Fighting Terrestrial Pulmonate Gastropod Molluscs at a snail’s pace

My eternal struggle against the snail invasion in the garden is well documented. When a seedling disappears because of a wayward snail I am not too heartbroken because I will just sow more seeds. My biggest battle in the garden must be to save the Valencia orange from the relentless attack of snails. The snails have started eating the bark off the branches and are systematically killing the tree.

Snails in attack formation

I have sprayed the tree with soapy water in the hope that the snails will stop eating it but they are undeterred by this method. I imagine them eating away at the bark and leaves with soap suds billowing from their mouths like rabid terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs.

I like the scientific name for snails - terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs – it makes my problem sound serious. If I tell friends in the city that snails are invading my garden they look bored and roll their eyes as if to say how, can snails invade a garden when they hardly move. When I mention at a supper that terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs are invading my garden I have everybody’s attention.

Future test subjects

To understand my problem I had to research how snails eat. Snails have thousands of microscopic tooth-like structures located on a ribbon-like tongue called a radula. The radula works like a file, ripping food into small pieces.  I have seen the damage these snails can cause and it does look like the bark of the Valencia has been filed away.

The Naartjie wearing its copper band

I have decided to try copper bands around the trunks of the vulnerable citrus trees to prevent the snails from getting into the trees. Before I placed the copper around the trunks I decided to try the copper solution on two test subjects. The juvenile subject was placed in the copper wire circle and when it encountered the copper wire it pulled its smaller tentacles into its body. Clearly the description that snails experience a sort of electric shock when encountering the copper wire is true.

In a desperate need for satisfaction to avenge my suffering tree, I was hoping for loud screams from the snail. Unfortunately the whole experiment was silent and very slow. The second subject, an adult, was more determined to cross the copper barrier. It looked as though it was going to use its radula on the copper wire. I decided to move if the snail managed to file through the copper wire with its radula, but luckily it recoiled from the copper wire.

The two test subjects were relieved from the experiment and I am glad to say that they will not harm any plants in the future. Not because the experiment left them traumatised and made them change their plant eating ways but because they were squashed.

Close up of the copperbands around the Naartjie trunk

My trees are now the proud owners of sparkling copper bands around their trunks to prevent snails from attacking them. Now I have to be on the alert for copper thieves.