Snails are a problem!

These creatures are in our office campus that has a pretty good area of 'forest greenery'. There are also houses to accommodate some employees and the ones that are interested in gardening have a problem: These snails chew up all the new growth of young plants overnight, leaving the gardener furious! I saw this group making merry during daytime. It was not abound about a decade back, but since they can multiply fast, the number has grown to alarming proportions. I'd just like to know if these snails cause problems to gardeners elsewhere. And the remedies undertaken. Luckily, my little garden is far from this place and so have no problem.

Dinu

I don't know if you can get slug bait there but I am pretty sure it will work on snails too. A couple of product names are Sluggo and Escar-Go. I use Garden Safe™ Brand Slug & Snail Bait by Schultz. You might be able to order these on the internet. Don't know if they ship to India, but you can give it a shot.

I have never seen such a snail before, but I know that chickens love to eat snails. Could you purchase a few chickens for the campus and pen them up in an infested area, then keep moving the chickens as the snails disappear? It would work, and give you eggs as well, but no telling what the campus grounds keepers would say. Maybe you could bring them with you to and from work? Wierd, but it would work. Here is an audio story from NPR on urban chicken raising. If you do a google search on "urban chickens" you will find more articles on them. Don't know exactly how this would work on campus, but you might be able to devise a small pen for them.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5491707

Best of luck,
Betty

This message was edited Jul 3, 2006 6:08 PM

Come to think of it. Those people who live on campus and try to have gardens would make excellent chicken owners. Perhaps they could make a little pen around their gardens and keep the chickens there. Then they could have eggs as well as gardens. The chicken droppings would fertilize their gardens. They would have to make a little place for the chickens to sleep safe from animals, though.

DINU,
If you dont have any therre, and need some slug and snail bait, I would be willing to send ya some!

Best;
bluelytes

Good idea, Blue. Do you use Sluggo? (I wish I owned stock in the stuff!)

Those are really pretty shells, much prettier than the blankety blank snails around here, but I'll bet the little buggers do just as much damage.

I'd be happy to send some as well.

Thanks. Since the campus belongs to the Govt., I can't do much better than suggest the estate-manager the idea of chickens but the decision of his depends on various factors. In fact, our entire campus spreads to 150 acres. Buildings occupy approximately 50 of them. There is a lake half a mile adjacent to the campus. I think these snails might have come from there. Their bigger counterparts are abound in another lake 4 miles away. It is known to cause damage to vegetation in the adjoining areas.

Dinu

No, Blue doesn't use Sluggo. Take a deep breath and go to her thread on slugs. It's rated R..
(I could have said X, Blue. LOL)

OHHHHHH, AHHHHHHHHHHHH!! NOW I get it re: Mr. Bill!! Well, at least I THINK I get it now, lol.

Best;
bluelytes