Encyclopaedia of the snail

There is probably no garden owner who has not had problems with snails. However, not all snail species are actually pests. Tiger snails and Roman snails, for example, are very useful. Other types of snails, however, are a real nuisance and can be quite difficult to get rid of.

On this page you will find a lot of interesting information on the subject, including how snails feed, how they reproduce and what happens to them in winter.

Table of contents

• Are all snails harmful?
• What do snails eat?
• Can snails smell anything?
• Can snails see?
• How do snails move?
• How old are the snails?
• How do snails spend the winter?
• When do snails reach sexual maturity and how many eggs do they lay?
• How do snails reproduce?
• Do snails already have a home when they hatch?
• Can snails leave their homes?
• Where do snails stay when it is hot and dry?
• How high can a snail climb?
• Do snails that have been removed find their way back into my garden?
• How long does it take for snails to return to the garden?
• What plants can be used to repel snails?
• Which animals eat snails or snail eggs?
• What home remedies help to control snails?
• Are copper strips suitable for slug control?
• What happens to animals that eat slugs poisoned by slug pellets?
  

Are all slugs and snails pests?

The fact is that, from the point of view of nature, there are no pests and every living thing is part of the natural cycle. This also applies to snails and their eggs, which are an important food source for many animals.

However, the creation of a garden is an intervention in nature and results in a particularly large food supply for snails, so that they can multiply very quickly. In addition, there are far fewer natural predators in gardens than in nature. Therefore, in the absence of appropriate countermeasures, it is only a matter of time before the slugs take over and devour everything.

However, not all snails are equally harmful to home garden plantings. Roman snails, for example, eat slugs and can therefore help to control them to some extent. However, to protect plants, it is usually essential to control slugs in the garden and to set up slug barriers or slug traps, for example.

What do snails eat?

Snails are omnivores. They are generally not very picky and feed on both dead and fresh plants. They prefer the softer parts of plants, which they can easily scrape off with their raspy tongue. In addition to vegetables and fruit, some snail species also feed on live insects, such as mosquito larvae, or carrion if they have the opportunity.

Can snails smell anything?

Although snails do not have noses in the true sense of the word, they have a highly developed sense of smell. Thanks to their olfactory cells, they can reliably detect potential food sources. This is also why slug traps with suitable bait or slug pellets are so effective in controlling these pests.

Can slugs see?

If you look closely, you can clearly see dark spots at the end of the slugs' long antennae. These are actually their eyes. However, snails cannot compete with the eyesight of humans or other more developed creatures. Instead, they can only see a few centimetres away, which is also reflected in the fact that they only retract their antennae at the end of the day, when you approach them with your hand.

How do snails move?

Snails can only move very slowly. To do this, they form a mucus mat underneath them, which they can slide on and which also serves as protection against the sharp edges of the ground.

In order to crawl forward, the snails lift their foot a little at the back. This creates a crease which they allow to advance to their head. This process is constantly repeated and allows the snail's body to slide slowly over the slime mat.

How old do snails live?

The life expectancy of snails varies depending on the species. The Burgundy snail can live up to ten years, while the widely distributed Burgundy snail, to the dismay of many gardeners, normally reaches the age of two years at most. The life expectancy of very small snail species is often even lower, at around one year.

How do snails spend the winter?

Exactly what happens to snails in winter depends on the snail species concerned. Many slugs lay eggs in the autumn and then die. However, slugs and some species of nudibranchs also hibernate. To do this, they retreat into piles of wood, piles of leaves or even small burrows. There they lower their body temperature and thus slow down the functioning of their organs.

The hibernation period for snails usually lasts from mid to late October until spring. Then, in late March or early April, the snails wake up again, emerge from their winter hiding places and, to the dismay of many home gardeners, go in search of food.

When do snails reach sexual maturity and how many eggs do they lay?

Most snails reach sexual maturity in their first year of life. The number of eggs laid can vary considerably depending on the species of snail. While slugs and other nudibranchs can lay around 400 eggs per deposit, Roman snails only lay between 30 and 40 eggs. Despite this, snails lay their eggs in early summer and autumn.

How do snails reproduce?

Most snails are hermaphrodites, having both female and male sex organs. They exchange the seeds formed in the male sex organs with each other. Then the production of female eggs begins.

It then takes between two and ten weeks for the eggs to mature and be laid under stones or in small burrows. The eggs continue to develop into egg larvae, from which small snails eventually hatch. Depending on the outside temperature, this process can take several weeks or even months.

Do snails already have a shell when they hatch?

Snail species with a house, such as the Roman snail, are already born with the necessary equipment for their shell. Their embryonic part is surrounded by a tiny shell made of limestone, which comes from the mantle of the visceral sac. The lime becomes solid with time and eventually forms the finished snail shell into which the snail can withdraw.

As the snail grows, its shell also gets bigger and bigger. When the snail is fully grown, the growth of the snail shell also ends.

Can snails leave their shells?

A snail's shell is firmly attached to its body and therefore cannot be left. Empty snail shells come from snails that have fallen victim to a predator or have died of natural causes.

Where do snails stay during heat and drought?

As a garden owner, you know very well that snails are particularly active in humid weather. If, on the other hand, it is very hot and dry, they retreat to shady, damp places. These can be compost heaps or small burrows in the ground, for example. In addition, large leaves as well as stones and woodpiles can also provide shelter for snails in dry and hot conditions.

Although high temperatures and a dry environment are not exactly the snails' preferred living conditions, they survive these phases surprisingly well in their hiding places. In contrast, heavy rainfall and the prolonged waterlogging it causes can cause snails to drown in their shelters.

How high can a snail climb?

Snails are extremely good climbers. As long as the ground is sufficiently supportive, a climbing height of several metres is not a problem. Some snail species can even climb up to 20 metres in the forest.

Will the removed snails find their way back to my garden?

Some garden owners try to control slugs by collecting the pests and simply releasing them at a distance. Unfortunately, this method of slug control is usually only a short-term solution, as slugs can also find their way back over greater distances.

Studies show that slugs, for example, can travel distances of more than ten metres. It is therefore always possible that the pests will not stay in your neighbour's garden, but return to their original habitat. If you want to control the slug problem in your garden, you should therefore take other measures and protect your flower beds with a special slug barrier, for example.

How long does it take for slugs to return to the garden?

The time it takes for snails that have been exposed elsewhere to find their way back to the garden depends on the distance as well as the condition of the environment. On wet paths, snails manage to cover a distance of about three metres per hour.

So slugs picked up in the evening and left 20 metres away may well return to your garden at night.

What plants can be used to repel slugs?

There are a number of plants that act as a deterrent to slugs. These include onions and garlic, as well as certain herbs. Experience shows that thyme, rosemary and lavender, for example, are very good at repelling slugs. In addition, ornamental garlic and nasturtium are also known to deter snails.

In addition, it has proved effective to plant the outer areas of the beds with plants that are difficult to nibble, such as houseleeks, roses or euphorbia. The same applies to plants with hairy leaves. The latter cannot be easily eaten by slugs either, so plants such as geranium, geranium and carnation root are also very suitable for planting along the edges.

In addition to the plants already mentioned, poisonous plants such as foxglove, wolfsbane, peonies or lily of the valley are also suitable for protection against slugs, as they are also harmful to them.

Which animals eat snails or snail eggs?

Snails are food for many animals. Both the parasites themselves and their eggs can therefore fall victim to a wide range of predators. These include various insects such as fireflies, market flies, carabid beetles, golden beetles, scavengers, sandflies and millipedes.

In addition, many bird species also like to eat snails. Thrushes, blackbirds, starlings, rooks, great tits, herons and magpies, among others, are known to eat snails. Ducks have also proven to be very good snail hunters. This applies to flying ducks as well as to various common ducks. In order to use ducks as slug hunters in the garden, you must of course have the appropriate facilities for keeping them, which is probably not always the case.

In addition, shrews, moles and hedgehogs also like to eat snails, as do toads, frogs, snakes, lizards and various other reptiles and amphibians. Incidentally, slugs also feed on slugs, so they can certainly play a role in controlling their fellow slugs and should not necessarily be considered a pest.

What home remedies help to control slugs?

There are many ways to control slugs and snails. In addition to highly toxic products such as slug pellets, various home remedies have also proven effective. For example, coffee grounds in the flower bed can help drive away slugs and at the same time serve as a fertiliser for the plants.

In addition, soaked oatmeal and bread, as well as pieces of vegetables scattered outside the beds, can help keep slugs away from the plants. After all, these pests are very lethargic and always eat what is within their reach. In this context, it can sometimes be useful to plant specific plants such as garden cress in vegetable beds to keep slugs away from other plants, such as lettuce.

Another option is to set slug traps with beer. These also attract slugs quite reliably. However, the pests often drown in agony in such a trap, so the use of beer traps is only recommended to a limited extent.

Are copper strips suitable for slug control?

It is sometimes recommended to use copper strips for slug control. This recommendation is based on the assumption that copper releases ions that are toxic to slugs in an acid environment.

Since slug mucus is an acidic medium, copper strips should release ions when they come into contact with a slug and kill the pest. This assumption is not wrong in principle. However, the ions released by the copper are so weak that they cannot harm the snails.

At best, the slug infestation in the garden can be reduced somewhat with copper strips. However, they are not a reliable protection against troublesome pests.

What happens to animals that eat slugs poisoned with slug pellets?

The consequences for hedgehogs and other animals of eating slugs poisoned with slug pellets depend on the active substance in the slug pellets. If it is metaldehyde, the hedgehog can expect an agonising death.

If you absolutely must use slug pellets to control slugs, you should therefore use products containing alternative active ingredients such as iron(III) phosphate. However, we recommend that you use a slug fence for pest control.