I rarely get any snails in my garden. Those that I do find tend to be brought in from nursery buys. The snails that I get are the super common Grove snail and some sort of Cochlicopa.

I normally either squish them or throw them over to the neighbors gardens :)

Never. Just throw them into the road and the bad car drivers kill them:-)))))

I don't kill them. It isn't their fault that they're snails, and they want to live just like us ...
so I throw them into the neighbouring field :)

Not consciously... realistically they do little harm in my view

I realy like snails but we get so many here that I have to confess occasionally pelleting plants that are specially targeted. If you are going to try to relocate them they have to be taken a long way away as they cleverly return to their own gardens if yu just throw them over the hedge.

It actually depends on my mood at the time and also how close they are to my new plants, I have thousands living amongst the stones that edge my borders, if they stay there then they are safe but have a go at my plants and their time is limited and they are given the order of the boot and a handful of pellets is then scattered around , I have been known to launch them over the hedge into the grounds of our local scout hut but I swear they return with lots of others to keep them company....

Q. What did the snail say when he climbed on the turtles back? A. WHHHEEEEEEEEE!!!

I kill every snail and slug i can find. Had enough of feeding my expensive prized plants to the slimey lil critters.

Yes, as Steragram sais, they probably do return from the field, but they get thrown back again.
I believe they have made many round trips ! :o)

They are Not allowed in my greenhouse and get thrown onto the lawn......we do get a lot of birds and wildlife generally so live and let live......except the gh....

they are part of nature so I live with them . some mite say theres far too many people in the world me included . how many animals and trees and plants do we have to crush and murder before we realise we need them and they have at least as much right to be here as us .

if I do accidently crush a snail I feed it to my fish

snails were here long before humans so they should be the ones being crushed or do you think might is right ? if you do how did dinosaurs rule the world for 50,000,000 years and we have only done that for maybe a few hundred and we are going to crash soon .

I agree with mg and hywel

When my grandkids came to stay recently they picked well over 100 out of my garden and took them in a bucket 200 yards down to the nearby woods. I can't believe they'd find their way back.
And I used to catch squirells in a trap I made and take them 2 1/2 miles to the woods adjacent the golf course. Some guy insisted they too would find their way back. Surely not.

I have a hedgehog living in my backyard - it kills them for me.

that's brilliant wylie natures way

If going into it that deep then how many little creatures am I killing simply by walking across my lawn sometimes pushing a lawnmower, or in my home by keeping it hoovered and clean, I'm a human and its in my nature....

That's true. Most of us are not Albert Schweitzer's. But what you have mentioned L is done without intent. It is the intentional acts that concerns myself and others. What is the tripwire of that concern? It varies. For some it could be another human being, for others it could be a dog or a cat and for others that concern could start with snail.

Well said Loosestrife

snails, slugs, spiders, cats, all need shooting.

Very true Loosestrife and yes I do agree about the intent, however I will not be made to feel guilty if I use my pellets, I do not know how much damage can be done to a snail by lobbing it over into someones garden, onto a road or as in my case the grounds of the scout hut, guess truthfully none of us do, guess we are all guilty of some misdemeanours....
Hiya Graham, no need to shoot the spiders, they don't like conkers so I keep a few in my house, lol.....

I don't kill them. I did an experiment with them. I painted them with 3 different colours of nail varnish and took them into the wood next to the cottage. Those painted red went 25 yards away and returned within 48 hours, those painted green were sent 50 yards away and some returned within a week but those painted blue went 75 yards away haven't been seen since - in my garden anyway.

Oh gosh Jan, don't think there's enough varnish or anyone with the time or patience to search my snails out from my stones to try that, lol, very interesting though......

you cant think too big time is running out . well theres your answer carry them 100 yards and they wont come back but who else are you passing the so called problem too . all life is amazing and belongs and there are elephants eating insects bye accident . I just get plants that seam fine with snails . they actually eat a lot of my junk mail that I stack up for that perpous . that's a great experiment jan . youd be amazed at how clever creatures are if you studied them . sloths faverite food is flowers perhaps they need squishing ? actually an elephant can a eat a families whole crop perhaps they should be squished ?

I throw them over the fence into the road but know the ones that survive will be back. As for squirrels, we had one in the loft which caused damage and mayhem. We caught him in a rat cage, drove him to the woods and released him (which is illegal as they are vermin). I am now in the process of catching mice and letting them go far away - 2 so far - I'm a bit of a softy, but can't use nipper traps because we had a distressing incident with one!

It has never been my purpose to convert anyone to my set of beliefs or any others Lincslass. An individual should never be made to feel guilty, that is an exercise in futility, for that comes from within and comes from that ones personal perspective of life and who am I to trespass upon that.

I didn't take it that way L'strife and was not having a dig at you or anyone else either, its a topic that often pops up and we all have our own ways and ideas, much of what comes up is a laugh really, its a good conversation piece, always going to be......................................

Leigh I'm often accused of being pessimistic but in the case of time running out I'm of an age where I know its that way for me and I'm more than threequarters of the way through my lifecycle, however I have to look on the bright side for the sake of my grandchildren and all future generations, will not contemplate time running out just going around in circles, anyway we're in danger of going too deep and meaningful, here in Lincs we've just experienced one of the best sunsets in months and its the Season of Goodwill.
Happy Christmas to you and all on here......

Happy Christmas to all the snails who can munch away undisturbed for at least one day and probably two. God bless their cotton socks. x

LOL, they are safe at the mo Merlin and I know are munching away at what remains of my veggies.....

No mention of thrushes here! Snails are a favourite for them. Are pellets the reason for their declne?

According to some yes, others say no, a few years ago the sparrows disappeared, our fault of course, I hardly ever saw one in my garden or my neighbours, the past couple of years they have returned in droves, you wanna hear the complaints from some of my neighbours because of the dawn chorus, thats my fault for encouraging them by hanging feeders up, lol.....
We have always had our resident thrushes here Penny, I throw snails onto my shed roof for them when its nesting time, lol..

Well, I did start out with a snail joke:) or if you don't share my sense of humor :(

Made me smile anyway Strife.

Does anybody else fancy going to watch Scrumpy shooting slugs??? Seems an extravagent use of bullets to me...

I do hate killing things - I apologise to tiny creatures if I accidentally tread on them and have been known to rescue drowing flies from ponds and never ever killl spiders - but still will guiltily kill off slugs and snails if its them or my lettuces.

I liked your joke strife ive got to have a sense of humour as ive got a few mirrors lol . I used to be a slaughterman killing thousands of pigs but they were for us to eat not wasted . I guess it seams bad just in a matter of fact way killing things for know good reason . you would be better throwing them wear the bird can get them as they are then useful . I just don't think poison is good and I think we should all work with nature for the common good . some people in fact most people wont change so as dorris day sung kay sarra sarra what ever will .................... baaaaaaaaaaaa humbug . happy xmas lol .

Yep I chuckled as well Stera, I also laughed at Mr B's comment as I had an image of cars trying to avoid his snails, Scrumpy always makes me laugh when he pops up like that and I do envy him his eyesight.
I admit to even apologizing to my plants if I stand on them Stera, LOL, (Charles isn't the only nutty gardener) but snails or my babies in the garden and its a no-brainer....As a kid we used to have snail races, a bit of salt behind them and they'd soon shift up the path.....

Interested that Janpled did the research - a similar study was done a couple of years ago on one the Radio 4 science programmes. It was found that snails do have quite long- range homing sense, so tossing them over into the neighbours' isn't going to solve the problem.

if it is in fact a problem .snail races brilliant I remember doing that . if you take frogs or toads away from there pond it doesn't matter how far , they will go back there or die trying I learned as a child to my dismay trying to do what I thought to be the right thing . relocated crocodiles and alligaters if moved huge distance finding there way home . what about salmon managing to find there way back to wear they were born or elvers doing pretty m uch the same in reverse .

And swallows Nosey tiny birds weighing but a few ounces flying to africa, then back to my stable every year.....woe betide me if they're early and the top doors shut!
such a twittering at me then twice round inside and off to the pond for a well earned drink.....incredible.

we have a live and let live policy unless the little buggers get neat my seedlings.....I use pellets under my seed trays. I spend hours sowing seeds and potting up tiny seedlings so I do protect them but on the whole they are not a problem. The only thing I enjoy murdering is vine weevil ...the beasts of nightmares!!!!

yes nature to me is much more interesting than a prized flower that's been man made . gray wales have the longest migration in the animal kingdom swimming 6000 miles every year . spiders webs are just fantastic . the spiders can tell the difference by touch between different prey . they run over and just bight flies , rap up ear wigs first and run off if its a wasp or a finger . beatles have the most diversity of any creature including your weevil Sandra .

What out of interest is a man made prize flower?

well its selectively bred to be bigger and a different colour perhaps like corn or goldfish or dogs,cats etc .

So you shouldn't breed cats or dogs?

Pam we never had any swallows at all over our gardens this past summer..
One of my cousins lives in the house I was born in, used to belong to my grandparents, there is a low roof at the back above the kitchen, I remember the swallows nesting in the eaves at that house when I was a child, when we visited we were not allowed to play near the kitchen in case we disturbed the parents and stopped them feeding the young, do you know swallows still nest in those eaves even now, I'm in my late sixties, think how many generations that is to use the same nesting site......I agree it is incredible..
Nosey I love the spiders webs, especially covered by dew or frost, mind you if I accidently walk into one then I do an erratic windmill dance as I am actually petrified of spiders.....LOL..

ow it totally doesn't bother me lincslass . im always amazed how strong they are . scrumpy as it goes some of the terrible breeds with bad health like bulldogs, pugs , king Charles etc maybe not . for all the cruel nasty pet owners letting there colours grow into there necks , cutting there paws off while there alive , skinning them alive for there leather maybe not . for all the bear baiting , hair coursing , fox hunting , dog fighters to the death for money well maybe NOT but yes im a bit of a hypocrite as I have dogs but I love them dearly and they never give a monkies uncle about man made pretty flowers and they never lie, cheat or steel or care what I look like ow and they don't crush snails . if you look back in your dog history youll find they found us at our dump sites and its called symbioses . they chose US . did they do the right thing ? erm in as much as its stopped them being hunted mercilessly and there not extinct then maybe they did . for all the reasons ive mentioned then maybe they didn't . tell me do your flowers defend you and love you ? did I even say that you shouldn't make flowers unnaturally ? I think not .

ow your that blow it away person . now I think that's a great attitude you got there .

scrumpygraham

Joined 23 Jan, 2011

Tm
kebabishire

Scrumpygraham

snails, slugs, spiders, cats, all need shooting.

shooting really and you ask me such a patronising question . so lions and tigers etc have to be shot . what else is on your list ?

has someone lost the plot?

I give in have they ?

Nope I don't think so... we are actually looking at the fact that all life has the right to be and that we, as homo sapiens, don't have the right to kill something just because we perceive it as a problem to us... live and let live - we need all the different beings in our ecosystem. Man is the real problem!

On that basis the ebola virus is fine?

Oh heck are you on the scrumpy again, Scrumpy....BTW did you have a good year in the garden or am I not allowed to ask since you threw your hissy fit.......I remembered your advice and had some smashing long stemmed straight sweetpeas....

I eat them. I collect them up and put them in a box to cleanse them. I feed them on carrot pieces for a few days and when their poo turns orange they are purged of all toxins and safe to eat. Then I boil them up for 20 minute, pour some warm garlic butter over them... Yummy.

Before people start to cringe at this or say how could you, try some, they are really lovely, the French have been eating them for years.

They are full of protein, they are a free sustainable food source and eating them solves a gardeners problem. What more can you ask for?

" Oh heck are you on the scrumpy again, Scrumpy....BTW did you have a good year in the garden or am I not allowed to ask since you threw your hissy fit.......I remembered your advice and had some smashing long stemmed straight sweetpeas...."

I'm fine thanks. I thought I was losing it a bit until this thread started. Now I realise it's not me that's mad but everyone else.

The sweet pea blog is up and running, just not on here.

mg is on the money your right of course scrumpy we are all drowning and your on your own just waving . that's very good Myron that's a great idea but make sure you shoot them first lol .

on that basis maybe it is . you should visit sometime im sure they would really appreciate a sweet pee plant lol .

Leigh, let's not go down that road again, Haha.

very good Myron lol ha ha

Jolly good Scrumpy, pleased to hear it, doesn't matter to me whether your blogs are on here as I have them ingrained in my memory, not that daft you see!!!!!! once read you are not forgotten but I did tell you at the time your actual blogs were good and were a help to people.....
...
Seasons Greetings to You...

Thanks for the instructions Myron but as with a lot of things that are good for me I will give your tasty treat a miss, all snails left alone to munch for a few weeks, not the slugs though as the frogs are still very active....LOL..

They are even better now. Much easier to edit, more information. All rolled into one page.

There are only 3-4 edible snails and you need to be certain which one you are eating or you could end up with a very sore tummy.

Hi Delaneyhaha,
Wow 62 replies since Dec 22 must be really topical or else people are trapped indoors and all on the web.
My dad used to say the key to wildlife in the garden is preserving the food chain so I do not kill them as they attract the birds and I love to hear them chatter all year round. Having a damp garden we get real big slugs so I plant less snail friendly palnts but protect the ones at risk using gravel, copper strips and other deterrants. Have a great Christmas.

that's what I do taurman same to you .