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Snail Ban™  What is it?

Snail Ban is a naturally occurring mineral found in prehistoric rock formations in Australia.

What does it do?

Snail Ban is able to extract large volumes of moisture from it's surroundings-including the slime so vital to slugs and snails for mobility. It is placed as a continuous barrier around susceptible plants such as delphiniums, lettuces and hostas and acts as a deterrent to slugs and snails without killing them.

The Alfriston trials.

Small scale trials have proved quite effective in controlling the No1 garden pest around individual plants but we wanted to see if large areas could be protected to the same degree. Due to it's layout, the kitchen garden at Alfriston Clergy House seemed to be the perfect place to conduct a large scale, controlled  experiment. There are four central plots in which a traditional, 4 crop rotation is practised and where different levels of protection can be measured. Currently, picking snails off by hand and natural predation are the only means of control used in the garden and thanks to several mild winters, snail numbers are at plague proportions. ( Slugs are a minor irritation.)

It was proposed that from January 1st  2001 the four crop rotation would be changed. As we are only concerned with the central, four crop rotation I have edited the artichokes and seed beds out of the picture and simplified the diagram.

Plot1 (Control)    Plot 2(<M.R.R.)

Plot 3 (= m.m.r.)   Plot 4 ( > m.m.r )

 Identical crops would be sown in each of the four plots at the same time

Plot 1 : would be the control with no Snail Ban applied 

Plot 2: would have Snail Ban applied at less than the recommended rate

Plot 3; would have the recommended rate applied (3" wide x1/2" deep)

Plot 4: would have Snail Ban applied at more than the recommended rate.

Results and summaries of the findings were to be available on a monthly basis and can be found by clicking on the links below.

Results were added on the last day of the month.

 I also reported, from time to time, on what was happening on the (unprotected) cut flower and annuals beds and the compost heaps on which I grow my courgettes, tomato's and pumpkins.

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