Snails provoke neighbor feuds in the U.K.

9 years ago

Hilarious article in the Wall St. Journal yesterday about U.K. gardeners who've been coping with a surge in the snail and slug population by hurling the beasts over the fence into their neighbors' yards:

"Ms. Vickers admits that her snail-throwing habit is "very naughty." She justifies it in part with the belief that her neighbors don't notice or care. "Their garden's a terrible mess," she says, describing her neighbors as a busy professional couple with little interest in horticulture. "It's all brambles, and it grows over the fence onto our side."

Fencing off properties has long been more common in Britain than in the U.S. If snail-chucking reaches epidemic proportions, will fences and walls rise to new heights to prevent the hurling of mollusks? :)

Here is a link that might be useful: flying snails and slugs

This post was edited by eric_oh on Sat, Sep 6, 14 at 18:20

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (16)

floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
9 years ago
I'm afraid she's wasting her time and energy unless she's throwing them at least 20 m away. That would be quite an athletic feat.

Here is a link that might be useful: Snails' homing instinct.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
9 years ago
your link doesnt work for me ...

ken
mxk3 z5b_MI
9 years ago
LOL!
Better than hurling dog poop, I suppose :0p
emmarene9
9 years ago
I thought everyone did this.
rusty_blackhaw
Original Author
9 years ago
The link has been fixed.
Lars
9 years ago
I only throw cigarette butts back, if the neighbors behind me decide to use my back yard as an ash tray.

In Venice (CA), I used to find Drachmas that the little girl next door threw into my yard.
aachenelf z5 Mpls
9 years ago
What about children? Is tossing an acceptable method of returning them to the place they came from?

Kevin
mxk3 z5b_MI
9 years ago
Kevin: If only....
sunnyborders
9 years ago
Very entertaining reading, Eric.

That bit about having to throw them 65 foot or more is actually the result of scientific research!
sandyslopes z5 n. UT
9 years ago
Ooh, I would be mad if my neighbor did that!

Doesn't she have a street close enough to toss them there? That's what I do if I'm out front. They make a similar sound to when I throw peanuts to the scrub jays, and they get right on those snails, too.

Snails have homing instincts? File that under, learn something new every day.
dbarron
9 years ago
All could be solved with a bucket of soapy salty water....
moliep
9 years ago
We have a similar problem with our neighbors' weeds creeping into our yard. Wish our problem could be solved like this.....
terrene
9 years ago
Sounds like they've got a real slimey infestation over there. I was amused that they called the snails "participants" in the study.

Meanwhile, the slugs have been conspicuously absent this summer here. Maybe the harsh winter? Anyway, a few years ago I had a terrible problem with slugs on the Hosta Royal standard and used a 12.5% ammonia solution sprayed on the plants (learned about it at the Hosta forum). This was VERY effective at killing slugs - they just dissolve. I wonder if it works on snails too?
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
9 years ago
Ken - try this link.

I just stamp on them in situ. No salt, soap or Olympic throwing required.

Here is a link that might be useful: Homing instinct in gastropods
aftermidnight Zone7b B.C. Canada
9 years ago
Like Flora, they get the heel of my shoe here. This year they have been worse than ever. 10 years ago we just had slugs to contend with, then the snails started moving in. This year my Sum and Substance hosta looks like someone aimed a shotgun at it and let fly.
I covered one of the benches in the greenhouse with copper mesh this spring, the snails here must be on steroids because when I went out in the morning the snail trails were very evident, so at night I got in the habit of putting domes over my flats of seedling. Yes I use Slug and Snail pellets in the greenhouse, I'm beginning to think they just consider them the appetizer :(.

Annette
pitimpinai
9 years ago
I feel for the gardeners. I heard on NPR that Britain is infested with slugs many inches long. I have seen those banana slugs in the Pacific NW. They are huge and long. Ours in the Midwest are puny by comparison.

I used to spray them with salty water or ammonia - I can't remember which. They dissolved before my eyes. They are slimy for sure and made my hosta unsightly. But I felt guilty killing them. :-( Slug go works until it rains. But I have not applied any for several years.