I'm normally a pretty nonviolent person, but my reaction to seeing snails eat my garden's greenery after six months of winter dormancy is lethal. I am a snail killer.
When I went to harvest some rhubarb as I cut the stems it revealed beds and beds of snails. They looked like pebbles there were so many.
By hand I found myself picking out handfuls of snails and crushing them underfoot. It's slimy gross business, but plants don't grow well when snails are nibbling away at them.
Are they attracted to the fertilizer I put down? or the mulch? or just finding their homeostatic paradise - constant moisture and fresh greens to munch on. Kind of like Peter Rabbit in Mr. McGregor's garden.
I laugh at myself for the protective streak I get for my gardens. I am a wimpy chemical user, so the most I'll do is sprinkle Rotenone, which is a root powder, to kill the cucumber and Asian beetles, and Japanese beetles I drop into soapy water, and snails- those are the bugs on my hit list. The rest, even black flies, I let live.
Just kidding.
I thought I read somewhere that sprinkling egg shells around your plants will prevent snails/slugs. Apparently they don't like the feel of the egg shells.
ReplyDeletePS I've committed snailicide myself! :)
Keep those snails away from the rhubarb! I love rhubarb!
ReplyDelete