Dave and I planted some celery and zucchini in our garden. A friend at work gave me and I planted them about six weeks ago. I was super impressed because they were growing very quickly and looked nice and green. I am quite attached to them and check on them on a daily basis.
You can imagine my horror in discovering that snails were attacking the celery and ate one of them entirely! Why my celery? Why not the beautiful weeds growing next to them? Growing up in Kansas I don't remember ever having snails. Do we have snails, mom? I obviously don't know how to get rid of them. And they are slimy and they spit juice at you when you try to pick them up. Sick!
The morning I discovered one hanging from the leaves of my zucchini plant, I knew something HAD to be done.
My plan: hunt for snails and keep hunting for them until I wipe them off the face of the earth.
(On a side note: I have decided it's okay to wipe them off the face of the earth because so far I haven't found anything that they are actually good for. If you know of something they are good for, please let me know quickly before they are gone forever.)
The first hunt was an overwhelming success! Dave and I plucked at least 100 large, medium, and baby snails from underneath rocks, the bottom of leaves, and the side of walls. I hate touching their ugly shells, but at least they have something hard to pick them up by. It was oddly satisfying to go dump them far away from my garden and tell them never to return. I have gone hunting a couple other times since and always come up with 20 or 30 more snails to relocate to a place that doesn't grow vegetable.
You'll be happy to know that my celery has made a stunning recovery except for the one that was entirely devoured by the evil snails. Though this is good news, I am staying vigilant as their seems to be a never ending supply of them. I don't understand. How do they reproduce? If anyone knows the answer to this question OR has any good tips on keeping snails away, please let me know.
For now the hunt continues...
I am proud of you kiddo.
ReplyDeleteBut, why don't you just crush them instead of relocating them? Wouldn't that be easier ... and possibly more fun?
I would suggest reading the book "Snail Gun" by Michael Woods. Actually, you should just build a snail gun. It could shoot small salt pellets, or maybe it would be more appropriate if it shot 12 gauge shotgun slugs (pun intended).
ReplyDeleteAt least your snails aren't as creepy as these
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWB_COSUXMw