Thu 26 Jun 2008
Does anyone know one? Or maybe a Pied Piper sort of guy with a magic flute to lead them all out of Provence?
For a brief moment there I thought there might possible be fewer snails than last year and that they would slowly disappear. Apparantly they were just waiting for dryer weather and higher temperatures to make their assault. They aren’t the giant gray snails-although we have those too-but a small white one. Maurice says you can’t fight nature, which is what he has to say about flies as well, so why do I even go out to pick them off my plants? But I think that for every five or ten pounds of snails I take off my plants, that is saving some munching on them. Who knows? I picked off over four dozen from our cabana. I’ve gotten so I can spot a snail on a plant at a long distance. There are so many of them, we are talking thousands, that I only look for them on plants in my yard now that I can see when sitting on our porch. I can’t stand to see the flower on a lavender plant dropping with the weight of a snail. At least snails are easier to pick than weeds. I promise not to write about the infestation again. It’s not very exciting like a visit to a village market although it is part of my life in Provence.
I hate snails in the garden but my youngest daughter loves them. So she gets to pick them off for me and has snail races up and down the walls. lol. Funny the different perspective between child and adult.
Those little white snails are munching many of my flowers. Do you want to come over and pick them off? I suppose you have enough to keep you busy at your place
At least it’s easy to see why the French make a meal of them. And they are delicious. But “small” and “white” doesn’t sound like the cullinary type. I was in the Point Vert yesterday here in Brittany and saw snail bait. We don’t have a remarkable number of snails, so I haven’t bought any. If you want, I’ll go write down the name and send it to you. Meanwhile, I was searching for something to douse our tomato and potato crops which are apparently succumbing to late blight. The mixtures looked profoundly chemical and I left them on the shefl, but since then the locals have advised I spray the all the tomatos and potatoes, all the nightshade plants, with a sodium bicarbonate solution to kill the blight and a few days later spray them again with half and half milk and water solution to build a new culture. Then you spray every two weeks with the milk until you build new and healthy leaves. Everybody knows that, they said. Well, everybody but one.
I like your snail sculptures, though. You can turn your bane into a collectible. Perhaps you could put them around the garden, to scare away the real ones. Happy 4th; do you celebrate with Maurice?
I’m sorry about the snails, but the photos are great! I remember your last year’s snail invasion. I suppose it is, as you say, just part of life. Here I’m waiting for the yearly tide of Japanese beetles.
I so enjoyed reading the tale of two medecins below. I hope you feel better! Acupuncture has worked wonders for my husband’s sciatica and my carpal tunnels.
So far it has been a very cold summer here, so the snails are no problem…..yet!
After seeing the multitudes last year, I dispair of you ever becoming snail free. However, I have a plan. When my son was little, he delighted in lifting his fat little legs and stomping the bejeezus out of the snails…he liked to hear the crunch. Since you have several little grandsons arriving soon, perhaps you can have a bit of a game (who can gather the most in x-number of minutes?) or a snail whacking contest with them. Good luck!
I haven’t ready your comments, but my mom used to take the empty little margarine bowls, bury them so the rim was flat with the earth and fill with cheap beer. The slugs can’t resist and they die happy! It truly worked!
I dislike snails… but they do look cute sometimes!
Not again !!!
I remember you talking about this before. Have I been coming to your blog that long????
Sorry I can’t be more helpful about getting rid of those little monsters.
I’ve heard of the beer solution as well, but I have dogs that might drink it up. My rather mean-spirited approach has been to spread salt around my plants – a bit grisly but my little dog eats snails so we can’t use real bait.