traps; Did you know that birds will get rid of snails in the garden?

Yes, we all know that slugs are one of the biggest frustrations for gardeners, robbing hostas, dahlias and young ones. vegetables Seedlings in a few days. When there are plenty Ways to get rid of snailsHowever, not everyone wants to rely on tablets or spend evenings picking them up by hand.

Instead, encouraging natural predators in your garden is effective, Wildlife-friendly Ways to reduce the number of snails. Many familiar garden birds in particular feed on snails and slugs as part of their diet.

Attracts birds that will get rid of snails for you

the key to Attracts birds What will get rid of slugs in the garden is creating an outdoor space where these birds will want to visit regularly. From leaving leaf litter to planting the right shrubs, a few simple changes can help attract birds that will happily do some of the hard work for you.

1. Encourage snail-eating birds to visit

A blackbird eating rowan berries in a tree.

Not all garden birds eat snails, but many common species have been known to snack on them while foraging.

Charlotte Ambrose, one of the wildlife experts RSPBSays, ‘There are many garden birds that will eat snails and slugs. Song thrushes are probably best known for eating snails, although like blackbirds they eat both slugs and snails. Small garden birds such as wrens and dunnoks can also help keep the number of slugs down in your garden, as both are known to eat small slugs (though not top choices).’

While it’s important to note that birds alone won’t remove every snail, attracting species that naturally feed on them can help keep populations at more manageable levels over time.

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3 tier rustic metal garden stake with rain-catching bowls for birds

2. Make your garden a natural feeding ground

Instead of over-manicuring your garden, leave areas where birds can forage for insects and molluscs.

‘All these species have a similar foraging style, rummaging through leaf litter and turning leaves in search of a wide range of insects and molluscs,’ explains Charlotte.

Instead of picking up and disposing of leaves, pile up leaf litter and plant wildlife-friendly plants like holly, spindle and common dogwood to encourage them to visit your gardens all year round.’

Also by picking up something a Dogwood with red bark from crocusRemember, then, that piles of leaf litter create value residence For wildlife while giving birds somewhere to find food. The trick is to make your garden attractive throughout the season.

3. Feed, water and use citrus fruit traps

A blue bird feeder in a garden full of flowers

Along with wildlife-friendly planting, providing the basics for birds will encourage them to spend more time in your garden.

At Richard Green, Bird Feeding Expert Kennedy Wild Bird Food and Pet Supplies‘Start by making sure you have the essentials like food, water and shelter,’ he says. Planting berry-producing shrubs such as hawthorn, ivy, and cotoneaster is an easy way to encourage year-round visits, even in the cooler months. And adding a birdbath or shallow water source helps birds stay hydrated and cool, especially in hot weather.’

We absolutely love this Pebble bird bath from crocus If you want something different!

Try this berry-producing plant

Crocus

Crataegus × Media ‘complete’

Thompson and Morgan

Ivy Helix ‘Glacier’

Richard also recommends a simple trick that can help birds find snails more easily.

‘By using Citrus-fruit traps A fantastic, natural option for pest control in the garden. Cutting an orange or grapefruit in half and placing one half in your garden can serve a dual purpose,’ he says.

‘Birds are drawn to the fruit, and snails are attracted to the leftover husks. Once the snails are collected, the birds will return to eat them, making it an effective and environmentally friendly way to control pests.’

FAQs

What birds eat snails in the UK?

If you want to know which birds eat snails in the UK, you might be surprised to find that there are quite a few! ‘Birds such as blackbirds, song thrushes, robins, starlings and mistle thrushes will enjoy feeding on slugs and snails’, says Maurice Hankinson, director. Hops Grove Nursery.

‘Blackbirds and robins are particularly keen to rummage in borders for snails and song thrushes have been known to eat both snails and slugs. They often break snail shells against stones.’

How do you get birds to eat snails?

It’s a great idea to try to attract birds to feast on your snails, but how best to do so?

‘Many common garden birds happily eat snails and slugs to help keep their numbers in check and liven up your outdoor space. The morning birdsong is delightful and if they eat snails and slugs it’s a big bonus too,’ says Maurice Hankinson, director. Hops Grove Nursery.

To attract birds, he says you should ‘provide a source of fresh water for drinking and bathing, grow a mix of native trees, hedging, shrubs and flowering plants for shelter, feeding and nesting sites and leave parts of the garden slightly wild’.

‘Dense hedges, log piles and natural leaf litter make the habitats that birds love. A hanging feeder can also encourage regular visitors, especially in the colder months,’ he adds.

Encouraging snail-eating birds in your garden, combined with wildlife-friendly planting and a reliable source of food and water, is the easiest way to let nature handle this particularly pesky problem for you (this writer swears by it, quite frankly).

Of course, it won’t completely replace other methods (a little copper tape can go a long way). That being said, it can reduce the number of slugs reaching your prized plants. And, even better, it will do so while making your garden a richer habitat for wildlife, making it a real win-win approach!