Are slugs & snails a problem in winter?

If you’rve got autumn and winter crops in the ground, then you may be wondering whether or not to protect them from slugs and snails. After all, it’s been a dry summer and now it’s getting colder anyway. But…you should know that your crops are still at risk because whilst snails do hibernate over winter, slugs don’t and remain active in temperatures above 5c. So make sure you protect them with beer traps, eggshells and other slug deterrents, and get out there to do a slug collection every so often. Most importantly, try to make sure there are as few slug habitats as possible in your veg patch – remove any big stones that they can hide under, clear away old foliage and fallen leaves, tidy away empty pots and so on.