Hosta Pest Control Over Winter

John Plant
20 hours ago
3 min read

Winter is a period of the year where everything looks as it should be, and you would be forgiven in thinking there are no wee beasties to worry about!

Admittedly, slugs & snails won’t have any effect on your Hosta foliage, nibbling away and making ugly holes everywhere, because there is no foliage. Your Hostas are dormant. They have already lost their foliage. If there are any remnants of dying foliage left, remove them.

General Tidiness

Slugs will find a home almost everywhere, under loose slabs, in gnarled bits of wood, old tiles, bits of flat plastic sheets, tin sheets etc. They are very good at finding somewhere to go. At this time of year, most have already found their winter home. All that remains is for you to find where they are.

Rather than specifically seeking out slugs & snails, take an attitude of tidiness & cleanliness. Remove all those places where they could be. Removing their winter homes. Get rid of all those bits of broken paving and timber. By being very tidy you can reduce the numbers that may survive until Spring.

Slugs overwintering on the pots.

Slugs & snails will hide anywhere where there is some protection from the winter weather, so you need to be extra vigilant.

Firstly, lift each pot and check underneath for slugs. You will find plenty. Remove & dispose. Also check round the sides & top as they sometimes hide in plain sight.

Sometimes they are not where you expect. The one shown above is hiding in plain sight, in the gravel. Can you spot it? it took me a moment or two! This one hasn’t got to its winter home yet, but it still needs to be removed.

Don’t forget the eggs

By now, most molluscs have already laid their eggs. This will be the next generation of slugs & snails. If left they will form the next massive increase in numbers, the next year. As you might expect, these have also been laid in sheltered positions. Keep an eye out for these too. These also need to be removed.

Give the birds a fresh bit of nutrient to help them through winter by leaving the eggs on the bird table. The birds will love them. The eggs are round white and held in groups. Take the time to identify and remove when found.

You can put the slugs on the bird table, but if they are not eaten quickly, they can get away and your problem is increased.

All the usual Hosta pest controls used during the growing season should have now ended. The last slug, and vine weevil controls should have ended in early October and won’t resume until Spring next year when the Hostas pips start to show again. At this time of year the nematodes have nothing to lay their eggs on and it could be a waste of your money. The temperature will also make the Nematodes inactive. Garlic spray is for the leaves and as there are none, wasted effort.

Watching out for pests isn’t a one-off thing to do, but a regular occurrence as often as you feel necessary. We suggest at least once a month throughout winter, until you are able to use proprietary controls such as garlic spray or nematodes.

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