Slugs and Snails are the most common pests of Salvias. Gophers and Chickens also cause great damage to your Salvia plants. Birds like Finches love to munch on Salvia seeds. Squirrels damage your Salvia plants by digging ’em up.
Salvias are grown for their colorful blossoms. The genus Salvia contains a number of species. Salvias come in various colors.
Salvias can be grown without much hassle but some people do run into issues. Is some animal/bug eating your Salvia?
Let’s see what eats Salvias and how to keep them away from your plants.
Do Slugs and Snails eat Salvias?
Yes, slugs and snails eat Salvias. Slugs and Snails cause great damage to Salvias overnight. These pests feed on the tender foliage of Salvias.
Slugs and Snails have been known to attack a variety of cultivars of Salvia splendens. Salvia argentea is said to keep slugs/snails away.
The hairiness of the foliage keeps the slugs away from Salvia argentea. Slugs/Snails are mostly active at night, so go out at night to catch ’em in action.
How to stop Slugs eating Salvias?
Below are instructions to stop slugs from eating your Salvias. A combination of two or more methods is an efficient way to get rid of slugs on your Salvias.
- Hand-picking: Pick slugs/snails by hand and throw them into a bucket of soapy water. The best time to find them is at night. You can see them devour Salvia foliage if you go out at night with a torch. Do this frequently for the best results.
- Traps: You can attract snails/slugs by placing cups of beer/milk around your Salvias. Dig a hole and place these cups inside. Make sure only half-inch of the cup is above-ground. A lot of slugs/snails should accumulate in these cups. You can also make traps using cabbage.
- Setup barriers: I advise you to set up barriers around Salvias. You can create a 2-feet wide barrier using crushed oyster shells. Sawdust/sharp sand or wood ashes also help keep slugs/snails away from your precious Salvias.
- Grow Ducks: You read that right. Ducks love to munch on slugs and snails. This is a biological control method that works efficiently when used along with the other control methods. Toads, Birds, and Ground Beetles also munch on slugs and snails.
- Don’t mulch around the susceptible plants. Snails and slugs love to hide in mulch. So, do not mulch the susceptible plants if you don’t want to have a slug infestation.
- You may want to place copper rings around Salvias to keep slugs/snails away.
What animal eats Salvias?
Gophers and Chickens eat Salvias. Squirrels dig out Salvia plants and damage them. Birds like Finches eat Salvia seeds with passion.
Do Rabbits eat Salvias?
No, Rabbits don’t eat Salvias. The scent of Salvias keeps the bunnies at bay. So, don’t blame the bunnies for the damage you see on your Salvias.
Do Deer eat Salvias?
No, Deer don’t eat Salvias. Deers are deterred by Salvia thanks to the strong scent of this plant. Deers may be devouring other plants in the garden but they aren’t eating your Salvias.
Do Chipmunks eat Salvia?
No, Chipmunks don’t eat Salvias. Salvias are one of those plants which Chipmunks do not even touch.
Do Chickens eat Salvia?
Yes, Chickens munch on Salvias. Chickens not only munch on snails and slugs they also munch on the plant. So, I wouldn’t use them as a way to control these pests.
Do Gophers eat Salvia?
Gophers eat Salvia uliginosa. Gophers don’t eat most other species under the Salvia genus. If you’ve got a Gopher problem, plant accordingly.
Do Grasshoppers eat Salvia?
No, Grasshoppers don’t eat Salvias. Salvias are one of those blossoming plants that help keep Grasshoppers away from your garden.
Salvias can be grown to deter Grasshoppers from the garden.
Do Groundhogs eat Salvia?
Groundhogs are known to hate Blue Salvia. They probably don’t eat other species/cultivars of Salvia too as far as I know.
Do Iguanas eat Salvia?
No, Iguanas don’t ear Salvias. Salvia plants are among those plants that the Iguanas don’t touch at all. This is probably because of Salvia’s scent.
Do Javelina eat Salvia?
I’ve never seen Javelinas eat Salvia plants. Javelinas can damage your plants though, by digging them up. You may want to erect a fence around your prized plants to protect them from Javelinas.
Do Possums eat Salvia?
No, Possums don’t eat Salvias. Salvia is one of those few plants that Possums don’t like at all. This is probably due to the strong scent of the plant.
Do Voles eat Salvia?
No, Voles don’t eat Salvia plants. These critters don’t eat Salvias thanks to their strong scent. This is a good thing because Voles can cause great damage to your plants.
Do Wallabies eat Salvia?
No, Wallabies don’t eat Salvia. The strong scent of Salvia deters these critters. They cause a lot of damage to garden plants, so it’s a good thing that they hate Salvias.
Do Squirrels eat Salvia?
No, Squirrels don’t eat Salvias. Squirrels dig up these plants, so, yes they do cause great damage to your Salvia plants.
Sprinkle hot red pepper flakes or powder around your Salvias to keep squirrels at bay. Plant Mint/Marigold around your prized plants to deter squirrels.
Do Ants eat Salvia?
No, Ants don’t ear Salvia plants. Ants do aid Mealybugs in their invasions in exchange for Honeydew. You need to respond quickly if you see ants around your plants.
Ants carry the Mealybugs/Aphids onto a host plant. Try to keep ants away from your precious plants.
Do Hummingbirds eat Salvia?
Yes, Hummingbirds love the nectar that’s produced by Salvia flowers. Hummingbirds are attracted to all cultivars/species of Salvia.
Do Birds eat Salvia seeds?
Yes, a variety of Finches would love to munch on Salvia seeds. I’ve seen American Goldfinches and House Finches eat Salvia seeds.
The birds that eat Salvia seeds aren’t that harmful to your garden/plants. So, don’t panic if you see some birds around Salvias.
Happy Gardening 🙂