Slugs and snails make a nuisance of themselves in gardens by ingesting plants, but a very simple homemade trap can reduce their numbers. A wooden board with runners to lift it slightly off the ground provides a moist, sheltered area to attract slugs and snails. Assess for silvery slime trails before using a snare, to make sure that the culprits are slugs and snails, and not earwigs, caterpillars or other pests that leave similar irregularly shaped holes in crops. Removing stones, weedy areas, debris and other hiding places encourages slugs and snails to shelter from your snare.
Set the wooden board on the floor. Put a wooden strip throughout the board 4 inches in its border.
Hammer a 1 1/2-inch nail through the center of the wooden strip into the board. Hammer another nail throughout the strip and then into the board 3 inches from one end of the strip, and dip in another nail 3 inches in the opposite end. Fix a 2nd wooden strip to the board 4 inches from its other border in precisely the exact same manner.
Water a bare patch of land close to the plants that the slugs and snails are eating, and scatter three or four parts of potato or apple peel or even a couple of strips of lettuce leaf over the moist ground. Set the board on top. Alternatively, crush a camel on the board, flip it over and put it on the moist ground. A lifeless snail attracts alive snails and slugs, but too many snail carcasses may also pull bows, therefore use this snail bait in moderation.