PtePike wrote:
"Mentalguy2k8" wrote in
news:lfK0o.167426$wi5.123431@hurricane:

Is there a humane way of doing this? Some sort of trap so the live
snails can be emptied a long way away?

My plants are being mutilated every night, I'm managing to catch the
ones still there during the day (one planter had 14 baby snails in
it!) but I reckon there's a battalion of them that come out after
dark.

I really don't want to kill or hurt them so if I can "relocate" them
I'd be happy. Failing that, is there some sort of contraption to put
my pots and things on that they can't climb?


I will tell you what I found by accident, but it would not work for all
things, or on an allotment.
Sick of weeding I laid some old carpet in a brassica bed I was going to
plant, then cut some holes in the carpet to plant my young plants, then
after I planted the things I used some more carpet to use as collars to
keep away cabbage root fly.
Not one slug or snail or weed has been seen!
Helps keep in moisture too and it allows water to penetrate.
Maybe (surely) there are slugs underneath, but I have some very healthy
caulli, cabbage, broccoli etc.
I know there must be a reason for not doing this and that it is not being
used but my results are wonderful atm.
Seems the beasts cannot crawl over a rough surface.
I do not have enough old carpet for my allotment though.

Give me your used carpet.
PtePike



I don't think it's to do with the roughness of surface. They certainly
skate over velcro, fibre mesh, and coarse sandpaper, but I've never seen
one on our wooden fence or shed, which leads me to believe the area of
material and the porosity might be more important. Possibly they're
frightened of running out of slime and getting stranded halfway.