Slugs & Snails
Introduction
Slugs and snails are common garden and crop "pests", but they are also important food sources for other species including insectivores such as hedgehogs, rodents, amphibians, reptiles, other bug species, and birds.
Using pesticides on slugs and snails might seem like a quick and simple solution, but it can poison other animals up the food chain, or the sudden disappearance of an important food source can set of a trophic cascade, and localized extinction of various beneficial omnivores and predators.
Reliant Species
Birds
Some species eat slugs and snails year-round, while other species feed on hard seeds and nuts, only using soft-bodied bugs to feed their chicks. Since chicks are much smaller, and particularly delicate during their speedy growth period, consuming pesticides can be particularly damaging, or even deadly to these little birds.
Mammals
Hedgehogs
Resources & Guides
Pest Control
Beetle Banks for Beneficial Insects "Beetle banks are linear strips of perennial native bunch grasses that provide overwintering shelter for predatory ground beetles, spiders, and other beneficial invertebrates. These grassy strips are sometimes interplanted with native wildflowers to increase plant diversity and support pollinators and other beneficial insects that consume pollen and/or nectar. Beetle banks are planted within or adjacent to crop fields to promote movement of predators into the crops. When beetle banks are present on farms, natural predators have more opportunities to colonize crop fields and regulate crop pests.
The use of beetle banks as a conservation practice originated in Great Britain, where they are now a common method to regulate grain pests such as aphids and blossom midges. In the United States, beetle banks are increasingly being adopted in the Pacific Northwest, Upper Midwest, and elsewhere, in a wide variety of cropping systems including large-scale grain crops and vegetable production. Overall, beetle banks are a great tool to support beneficial insects, pollinators, and other wildlife on farms, especially when existing shelter and floral resources are limited.
This fact sheet provides information on planning, locating, and installing beetle banks in the Upper Midwest, including recommended grasses and flowers that can be planted."
Organizations
International
Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation "is an international nonprofit organization that protects the natural world through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitats. As a science-based organization, we both conduct our own research and rely upon the most up-to-date information to guide our conservation work. Our key program areas are: pollinator conservation, endangered species conservation, and reducing pesticide use and impacts."