Due to heavy rains in Southern California last winter we have a bumper crop
of snails. Our home is surrounded by aptinia iceplant. Apparently they
multiply in there and then crawl all over the house, especially the windows
and walls, leaving slimy trails and their empty shells.

What is the best and cheapest way to get rid of them permanently (this
summer at least)? I have tried the perimeter liquid snail bait. It worked in
prior years, but the snails may have evolved or they are stepping on each
others bodies to get to my windows.
--
Walter
www.rationality.net
-

"Walter R." wrote:

Due to heavy rains in Southern California last winter we have a bumper crop
of snails. Our home is surrounded by aptinia iceplant. Apparently they
multiply in there and then crawl all over the house, especially the windows
and walls, leaving slimy trails and their empty shells.

What is the best and cheapest way to get rid of them permanently (this
summer at least)? I have tried the perimeter liquid snail bait. It worked in
prior years, but the snails may have evolved or they are stepping on each
others bodies to get to my windows.

I suggest the use of carnivorous decollate snails, which are legal
and available in southern California. See
URL:http://axp.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r107500111.html. Note that
decollates are NOT legal in northern California, where they feed on
native snails that might be endangered species. The brown snails
that create such destruction in southern California are not native
and thus not protected.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at URL:http://www.rossde.com/garden/

http://www.bugpeople.org/taxa/Coleop.../GenusScaphino
tusPage.htm

From: "Walter R."
Organization: Road Runner High Speed Online http://www.rr.com
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Date: Fri, 27 May 2005 01:00:39 GMT
Subject: Snail, snails, snails

Due to heavy rains in Southern California last winter we have a bumper crop
of snails. Our home is surrounded by aptinia iceplant. Apparently they
multiply in there and then crawl all over the house, especially the windows
and walls, leaving slimy trails and their empty shells.

What is the best and cheapest way to get rid of them permanently (this
summer at least)? I have tried the perimeter liquid snail bait. It worked in
prior years, but the snails may have evolved or they are stepping on each
others bodies to get to my windows.
--
Walter
www.rationality.net
-

http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/misc/g...ing_snails.htm

the 'rosy' predator snails are supposed to devour the escargot-type snails
and when their food source runs out, they're supposed to just die. there is
a company in cali which sells them (can't remember the company, sorry....CRS
has been extremely bad since massive humidity hit the northeast), but google
it. use the search words: snails eating snails that is where i got the
above website!!!!

From: "Walter R."
Organization: Road Runner High Speed Online http://www.rr.com
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Date: Fri, 27 May 2005 01:00:39 GMT
Subject: Snail, snails, snails

Due to heavy rains in Southern California last winter we have a bumper crop
of snails. Our home is surrounded by aptinia iceplant. Apparently they
multiply in there and then crawl all over the house, especially the windows
and walls, leaving slimy trails and their empty shells.

What is the best and cheapest way to get rid of them permanently (this
summer at least)? I have tried the perimeter liquid snail bait. It worked in
prior years, but the snails may have evolved or they are stepping on each
others bodies to get to my windows.
--
Walter
www.rationality.net
-

RAINDEAR wrote:

http://www.bugpeople.org/taxa/Coleop.../GenusScaphino
tusPage.htm


The cited URL displays only the picture. Links to "Description",
"Biology", etc display nothing.

--

David E. Ross
URL:http://www.rossde.com/

I use Mozilla as my Web browser because I want a browser that
complies with Web standards. See URL:http://www.mozilla.org/.

RAINDEAR wrote:

http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/misc/g...ing_snails.htm

the 'rosy' predator snails are supposed to devour the escargot-type snails
and when their food source runs out, they're supposed to just die. there is
a company in cali which sells them (can't remember the company, sorry....CRS
has been extremely bad since massive humidity hit the northeast), but google
it. use the search words: snails eating snails that is where i got the
above website!!!!

The decollate snail (Rumina decollata) described on the same Web
page is considered superior by commercial citrus growers for
controlling the brown snail (Helix aspersa). The latter is a
serious orchard pest in citrus groves, girdling and killing trees
by eating the bark.

The release of decollate snails is restricted to certain southern
California counties. They are prohibited in northern California
because the prey on endangered native snails.

The brown snail is NOT a native, having been intentionally imported
some 150 years ago as a source of escargot.

--

David E. Ross
URL:http://www.rossde.com/

I use Mozilla as my Web browser because I want a browser that
complies with Web standards. See URL:http://www.mozilla.org/.