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Re: what to do with snails
Hello:
I've plucked quite a few in my grandmother's garden then threw them into
the pond where they died after sinking to the bottom. The nutrients fed
the phytoplanton and turned the pond green (along with some chicken
bones...The dog got quite interested in the pond and the surface
occaisionally had a oily sheen to it but it was better than landfilling
the bones)
and when I dig the pond out again I will have good rich
muck. Standard advice is ducks if you have large land and crops. I
usually realize that if one is having trouble with pests like that it
means too much dependence on annuals.
I know in California that there are predatory snails that have solved
problems down there but may be putting a few speices into extinction.
If you are using mulch it takes a while for the natural balance to
reduce this problem. We had an invasion of slugs after putting out a
chicken manure/wood chip mulch. In the forest the big banana slugs eat
manure.
Harold Waldock
hwaldock@alternatives.com
Vancouver Permaculture Network