gardening advice (snails!)

[mariposa]

any gardeners out there?

we have a patio which is partly paved and partly loose dirt with bushes, plants, flowers. i recently noticed that we seem to have been invaded by snails, something that had never happened before. these are not the european kind (escargot) that i am familiar with but they are much smaller, their shells are kind of elongated and twisted in a corkscrew pattern, almost like miniature seashells. they vary in size from very small to tiny. i first thought they are cute but now i think they may be a problem. in the last couple of days i practically went through the dirt with a fine-tooth comb and removed dozens and dozens and dozens of them. there has to be a better way of dealing with this problem, if in fact it is one. i'd hate to spread poisons or chemicals.

i was going to ask at a vivero but i might as well start here.

thanks in advance for any advice/suggestion.

 

[RobDana]

As crazy as this sounds, it worked wonders for us living in San Telmo. Fill a tuna can 3/4 full of beer and leave it out overnight. The beer attracts the snails, they crawl in and drown. You have to empty the can and start over every few days or they smell.

 

[mariposa]

actually, i had heard about the beer thing before. i will try it, thanks!

 

[HowardinBA]

yes the beer gets them drunk and they die off,but you need to buy a powder,as you would for ants,that they consume and take back to their home base and spread it amongst themselves,and they,ll die off...

 

[scotttswan]

As crazy as this sounds, it worked wonders for us living in San Telmo. Fill a tuna can 3/4 full of beer and leave it out overnight. The beer attracts the snails, they crawl in and drown. You have to empty the can and start over every few days or they smell.

My gran did something similar but she cut bottles of coke in half and put them in the ground so the slugs/snails would crawl into them after the beer/sugary water and then not be able to get out.

 

[HowardinBA]

here you are...

http://www.ehow.com/how_5054295_make-trap-killing-slugs-snails.html

 

[mulderfox]

interesting

 

[mariposa]

thanks, everybody, i will try the beer thing. i only hope the zorzal (robin) that comes by several times a day to dig for worms won't get too sloshed....

 

[RobinsonGO]

I have tried the beer trick and have had mixed results. I have had better luck with laying a wide gauged copper wire around the beds. Its a little expensive so you cant do too much... A chemical reaction happens between the mucus of the snail and the wire which gives them an electrical shock. Plus then you get to save the beer and drink it yourself!

Happy Gardening

 

[mariposa]

update: well i threw the snails a beer party last night, and - bingo! they really love that stuff! i'll do it again tonight. the result has been amazing.

thanks, everybody and - cheers!