For years after the newspaper comes in the morning I put i some table salt and rop the snails and slugs in, they die and than you just throw away the sack or keep it for the next few times, no odor or mess. It's amazing how few snails we have since doing it this way but still every morning after the mist the snails come out and I get them. If you smash a snail ants come and you really have a mess.

I get good exercise by seeing how far I can throw the smails into the street and the crack of their shells hitting the pavement is music to my ears.

"I get good exercise by seeing how far I can throw the smails into the street and the crack of their shells hitting the pavement is music to my ears."

LOL, I do exactly the same thing. I get this image of the snails trying to cross the road without getting run over, kinda like the old video game Frogger.

I throw them too! In the back yard I throw them into the middle of the lawn and watch the birds dive bomb them. It's very satisfying!

I smash them and throw up on the slope for the ants to go up there.

Feed 'em to the chickens.

I get good exercise by seeing how far I can throw the smails into the street and the crack of their shells hitting the pavement is music to my ears.

A number of years back I had a really bad infestation. I live on a cul-de-sac, and they would come out in the hundreds after a winter rain. After the rain or sprinkling would subside, I'd go out and throw them as high in the sky that I could and then they would splat on the street. I did this repeatedly for two winters. Since then, I rarely see them...especially the big ones. I still go out after it rains but not many anymore.

-Ron-

They'll die if you put a bit of dish washing soap in your water.

We give them that last wild ride, and throw them up high so that they land in the street. If the birds are on their toes, they'll get them while they're fresh. If not the sun and the tires make them simply disappear.

I've been tossing them into the street but now that I have chickens I think I'm seeing less snail damage -- hadn't associated it until I read this post. :)

Lately I've actually been thinking I would really enjoy a larger property (for gardening) that is zoned for farm animals. Get a few chickens, a few pygmy goats... I will tell DH that chickens eat snails so he will finally change his mind ;-)

For those of you who toss snails into the street: aren't you worried this will gross out your neighbors OR the snails will survive and make it back? I did see a crow eating one I tossed, once, but I figured it was due to luck that the crow found it. Maybe I'm not giving the birds enough credit (crows are the predominant bird in our neighborhood).

I toss the snails too. When we lived in the city I also collected the snails and slugs early in the morning and put them in that morning's newspaper bag, then out into the garbage bin. After a short time that population diminished dramatically.

But, on another note, I also toss the BIG caterpillars that are ravaging the tomatoes. Once there was a commotion on the drive where I had thrown the caterpillar . Two birds had hold of one end each and were having a tug-of-war with the poor worm. I quickly tossed another caterpillar and that ended the quarrel.

I use Sluggo as first line of defense, BUT:
in the front yard, if I find them early in the morning, yep, it's the street toss. Unlike others who have posted though, I don't throw them high, I like to throw them low and a long distance.
In the back yard, at night, it's over my neighbor's fence (don't like him much). Or if I'm feeling frisky, I like to chuck them so they land on the roof.
For instant vaporization, take 2 2x4s, collect your snails, place on one board (their ponderous nature doesn't allow them to escape...they think they're at a snail convention), take other board, place on one end of board containing snails and bring flat so snails become mush. I used to do this when I hunted snails late at night after my swing-shift job. At 1 am in the morning it would be deathly silent, then I would bring the 2 boards together, "CRACK".

We don't have any - too dry. But I recently brought one home from a nursery that was not in my area. The little slime ball got on the back seat of my Tacoma and left some clear ooze. You can bet he ended up oozing even more under the my weight of my sneaker. ; )

We don't have snails here, either, other than the occasional hitchhiker on a nursery plant. But we have plenty of slugs. I like to snip them with a pair of old scissors saved solely for the purpose....since I prefer not to touch them. :D

Brenda

I'm happy to see that I have a lot snail-tossing company. Mine are pitched over the fence into the alley or, if I'm in a mood, bounced off the roof of the neighbors' garage into the alley.

I do think I need to take more extreme measures; tonight the cheap beer goes out in those little cat food containers that I have been saving.

Put your little foot, put your little foot, down and stomp!
They can crawl back when their shells heal so I don't take a chance. Slugs I put under something before i stomp!

Penny

To quote from Butch Cassidy and Sundance, "The fall will probably kill you.", which is why I tend to throw them high. Our street is wide, the sun is hot, and the birds are keen-eyed.

Snails are easy to pick and crunch, but I use long bladed scissors on my morning / evening plant checks. Now I don't have to pick them up or damage the plant when I reach - just a quick snip dispatches it. =^,,^=

HA! i love this thread, altho it's a little disconcerting how much joy we all seem to get at killing these slimy guys.

i have a gardening trowel (i call it The Death Stick) and i use it to slice the slugs clear in half. then i toss them into my compost so at least they can give a little back to the earth.

street tosser here, but my DH's email name is "Snailcrusher". We go for romantic evening walks in the neighborhood, and if he finds a sidewalk snail convention on the way, i have to stand there and hear "crunch/pop, crunch....." till everyone is dispatched. he finds the sound and texture under his shoe very satisfying. i can't imagine what the homeowner thinks the next morning when he/she finds the brown smears all over the sidewalk. interestingly, if you crush one near a suspected infestation, the little cannibals will come out and dine on their brother within hours. hubby likes to bait an area that way for future enjoyment. Mo

I was wondering, does anyone know if the big brown snails that I see all over the L.A. area are escaped escargot? Someone told me that they had been brought to the country by fans of French cuisine. He said that some people even raise them to sell to restaurants, buying special snail chow for them, etc.

By the way, I've seen these guys feasting on discarded candy or the residue on candy wrappers a couple of times.

the brown garden snails are the non-native snails used for escargot. i remember a post on the "frugal gardening" post a while ago as to how a gardener can prepare and cook their own catch, and i bet you can google the subject if you want to try to clean/cook the ones in your garden. Mo

I have a koi pond in my backyard along with some nasty invasive plants(that the snails absolutely LOVE). sometimes I go out hunting after the rains/sprinklers and collect snails in a freezer bag. Then it's feeding time for my koi and turtles! The turtles literally fight over the snails and crunch right through their shells. The koi act more like "Jaws." They prefer to find a snail, swim below it then SLURP! They suck the slimy critters right out of their shells. Sometimes if it's too big, they thrash their head back and forth like a shark ripping apart it's prey. Whenever we have guests, I go snail hunting to show them the neat show :-)
Brian
P.S. I couldn't agree more with Beach Babies: "HA! i love this thread, altho it's a little disconcerting how much joy we all seem to get at killing these slimy guys."

I smash snails back into the ground--MY ground--from which they stole the nutrients to build those striped shells. When we lived in Berkeley (1981-1997), I also had to deal with slugs, which I also smashed back into the ground, either with my foot (well, the shoe on my foot) or my trowel or other blunt object.

I have also collected snails and taken them to people who have pet ducks. Ducks are absolutely terrific snail-eaters!

Cynthia H.
El Cerrito, CA

I vacillate between street tossing and plastic bagging them. I picked up 30 Wednesday morning! and at least 25 of them were the big ones!! really surprised me because I had been picking them earlier in the spring also. I had showered on several areas of the yard last weekend so maybe they were drawn to the moisture.

Cynthia, I also live in El Cerrito on Scott St!

ironorchid, does your hubby have favorite footwear for his snail squashing?

shoeprints, unfortunately DH wears his everyday sneakers, even for snail squishing. the shoes stay outside till he cleans them in the morning...i guess its better than if he did it barefoot. Mo

Send them to me, I'll pay for them... I am married to a frenchie who is dying for some snails on the cheap.. email me if you are serious and are willing to ship them overnite to me. we can talk.

ironorchid,
I have a couple pair I use most often depending on the results I want, although I won't pass by a slug if I don't have on a fav. If either you or the husband want to talk more about this please email me.

Opossoms love snails! I have some plants by my windows that have lots of snails, and the opossoms come out at night and feast. I hear them "talking" to each other and snacking. It sounds like a social get together at the local Starbucks sometimes. I don't know how you can "attract" opossoms to eat your snails, however.

{{gwi:531307}}

:D

When I have time, I like to go out with my little spray bottle of ammonia (half water/half ammonia). Spray them once with a stream and they fizzle. Then I water them in. Best to find those snail eggs but who has that kind of time? My dad used to make a tobacco juice concoction with his old Phillip Morris butts and spray them with that.
Mary

pretty debased to derive pleasure from cruelty. Jesus

The first time I ever tried to get rid of snails, well, I was young and idealistic and didn't want to cause pain to any creature, so I gathered them up in a garbage bag and took it to a local park at night. I set the bag down on the grass, opened it a bit and took off. However, one backward look gave me a horrifying sight: a homeless lady was eagerly going to retreive the bag, perhaps hoping for a nice dinner.

I throw them in the street for the crows to eat.