Snails! The scourge of my tiny garden. When I started my morning Tai Chi practice I spotted too many snails crawling across my plants. Did you know that a snail lays, on average, about 80 eggs? Since snails are hermaphrodites that means 160 baby snails per union.
There is only one thing for it: a Dawn Patrol. I have used metaldehyde pellets in the past but the sight of poisoned snails slowly dehydrating and dying distresses me and makes me feel guilty. So I carefully collect all the snails I can see and take them across the road to dump them in the shrubbery. It is no use throwing them over the garden fence because they will crawl back – quite apart from it being mighty antisocial. Apparently snails’ homing instincts may be overcome if you move them over 20 metres away. This morning I re-located one hundred snails about 10 metres away. I should have painted a stripe on their backs to identify whether they return!
Does dumping snails constitute the same thing as dumping litter?
What do you do about snails in your garden?
![Soloman Seal plants](https://www.coraljane.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/IMG_4159-e1462710428340.jpg)
![Aliquilegia- no snails](https://www.coraljane.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/IMG_7909.jpg)
At least the snails do not seem to enjoy nibbling my pink peonies.
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