What do you do with snails?

[sizeofalentil]

I really don't like killing things, but the buggers are destroying my bean plants. Have put down some beer traps and do the midnight collecting thing and transport them to the front garden. Really don't want to salt them.

Does anyone else have moral qualms about harming snails? How do you deal with yours?

I chuck them over the trees into the wooded lane at the back whilst saying "wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee"

Apparently snails are territorial so if you throw them over the fence they will just make their way back.

That being said, I rarely get any and still throw them over. That being said, it's probably the same snail every time and we're having our own little passive aggressive war!

There's a set bush in our garden where they all like to congregate so I put them there. We call it the snail hotel!

I put them in the council's garden collection bin with plenty of foliage to munch while they wait to be collected.

I realise they will probably be killed either in the bin truck or at the council facility, but at least I don't have to do it.

chuck into road
when I was a kid I used to collect them for our ducks to eat

I'm in the same quandry. We have loads of the feckers and they've already eaten half of the bedding plants I've planted out. I've tried beer traps, egg shells, copper edging, coffee grounds, collecting them in a bucket and swearing at them... but nothing works. I think they just go off and tell their friends about the free beer and dahlias and all come round for a party.

Slug pellets are the only thing that works, although they're bad because they not only kill the slug but also hedgehogs or anything else that eats the slug.

I'm sure there's a mumsnetter who puts her snails in the freezer... So they have a peaceful (albeit chilly) death.

I'm with the fling-them-over-the-wall brigade. I pretend I'm in Harry Potter de-gnoming the Weasley's garden.

I don't really like killing things but in a toss up between my vegetables and a slimy, destructive fekker I have no qualms. I have a jam jar of salty water I plop them in. I also use slug pellets for the ones who don't show themselves until I've gone to bed.

I also put them in the council garden bin .

(Feel slightly guilty about it)

Chuck them in a river generally and hope the buggers drown.

They go to my neighbours who are utter arses so I fnt feel guilty about proving alternative accommodation for the snailies.

I hurl them over the fence (into a public footpath - I don't hate my neighbours that much).

Good luck to them climbing back - it's an eight-foot fence.

Gosh, I feel guilty when I accidentally stand on one. I keep mine and let DS count them.

i throw them with great gusto over the wall

hit the neighbours car once. ....not I only throw them over the front wall and try to hit the road, not the drive.

now, not not.

Pommes you keep them? Where? For how long? Do you have rows and rows of tanks housing your little prisoners?

I have a image of you lacing your fingers and cackling manically...

I think I read somewhere that they come back if you throw them away, I just put pellets out to kill them, but do a sweep first thing in the morning and remove them so there is left chance of something eating them and stick them in a bucket which has a lid with some beer in the bottom of it.

Peggy you do realise that most wildlife is active during the night so sweeping pellets up in the morning won't really help?

I use slug pellets, I dont like using them and go out to pick up any casualties each morning. Last year slugs decimated my seedlings, so I'm resorting to pellets this year.

I also put them in the garden waste bin not at all saying enjoy the buffet to them

Get some nematodes people. Organic so won't harm anything else

I have this problem as a vegan gardener! I tend to use a lot of copper tape/barricades and fling the buggers when I see them I have grudgingly applied nematodes in my own garden, which is probably not vegan in intent but seemed better than pellets.

Bloody creatures.

Over the fence or in the garden bin.

Kinky toes, yes I realise that, we don't have any dead animals in the garden that have eaten the slugs so not sure any other animals are being harmed. Yes I know they could go away and die somewhere else but I'm pretty sure that's not happening either.

The pellets don't seem to kill our slugs, just slow them down an awful lot, i have lifted about 150 slugs over the past 2 days from our garden.