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#1
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Plague of snails.
I have lived in the same house in Leeds for the last 33 years. During the
first 27 (approximately) of these years, I hardly ever saw a snail, although I did have a large number of slugs. During the last 6 (approx) years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of snails. On a wet evening after dark, if I go to post a letter in the local mail box, my feet inadvertently crunch a snail every tenth step, on average. I have just removed and killed about 50 of them from my bed of petunias, the bed being a mere 5 square metres in area. The snails are thick on the ground. It ihas reached the point where I would describe it as a plague. Is this problem local to Leeds, or has there been the same problem throughout the UK? What has caused the sudden increase in their population? I do not accept "global warming" as an answer -- far too easy, facile, and probably wrong. With global warming, Leeds nowadays has the same climate as Berkshire did 35 years ago when I lived there. Berkshire in 1972 did not have the plague of snails I am experiencing here in Leeds in 2007. Richard Chambers Leeds UK. |
#2
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Plague of snails.
"Dick Chambers" wrote in message
... I have lived in the same house in Leeds for the last 33 years. During the first 27 (approximately) of these years, I hardly ever saw a snail, although I did have a large number of slugs. During the last 6 (approx) years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of snails. On a wet evening after dark, if I go to post a letter in the local mail box, my feet inadvertently crunch a snail every tenth step, on average. I have just removed and killed about 50 of them from my bed of petunias, the bed being a mere 5 square metres in area. The snails are thick on the ground. It ihas reached the point where I would describe it as a plague. Is this problem local to Leeds, or has there been the same problem throughout the UK? What has caused the sudden increase in their population? I do not accept "global warming" as an answer -- far too easy, facile, and probably wrong. With global warming, Leeds nowadays has the same climate as Berkshire did 35 years ago when I lived there. Berkshire in 1972 did not have the plague of snails I am experiencing here in Leeds in 2007. Richard Chambers Leeds UK. Their prominence is probably due to the favourable weather conditions which they are experiencing. This site http://tinyurl.com/2mxdt8 explains this theory more fully. Regards, Emrys Davies. |
#3
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Plague of snails.
"Dick Chambers" wrote in message ... I have lived in the same house in Leeds for the last 33 years. During the first 27 (approximately) of these years, I hardly ever saw a snail, although I did have a large number of slugs. During the last 6 (approx) years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of snails. On a wet evening after dark, if I go to post a letter in the local mail box, my feet inadvertently crunch a snail every tenth step, on average. I have just removed and killed about 50 of them from my bed of petunias, the bed being a mere 5 square metres in area. The snails are thick on the ground. It ihas reached the point where I would describe it as a plague. Is this problem local to Leeds, or has there been the same problem throughout the UK? What has caused the sudden increase in their population? I do not accept "global warming" as an answer -- far too easy, facile, and probably wrong. With global warming, Leeds nowadays has the same climate as Berkshire did 35 years ago when I lived there. Berkshire in 1972 did not have the plague of snails I am experiencing here in Leeds in 2007. Richard Chambers Leeds UK. To start with Richard don't be a mug and get sucked in on this 'Global warming' thing. Like other crazes such as the Whip and Top, Hoola Hoop and Rubicks Cube and buzz words of the day, it will pass and it will be another fad, again the Government will find a way of making money out of it. This Summer is very much like 1951. Weather comes. Weather goes. We cannot change it we get what we get and anybody who thinks man can change this earth is off his rocker. Have you seen the speeded up animated picture of a Motorway which has been closed and left to nature for about 250 years I think it is? That has dealt with the weather and global warming, as far as Snails are concerned, lack of Thrushes, the wet weather we have had presented to us this year, (wasn't into snail counting in 1951) and yes we have thousands on the Isle of Wight. Mike -- The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association. 'THE' Association if you served in the Electrical Branch of the Royal Navy Reunion Bournemouth August/September 2007 www.rneba.org.uk |
#4
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Plague of snails.
"Anne Jackson" wrote in message ... The message from "Dick Chambers" contains these words: I have lived in the same house in Leeds for the last 33 years. During the first 27 (approximately) of these years, I hardly ever saw a snail, although I did have a large number of slugs. During the last 6 (approx) years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of snails. On a wet evening after dark, if I go to post a letter in the local mail box, my feet inadvertently crunch a snail every tenth step, on average. I have just removed and killed about 50 of them from my bed of petunias, the bed being a mere 5 square metres in area. The snails are thick on the ground. It ihas reached the point where I would describe it as a plague. Is this problem local to Leeds, or has there been the same problem throughout the UK? What has caused the sudden increase in their population? I do not accept "global warming" as an answer -- far too easy, facile, and probably wrong. With global warming, Leeds nowadays has the same climate as Berkshire did 35 years ago when I lived there. Berkshire in 1972 did not have the plague of snails I am experiencing here in Leeds in 2007. I have the same problem here, in Perth. I put it down to the much milder winters and the lack of thrushes in my garden. We used to have lots of thrushes, now we have none. -- AnneJ It can be something as simple as your local authority being better at rat control, rats in country/garden situations spend the winter hunting down hibernating snails and eating them, they consume very large numbers and so in spring you start from a low level, these days song thrushes appear much in decline a local vet pathologist tells me a combination of slug pellets and cats are responsible, we have both occasional slug pellets and cats but still have thrushes so I don't know! -- Charlie, gardening in Cornwall. http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk Holders of National Plant Collections of Clematis viticella (cvs) and Lapageria rosea |
#5
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Plague of snails.
In reply to Dick Chambers ) who wrote this
in , I, Marvo, say : I have lived in the same house in Leeds for the last 33 years. During the first 27 (approximately) of these years, I hardly ever saw a snail, although I did have a large number of slugs. During the last 6 (approx) years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of snails. On a wet evening after dark, if I go to post a letter in the local mail box, my feet inadvertently crunch a snail every tenth step, on average. I have just removed and killed about 50 of them from my bed of petunias, the bed being a mere 5 square metres in area. The snails are thick on the ground. It ihas reached the point where I would describe it as a plague. Is this problem local to Leeds, or has there been the same problem throughout the UK? What has caused the sudden increase in their population? I do not accept "global warming" as an answer -- far too easy, facile, and probably wrong. With global warming, Leeds nowadays has the same climate as Berkshire did 35 years ago when I lived there. Berkshire in 1972 did not have the plague of snails I am experiencing here in Leeds in 2007. Snails and slugs love this weather. See "too many seedlings" thread for some options on how to "deal" with them. Pro-snail rights campaigners please go elsewhere. |
#6
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Plague of snails.
"Dick Chambers" wrote in message ... I have lived in the same house in Leeds for the last 33 years. During the first 27 (approximately) of these years, I hardly ever saw a snail, although I did have a large number of slugs. During the last 6 (approx) years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of snails. On a wet evening after dark, if I go to post a letter in the local mail box, my feet inadvertently crunch a snail every tenth step, on average. I have just removed and killed about 50 of them from my bed of petunias, the bed being a mere 5 square metres in area. The snails are thick on the ground. It ihas reached the point where I would describe it as a plague. Is this problem local to Leeds, or has there been the same problem throughout the UK? What has caused the sudden increase in their population? I do not accept "global warming" as an answer -- far too easy, facile, and probably wrong. With global warming, Leeds nowadays has the same climate as Berkshire did 35 years ago when I lived there. Berkshire in 1972 did not have the plague of snails I am experiencing here in Leeds in 2007. Richard Chambers Leeds UK. I've lived in the same house in Leeds for the last 43 years. In the first few years I saw a lot of snails but few slugs. I haven't noticed any difference in the small variations since then. A few weeks ago I went to post a letter (honestly!) on a wet night. We've had a lot of those recently. I noticed a huge number of snails on the footpath so on my way back I collected them and saved them until morning to give to my hens. I haven't seen this phenomenon at any other time - but all that means is that I haven't seen it, not that it hasn't occurred. I certainly wouldn't describe the number as a plague, that's far too easy, facile and probably wrong. Nor is it a phenomenon (I don't see it as a problem) peculiar to Leeds, a son in Chippenham (Wiltshire) has similar variations in numbers of snails, a daughter has very many of both slugs and snails despite having ducks and hens - but she lives in Wales where it's always wet. A son in Leeds (Kirkstall) has only recently begun gardening and he's very upset by the destruction slugs and snails have wrought, he says he doesn't remember it being like this when he was at home - but it was never as wet as it has been recently when he was at home. Another son in Leeds (Chapel Allerton) has had an overgrown garden with a huge pond and a lot of snails and slugs for years - but I suspect he wouldn't even notice if there were differences in population. The daughter in France probably eats them if she has them. I saw absolutely no snails or slugs in April but we had no rain at all in that month and I expect they stayed safely underground. I doubt that you had as much rain in Berkshire in 1972 as we've had here in the last few weeks, it's been unseasonal. Snails and slugs thrive under damp conditions and become apparent, just because they're not seen doesn't mean that they're not there. Mary Leeds UK |
#7
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Plague of snails.
"Mary Fisher" wrote in message . net... What do you call a snail selling "The Big Issue"? :-) |
#8
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Plague of snails.
"Uncle Marvo" wrote in message ... What do you call a snail selling "The Big Issue"? :-) Causing trouble round here as well - I see ! I dunno :-( What do you call it ? Pete www.thecanalshop.com |
#9
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Plague of snails.
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#10
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Plague of snails.
"Uncle Marvo" wrote in message ... In reply to Pete Stockdale ) who wrote this in , I, Marvo, say : "Uncle Marvo" wrote in message ... What do you call a snail selling "The Big Issue"? :-) Causing trouble round here as well - I see ! Moi? A chap can have more than one interest, no? I dunno :-( What do you call it ? A slug. Not a very LOLy one that ! Are you a keen gardner then ? Pete |
#12
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Plague of snails.
In reply to Pete Stockdale ) who wrote this in
, I, Marvo, say : "Uncle Marvo" wrote in message ... In reply to Pete Stockdale ) who wrote this in , I, Marvo, say : "Uncle Marvo" wrote in message ... What do you call a snail selling "The Big Issue"? :-) Causing trouble round here as well - I see ! Moi? A chap can have more than one interest, no? I dunno :-( What do you call it ? A slug. Not a very LOLy one that ! Are you a keen gardner then ? It's all I do when I'm not boating or drinking. My garden is unusual though, to say the least. It's only just become above the water level again, a bit of a shame. |
#13
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Plague of snails.
"Mary Fisher" wrote in message . net... "Dick Chambers" wrote in message ... I have lived in the same house in Leeds for the last 33 years. During the first 27 (approximately) of these years, I hardly ever saw a snail, although I did have a large number of slugs. During the last 6 (approx) years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of snails. On a wet evening after dark, if I go to post a letter in the local mail box, my feet inadvertently crunch a snail every tenth step, on average. I have just removed and killed about 50 of them from my bed of petunias, the bed being a mere 5 square metres in area. The snails are thick on the ground. It ihas reached the point where I would describe it as a plague. Is this problem local to Leeds, or has there been the same problem throughout the UK? What has caused the sudden increase in their population? I do not accept "global warming" as an answer -- far too easy, facile, and probably wrong. With global warming, Leeds nowadays has the same climate as Berkshire did 35 years ago when I lived there. Berkshire in 1972 did not have the plague of snails I am experiencing here in Leeds in 2007. Richard Chambers Leeds UK. I've lived in the same house in Leeds for the last 43 years. In the first few years I saw a lot of snails but few slugs. I haven't noticed any difference in the small variations since then. A few weeks ago I went to post a letter (honestly!) on a wet night. We've had a lot of those recently. I noticed a huge number of snails on the footpath so on my way back I collected them and saved them until morning to give to my hens. I haven't seen this phenomenon at any other time - but all that means is that I haven't seen it, not that it hasn't occurred. I certainly wouldn't describe the number as a plague, that's far too easy, facile and probably wrong. Nor is it a phenomenon (I don't see it as a problem) peculiar to Leeds, a son in Chippenham (Wiltshire) has similar variations in numbers of snails, a daughter has very many of both slugs and snails despite having ducks and hens - but she lives in Wales where it's always wet. A son in Leeds (Kirkstall) has only recently begun gardening and he's very upset by the destruction slugs and snails have wrought, he says he doesn't remember it being like this when he was at home - but it was never as wet as it has been recently when he was at home. Another son in Leeds (Chapel Allerton) has had an overgrown garden with a huge pond and a lot of snails and slugs for years - but I suspect he wouldn't even notice if there were differences in population. The daughter in France probably eats them if she has them. I saw absolutely no snails or slugs in April but we had no rain at all in that month and I expect they stayed safely underground. I doubt that you had as much rain in Berkshire in 1972 as we've had here in the last few weeks, it's been unseasonal. Snails and slugs thrive under damp conditions and become apparent, just because they're not seen doesn't mean that they're not there. Thank you, Mary, for your interesting reply. Here in Leeds 17 (a couple of hundred metres to the West of the A61 Harrogate Road, and the same distance North of the A6210 Ring Road), the problem is not necessarily directly related to the recent prolonged wet weather. Of course, I take it for granted that we will always see more snails on a wet night. For the last six years, I have seen large numbers of snails on any wet night that God has sent. Summer 2006 was much drier than average, yet we still saw enormous numbers of snails that would appear on the few wet evenings that we did have. As I said in my original posting, I hardly ever saw a snail in the first 27 years I lived here, even on a wet summer evening. Now, and for the past few years, their numbers have become spectacular. I am fascinated by your low-key reaction : -- "I've lived in the same house in Leeds for the last 43 years. In the first few years I saw a lot of snails but few slugs. I haven't noticed any difference in the small variations since then.". Quite different from my own experience, which is spectacular, yet we live at most only a few miles apart. Richard Chambers Leeds UK. |
#14
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Plague of snails.
The message from "'Mike'" contains these words: Have you seen the speeded up animated picture of a Motorway which has been closed and left to nature for about 250 years I think it is? Link ?? Jenny |
#15
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Plague of snails.
"Dick Chambers" wrote in message ... Here in Leeds 17 (a couple of hundred metres to the West of the A61 Harrogate Road, and the same distance North of the A6210 Ring Road), the problem is not necessarily directly related to the recent prolonged wet weather. Of course, I take it for granted that we will always see more snails on a wet night. For the last six years, I have seen large numbers of snails on any wet night that God has sent. Summer 2006 was much drier than average, yet we still saw enormous numbers of snails that would appear on the few wet evenings that we did have. As I said in my original posting, I hardly ever saw a snail in the first 27 years I lived here, even on a wet summer evening. Now, and for the past few years, their numbers have become spectacular. There's another consideration of course, you - and I - might not have been as observant during other times. /unless you have been doing a long research of course - I haven't. I am fascinated by your low-key reaction : -- "I've lived in the same house in Leeds for the last 43 years. In the first few years I saw a lot of snails but few slugs. I haven't noticed any difference in the small variations since then.". Quite different from my own experience, which is spectacular, yet we live at most only a few miles apart. There are local differences in everything. My neighbours curse daisies in their lawns and strive permantly to rid themselves of coltsfoot. I can grow neither despite many attempts. Mary |
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