Slow Moving! Really Slow!

July 12, 2014

Can you see him? He is hiding in the pine mulch!

There he is, moving kinda slow!

I watched this snail for about 15 minutes and during that time he only moved 2 inches. This time of year it’s easy to find the snails and slugs, they are attracted to the plant areas I am watering. Last night I found and killed 21 slugs in my garden.

As I sat there watching him, I couldn’t decide what to do with him. He was in my rose garden, so I knew he would not bother my roses but he could snail his way into the hosta garden. I ended up moving him into the woods. Maybe he will find another place to eat and I hope he didn’t leave behind any hiding babies or cousins! 🙂

“The only man who never makes mistakes is the man who never does anything.”
– Theodore Roosevelt

 

 

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Garden Snails

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Slow as they go…

I walked out on our deck this morning and found this snail. Now let me tell you the real story. Our deck is 55 to 60 feet off the ground! I wonder how long it took him to make it to the top of our deck and why? We have a couple of potted geraniums up there, table and chairs. He couldn’t be coming to eat the geranium, or could he?

Every garden has snails, especially if you grow hosta and other shade plants that are prone to be eaten by snails. I find most of them in my shade garden. They are nocturnal so they will travel around mostly at night. If I have a problem with them eating my plants I will usually go snail hunting after dark. I use my hands to pick up the snails but use tooth picks to get the big slugs. On my snail hunting nights I can easily fill a small 6 ounce cup with them.

Some species of snails hibernate during the cold months covering their bodies with a thin layer of mucus. The mucus prevents them from drying out. Did you know that snails can live from 5 to 25 years depending on their habitat and species.

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