CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » General Edinburgh

Mollusc manslaughter

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  1. unhurt
    Member

    Is anyone else suffering autumnal trauma due to accidentally murderating slugs and snails with their wheels? Currently home has a narrow paved path between a hedge & an overgrown strawberry bed. If I get home after about 6pm it's almost impossible to get my pannier-laden bike to the front door without crushing any of the wee one-footed beasties ranged across the path. Am I going to have to start doing a torch-assisted relocation before I take the bike inside, or should I just toughen up a bit?

    ...I might have previously has issues on the tow path attempting to steer round all the snails I met. Once i'd worked out what those intermittent crunching noises were. Almost as bad as the time I accidentally strimmed a frog. :(

    (Maybe if I insisted they all wear tiny mollusc-sized hi-viz...?)

    Posted 8 years ago #

  2. gembo
    Member

    The population is on the increase so depends on your view around individual snails and slugs? Set against your views on the rights of plants which they eat voraciously?

    I used a beer bath as suggested on here when I was awAy on holiday to keep them down as they had munched their way through my tatie shaws. A copper strip works round your plant pots. They don't like coffee grins if you want to coat the path? Or a broom for sweeping before you use the path?

    Posted 8 years ago #

  3. Stickman
    Member

    There are some days where the Pinkhill path is covered with snails. I've not quite figured out the weather conditions that being them out. It's difficult to avoid them all.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  4. dougal
    Member

    "I used a beer bath as suggested on here when I was awAy on holiday "

    I wondered what the secret to your youthful complexion was.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  5. chdot
    Admin

    No, it's all the Apple Pie Bakery goods.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  6. unhurt
    Member

    Plants don't go crunch/squish or create horrible piles of orange innards though! So I lean towards saving the plant-eaters. This may change next spring if they eat too many strawberries but for now perhaps it's time to invest in a broom...

    Posted 8 years ago #

  7. threefromleith
    Member

    A good game of Slug & Snail Slalom certainly livens up the ascent of the Balgreen Tram path on a dull, damp morning!

    Posted 8 years ago #

  8. kaputnik
    Moderator

    Slugs and snails are hermaphrodites, not sure "manslaughter" is the correct word? Culpable Gastropodicide?

    Posted 8 years ago #

  9. unhurt
    Member

    I stand corrected and will adopt your terminology!

    Slug & Snail Slalom is also going into the word store.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  10. Greenroofer
    Member

    @unhurt maybe try to develop an interest in hostas or dahlias (both very lovely plants that are much enjoyed by gastropods) so that your perspective changes and you can become more sanguine about the death of the occasional snail.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  11. gembo
    Member

    They are also partial to the sweet pea

    Posted 8 years ago #

  12. unhurt
    Member

    @Greenroofer are you suggesting I learn to hate?!
    (Actually, I do recall going out into the mother's back garden on a warm, moist night and being able to hear the munching of the hordes of snails on her hostas. Problem is I think snails are more attractive than hostas! The parent doesn't agree though, and I believe war was declared...)

    Posted 8 years ago #

  13. gembo
    Member

    The copper tape round the plant pot deters but does not kill snails and slugs? But unhurt, your strawberries stand no chance.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  14. acsimpson
    Member

    I findmy passenger totally stops garden pests from attacking the strawbs. Unfortunately this is done by eating them in the not quite ripe yet stage.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  15. unhurt
    Member

    ...eating the unripe strawberries or the unripe slugs/snails?

    Posted 8 years ago #

  16. acsimpson
    Member

    I'm still working on the later, sadly he's quite good at spotting them on lettuce leaves.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  17. paulmilne
    Member

    Depends on how far you'll go to avoid harming other living creatures.

    Line your path with solar power path lights so you have a chance of spotting the beasties. And hoist your bike up instead of wheeling it - sure it's heavy, but that's a small price to pay to save lives, isn't it?

    You could also scatter salt across your path, that would make it non-slippy as well.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  18. gembo
    Member

    Slugs not keen on salt in fact salt is slug cyanide

    Posted 8 years ago #

  19. unhurt
    Member

    I assumed that was evidence that paulmilne was cruelly pretending what appeared at first to be Janaist leanings!

    Posted 8 years ago #

  20. Arellcat
    Moderator

    Slugs and snails are hermaphrodites, not sure "manslaughter" is the correct word? Culpable Gastropodicide?

    They also don't have ears and so won't hear you approaching and be able to run* out of the way.

    * Other velocities of perambulation are available.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  21. Min
    Member

    Slippery little suckers. For that reason, best avoided if possible.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  22. PS
    Member

    The sheer number of these fellas is Nature's way of saying it expects a lot of them to die, isn't it?

    Posted 8 years ago #

  23. Arellcat
    Moderator

    And the sheer capacity for thought in human brains is Nature's way of saying it expects us to be able to walk or cycle around them.

    Posted 8 years ago #

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