2012-2013 - Snail Hunting Season Now Officially Open!

[applestar]

I usually go slug hunting in early morning just before or after sunup. They generally on their way to their hideout and stretched out and moving, making them easy to spot. I use a hori hori knife to scoop them up, though I have used chopsticks before (the chopsticks eventually become slimy and unusable, then you just stab them into the dirt a couple of times to get the slime off).

When scooping them up, they curl up when you touch them and sort of fall over onto the knife. I put them in very mild soapy water.

To get them off plants, I do use my hands some times -- spread fingers gently hold the stem or leaf and move hand up -- the slug drops off into your hand/fingers the moment you (nearly) touch them.

[cynthia_h]

Tongs are too blunt and smooth to get a slug. I can only imagine how frustrating it was.

I use twigs, my weed stick, the edge of a trowel, or similar for slugs. For snails, I grab 'em by the shell and drop 'em on the ground and...send them back to Mother Earth via my shoe. Slugs go back to Mother Earth too, but via the twig/weed stick/trowel, *then* the shoe, etc.

If you imagine that only 10% of the nutritional value of what an organism eats is really incorporated into that organism, then you can readily understand the wanton destruction these slithery, slimy slugs wreak out of all proportion to their size.

And, Lorax, there are banana slugs in California, but ...¡Gracias a Dios! not in the East Bay.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[Garf]

One idea would be to use a headlight instead of a flashlight. I used to use them at work. Leaves both hands free and you can see what you are doing.

[cynthia_h]

Realized that I haven't updated all my on-line friends with recent Snail Slayings!

Last weekend, our next-door neighbors (to the north; the "good" ones) told us that Mr. Neighbor has received his dream job offer from Stanford University. Commuting from El Cerrito to Stanford every day really isn't practical; one either is on the freeway in heavy traffic for approx. 2 hours each way *or* in/on public transit for approx. 3.25 hours each way. Yes, DH and I can drive to Palo Alto (home of Stanford) in approx. 1+ hour on a weekend, but believe me--during the week, it's brutal. I've done it a few times, and it's always painful.

So...they're moving. They just purchased the house in Spring 2010, fairly recently for this part of the neighborhood, and always knew (but, admirably in these times, kept it private) they might be leaving, but weren't sure when/if it would happen. So, to help them show their house to best advantage, DH and I finally attacked...the north side of our house, the 3 or 4 feet of property-line setback where those weeds that love shade and wet love to grow. This task takes place once or twice a year, b/c we simply don't *use* the 3 or 4 feet of easement.

Well. Need I say more? Snails by the dozens, the scores, no! the hundreds! had been making free on our property, with our plants, etc. They have now been returned to...well...not exactly "Mother Earth" in all cases, since they were on the siding or foundation of the house or on the broken pavement of the easement and smashed in situ, but extinguished summarily all the same.

And now, to the numbers. On Sunday, May 20:

1,006 + 251 = 1,257

And just a few today, as we weeded the north verge:

1,257 + 11 = 1,268

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[Garf]

If you could only figure out how to turn a profit from those things.

[cynthia_h]

The reclaiming of our garden continues. The weekend of June 3 and June 10, DH and I weeded Box #1 (cinder blocks stacked two deep), the 4'x8' box, and its immediate surrounds, including the Doughty Sorrel Plant. Well. That was another 148 snails and slugs.

1,268 + 148 = 1,416

Then, after transplanting veggie starts into Box #1 and sunflower starts into the north verge to make it look as if we actually take regular care of our yard/garden for any prospective home buyers *sigh* of the immediately northern property, I performed two night snail patrols. The snails seem to be losing heart (or dare I hope that our efforts are, at last, paying off?).

1,416 + 17 = 1,433 for the season so far...

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[Tina_n_Max]

Hi, Cynthia

I'm new to this forum as of a couple of days ago.

I know this is an older post but thanks to this forum I finally figured out what gobbled up my flowers to about 3 inch stems in a matter of days.

The plants include 2 coreopsis, 2 daisy may, 2 Jacob ladder, and purple cone flowers.

I just have to tell you that you have inspired me to go out this morning to catch some slugs and snails.

Thank goodness I don't have as many as you. I only caught 28 slugs and 2 snails.

[Garf]

Every time I do a night patrol, I find a few more of these things. No slugs, just snails. No more big ones, only small ones, so I must be having an effect on the snail population. I can't seem to get them all, but that's the way it works.

[cynthia_h]

It's time to introduce ...

The 2013 Snail Hunting Season! This year's season started somewhat later than the 2012 season, primarily due to (1) lack of rain and (2) canine health drama (my 105-lb Bernese Mtn. Dog rescue boy--not the same rescue boy as last year *sob*--was bitten by another dog 29 March 2013, neutered in late April, and bloated late night/early morning 14/15 June; my 13-y.o. Berner girl has had a difficult spring and I'm concerned about her continuing lack of interest in her favorite foods).

But today was The Day. Northern California had a highly unusual summer rain system pass through--according to the radar, we might even get more rain tomorrow!--and the snails were absolutely thrilled to come out of hiding and bathe themselves in the water from the sky. Heh, heh.

This afternoon I ran a couple of quick errands, including one to purchase Little Girl's *absolutely favorite* foods--sliced "people" roast beef!!!--on special at one of the local grocery stores this week. I got home approx. 2:00, during a fairly steady shower, and thought I'd see whether there were any snails hanging on the arugula.

No, they weren't on the arugula, but WOW! they were everywhere else: in the valerian; on the planting strip, sidewalk, and paved pathways; in the ivy, the geraniums, the camellia bushes, the naked ladies, the jade plants, the miner's lettuce, the chicory (flowering right now); climbing up the containers where I grow herbs; on the ground, and just about everywhere my eyes happened to look. Many of them, I didn't even need to move--I simply stepped on them in situ, counting all the while.

This evening, I attended a meeting from approx. 7:00 to 8:45. It wasn't quite full dark when I got home, but I figured I'd do Phase 2 of the Snail Hunt, just in case the afternoon areas had been repopulated.

They had.

Same story, plus flashlight.

87 snails this afternoon + 64 this evening = 151 to start the 2013 season off!

Cynthia

[cynthia_h]

It's unclear whether I had a "high hit percentage" yesterday or whether, overnight, the snails became much more clever.

This morning, just after the additional rain stopped, I went out Snail Hunting.

I found only 16 snails. If it rains again later today, I'll take another look. Otherwise, I'll be dis-covering snails as I cut back spent valerian and clear the north setback soon.

Cynthia

151 + 16 = 167 for 2013 "season"

[imafan26]

Well, I find slugs and snails everyday. I just tossed 2 snails and 3 slugs I found while weeding my shrub border into the road hoping the cars would eventually squash them.

I found 2 more tomatoes gorged on by slugs, and I found one fat blond one. I am sure there are more. I put out more slug bait, but I am thinking they are becoming immune to the stuff.

[cynthia_h]

DH and I performed our annual clearing of the weeds on the north setback (4 feet or so of pavement) a couple of weeks ago.

Very "disappointing": maybe 24 snails.

I've picked off 2 or 3 here and there every couple of days until, Tuesday this week, I hit what's passing for a Mother Lode this year: 17 snails hiding in one plant near the street.

New Twist: One of the fellow scientists in DH's research team keeps chickens. DH took these 17 snails to her in a yogurt container with its lid perforated for air (gotta keep 'em alive until the chickens eat 'em ). Too bad we didn't have this arrangement in place a few weeks ago! But she and her chickens will now benefit; she'll keep track of the number of eggs laid before and after Snail Supplementation.

And this reminds me: I need to get my kale seeds going. She and her family absolutely love kale, but live in a much hotter Sunset climate zone than we do (they're in 14; we're in 17). It's been a while since we've gifted them with a batch of kale.

Snails for the 2013 season:

167 + 24 + 17 = 208

Cynthia

[applestar]

Wow far cry from near... Or was that OVER 1000 you reported in previous years.

...is that good or bad now that you have the chicken arrangement?

[cynthia_h]

Wow far cry from near... Or was that OVER 1000 you reported in previous years.

...is that good or bad now that you have the chicken arrangement?

Those snails to ChickenMom were the very last snails we've found. We took out the valerian last weekend--the first yard work we've done since my previous post in this thread. We found...one...snail. I may have depopulated the place! For now. I've learned, though, never to relax on the topic of snails. Sure as anything, if I grow/plant young plants, something will eat them.

Something with a rasping, walking stomach/foot (gastro-pod).

So 2013 is at 208 snails and holding; one snail found from mid-July to mid-September. Very weird.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[cynthia_h]

There was an unseasonal rain last Saturday. It absolutely POURED down rain for a couple of hours. I had to be at a meeting (quilt show committee, show is March 2014) during the heaviest rain, but had hopes that snails would be lured from their lairs by this rain. The large number of snails in late June had been drawn out of cover by unseasonal rain, too.

I drove home while the rain was tapering off and lost 10 minutes while looking for the "official snail container for the chickens." I forced a strawberry clamshell into service. Quite a while later, I had a collection of 45 snails for the chickens.

208 + 45 = 253, a weirdly low number. I'm definitely waiting for the other shoe(s) to drop!

Cynthia