Do Plants Smell To Snails??

[Smowball]

Sounds a bit random, but in my garden right at the back in a pot I have a hosta. There is absolutely nothing else near it and yet the snails appear in this pot from nowhere and decimate it. The rest of the garden leading up to this pot on the decking has geraniums , azaleas, Bizzy lizzies, all untouched by snails and slugs so how do they know to go all the way up to this pot and find the hosta? Why is it so appetising??

[1ozzy]

Yes, snails have a sense of smell, and in fact, it is their best-developed sense.

Or so Google tells me.

[Smowball]

Well I never - hostas must smell quite strong and be very tasty!!

[ummmm]

I used to have a large garden in my old house. It was all laid to lawn except for one apple tree yet it was covered in snails. They invaded at night but I really couldn't understand the appeal.

[Smowball]

Strange isn't it. I think hostas are well known for being devoured by snails but I really don't know why. Where this pot is there is no soil , no gaps in wall, nothing - the snails would have to travel metres and metres to get to it.

[Togo]

Snails and slugs love Hostas I am afraid Smow. Copper band around the top of the pot and position it so that they cannot transfer across from nearby pots or plants.

[ummmm]

I'd also like to know why slugs come in the house and how the hell do they get in!

I hate slugs.

[Smowball]

Sneaky litter critters!

[Togo]

The damn things can elongate their slimy torso to get through the eye of a needle ummm. Is your house built with a solid base floor or suspended wooden or weyroc boards. If it is boards they may be getting in through the airbricks it is a solid base floor they can happily live under there( nice and warm) as they do under a patio or paved area. You could try sprinkling nematode slug control around the area that they appear. This year is worse than ever after a warm winter.

[Togo]

Amazon.co.uk User Recommendation

[ummmm]

It's a 1920's house I believe. It's very hit and miss with them. We have a lean to which houses the washing machine and dryer. Sometimes I see slug trails over the clothes in the washing basket. Other times I've seen signs of them at the front which is double glazed so I can't figure out how they get in.

[DTCwordfan]

Now here is a large beastie for your garden, smow...

http://newshour-tc.pbs.org/newshour/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/6419008191_f679db656e_o-1024x655.jpg

[Quoi]

slugs - they can't run but they can hide ;0)

I always find they prefer a dead slug to the plants - if you squish one and leave the remains you will be able to squish more when they feed off the body.
note - I know what you are thinking but I was out of slugs before the pile got tooo big.

[ummmm]

Ewwww....

I ate snails in France. It was like eating garlic flavoured rubber tyres. Ordered snails from a local Italian restaurant and they were lovely. Who would have thought it.

[Cloverjo]

I used to live in a student house which had snail trails in the kitchen and living room, but nowhere else. We didn't have a garden, so god knows where they came from or went.

[Cloverjo]

I have eaten snails. I quite like them, but they can be a bit too garlicky for some tastes.

[Smowball]

OMG DTC . Good lord!

[Old_Geezer]

Advertising you are available to eat seems an odd evolutionary advantage for the hosta to have developed.

[Smowball]

That is very true lol

[wildwood]

... and they are picky eaters too. The first tender shoots of dahlias seem to be delicious to them. When the plants are older they don't seem to attract the same amount of slimy critters.

I've heard more than once, that a glass jar dug in the soil halfway on a 45° angle and put a little bit of beer in it, will be like a picnic for slugs and snail. They are supposed to fall (slide) in and become intoxicated so they drown in the amber liquid. We are not bothered with snails so haven't tried it yet. Besides, who would waste beer??? Then again.... they would be half pickled before you fry them.

I'll get my coat.

[hammerman]

Stand your pot of Hostas in a large drip tray and keep it filled with water....Hostas love water, slugs don't !!!!!