Snail Central

Ugh, it’s that time of the year again…snail time! I don’t really mind snails as much as some people do, it’s just that I HATE that I never notice them until AFTER I have already stepped on them. It is so gross, and I always feel terrible for killing the snails, even accidentally. I avoided a virtual mine field of snails on the sidewalk in front of my office this morning, and I hope to avoid stepping on any in the near future. I will be very happy when the snails go back to wherever they live, though, and I hope it is soon.

I am lucky that I have a container garden, so the snails leave my plants in peace, but many gardeners have a lot of trouble due to snails eating their plants. I have found a couple of sites that list natural solutions to controlling snail populations, but “natural” apparently does not mean “humane”–one of the solutions involves setting out a beer trap so the snails will get drunk, pass out and get eaten by birds! Commercial products like Sluggo or Garden Safe Slug & Snail Bait seem like the fastest, safest, most effective and least painful way (well, for everything other than snails) to keep snails out of the garden. Or, you could always gather them up and eat them.

Related posts:

1. Urban Garden Explosion
2. A Water-Less Garden
3. More Urban Composting Ideas
4. Disaster in the Container Garden
5. Lemon Balm