also have heard to put a board on the ground. The snails will hide under it. Check it in the am and get rid of any you find.

JoJo

I will put some type of animal friendly snail bait out.

This horrible chemical is the number one cause of dog poisoning deaths here in California. The LD50 (the dose that is fatal to 50%) is only 100 mg/kg for dogs. That means that a 10 lb dog could be fatally poisoned by less than 1/2 gram of metaldehyde, the amount contained in less than 1/2 ounce of a 4% metaldehyde bait (a typical concentration). A 50 lb dog may be killed by just 2 grams of metaldehyde, which is contained in less than 2 ounces of common snail baits. You get the idea, it doesn't take very much. Death occurs by destroying the nervous system, kidneys, and liver. Animals that survive will have many health problems, and a shortened life span.

Please do not use metaldehyde containing snail baits! There are safe and effective alternatives. It drives me crazy to go into our local Home Depot and see 100 different products all containing various formulations of metaldehyde, and only one truly non-toxic snail bait.

Snails that eat an iron phosphate pellet need to drink lots of water to dilute the drying effect of the salt. Fortunately, snails do not drink, getting all of their water from food. Since they stop eating after ingesting an iron phosphate pellet, they just go away to die, never to be seen again, except maybe, as an empty shell. Pellets that are not consumed simply fall apart. There is no toxic waste.

I live near ground zero of the gastropod invasion here in the USA. These snails were imported by an enterprising French chef in San Francisco during the Gold Rush around 1850. Unfortunately, the business went belly up (did he really think he was going to get Americans to eat snails?), and all of his livestock escaped into the countryside. They have expanded their range quite a bit since then. Most folks around here think they are a native Californian pest, but the common garden snail (Helix aspersa) is that same tasty critter the French call Escargot. Yummy!

Brad

Thank you for the plea and the history - as you've been at the center, have you yourself had these tasty morsels?

I've heard that if you fatten them up on cornmeal for a few days, with a little garlic and butter they're quite good. Of course, with G&B you can make an old tennis shoe tasty.

Wouldn't neem screw them up, too?

Or you could just do the FUN thing and go out there at night with a flashlight and a salt shaker.

Norma, I will keep an eye on the stem and see if anything new grows from it. Thank you!

Texas Parks & Wildlife had an article a few years back on the brown snails that plague us. You catch them, put them in an aquarium & feed them lettuce, etc. for a week or so, then they had recipes to prepare them. I ate snails once when I was working on the cruise ship. My question is WHY! They were OK but too salty and I just don't understand why you would want to eat them. I am more then willing to send boxes of them to France.
Tally HO!