Farming Friends

April 6th 2007

Garden Snail

Latin Name: Helix aspersa.

Description: The garden snail is a mollusc since it is an invertebrate (no backbone) which has a soft unsegmented body with an external shell. It has a soft grey coloured body, with two pairs of tentacles on it’s head (the larger pair have eyes on their tips and the smaller pair pick up smells) and a hard spiral-patterned shell on it’s back. The shell is yellow-brown in colour with brown-black stripes on it. The brown colouring is used to help camouflage the snail in woodland areas and the pattern helps the snail to blend in with vegetation. When garden snails move about they leave a silvery trail of mucus which helps them to travel over different surfaces more easily as the mucus reduces friction.

Size: The shell on a garden snail is approximately 40mm wide and 35mm high. The slug-like body is between 80-90mm long.

Habitat: Garden snails can be found living in a variety of habitats from gardens, hedgerows, woods and parks to coastal areas and chalk quarries. They need calcium for their shell and therefore like to live in areas where the soil is rich in calcium. The garden snail likes to inhabit dark, damp and well hidden areas.

Food: The garden snail likes to eat the leaves of many plants and vegetables. It will also eat rotting fruit, lichen and algae.

Breeding: The garden snail is a hermaphrodite and has both male and female sexual organs. It can produce both sperm and eggs, although it does need another snail in order to reproduce. Snails impregnate each other by pressing their bodies together and exchanging sperm. The breeding season is through the Spring and Summer months. Garden snails lay 20-50 eggs per batch which they bury in the ground. The eggs take approximately 3-4 weeks to hatch out. The hatchlings have soft and transparent shells.

Distribution: The garden snail is very common in Britain and Europe. It has also been introduced to North and South America, Australia and Southern Africa.

Months Seen: The garden snail hibernates in the Winter and spends hot and dry days in an inactive and dormant state. When this happens the snail withdraws into it’s shell and secretes one or more layers of mucus which hardens over the entrance of the shell to form a protective seal. During hibernation the snails tend to gather in large numbers. During the day the garden snail withdraws inside it’s shell and although they can sometimes be seen moving about in the day, the garden snail is active mainly at night.

Did You Know?

This snail is edible and is sold as escargot.
The garden snail is now raised on special snail farms for the catering industry.
The garden snail has a life span of about 2-3 years, although they can live longer.
Birds are a predator of the garden snail, particularly the songthrush.
If threatened by a predator, the snail produces a frothy substance as a defence.

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Snails

20 Comments »

Should I get rid of the snails in my kitchen garden? Do they do damage?
Thanks
Cynthia

Comment by cynthia — April 6, 2007 @ 2:32 pm
Hi Cynthia,

Unfortunately the garden snail is seen as a pest by many gardeners and vegetable growers since the snail predominantly eats leaf and plant materials. So yes the snails will damage your kitchen garden crops. You will probably never get rid of all the snails in your kitchen garden but you should try to control the numbers of snails to a reasonably low level. You can use either natural or chemical pest control. There are lots of organic and chemical products on the market as well as other methods of pest control such as picking the snails off the plants by hand. I hope that the garden snail does not eat all your kitchen garden plants and that you can get this garden pest under control.

Thanks for the question and I hope that helps. I will post an article about methods of snail control shortly but in the meantime check out topveg.com to see if they have any handy hints on pest control in the kitchen garden.

Sara @ Farming Friends

Comment by Sara @ Farming Friends — April 6, 2007 @ 2:58 pm
we found a garden snail and brought it home to keep it safe, even though the shell is broken, none of its body is at sight and hes still alive and well. my daughter named it Gary. I was wondering if we find him a new empty shell will it move in or thats just not possible?
thanks
van & lilo

Comment by van — October 16, 2007 @ 10:15 am
Hi Van & Lilo,
I am pleased to hear that your snail is alive and well despite it’s broken shell. What a great name for the snail. I believe that the snails body is attached to the shell so removal of the shell would damage the snail’s body and it would also dry out and die. Since the snail is attached to the shell, I don’t think that it will move into another shell. Thanks for such an interesting question. Hope this helps and hope Gary the snail is ok.
Sara @ farmingfriends

Comment by Sara @ Farming Friends — October 17, 2007 @ 8:54 am
Hi I was just wondering if i could gather snails from my garden and eat them? And if so how would i go about ensuring they were cleaned out ?

Comment by craig — February 13, 2008 @ 3:21 pm
Hi Craig, What an interesting question that I am sure many people have wondered.

I have done a bit of research and found that the Caferouge website states,

“There are many different types of edible snails in the world. The most common are:
Helix aspersa: also called the “small grey snail.”
Helix pomatia: also called “the Roman snail.” If you’re cooking snails it’s advisable to buy them from the supermarket or from another reputable snail retailer…..Garden snails can be eaten, but you have to be very careful that they have not been near harmful pesticides. It is also important to clean and prepare the snails correctly.”

I also found an interesting recipe which explains how to prepare, clean and cook the snails on the bbc website in a food and drink article for BBC Somerset.

“Mendip Wallfish Recipe
This version of the recipe is by Pat and Bob Reynolds

Collect snails, Helix Aspersa, the common brown garden snail.
Put into a container in which they can be kept moist and can breathe.
Feed them on bran or lettuce or cabbage leaves for 7 to 10 days. This cleanses them.
Put in a sieve and dunk them in boiling water for a few seconds to kill them.
Take the snails from the shells with a small fork, wash them off and then cook.
To cook about a 100 you need a pint of water, ¾ pint of cider, a large carrot and an onion cut into pieces.
Make sure the snails are covered in liquid.
Bring to the boil and simmer until tender for about an hour - it may take a little longer.
Rinse in hot water to clean off the bits of vegetables.

The snails need to be fed lettuce for 7-10 days
Meanwhile put the empty shells in a saucepan with salt and water and bring to the boil.
Boil for a few minutes then rinse in cold water.
Do this 3 times more to make sure the shells are clean.
Dry shells in the oven.

Now to the snails.
You will need a pound of butter for 100 snails.
If the butter is salty you will have no need to add any more salt to the recipe.
½ teaspoon of each of the following,
Chervil, Dill, Fennel Seed, Basil, Sage.
1 teaspoon Chives
3 teaspoons Parsley
Pinch of Cayenne Pepper.
You can use dried or fresh herbs for this.
Grind up all the herbs together and add them to the butter and mix in well.

Take a snail shell, put a little bit of the herb butter into it, then a snail and seal off the shell with more herb butter.
To serve, put the snails on a tray and put into a hot oven.
When the butter bubbles they are ready to eat.
Serve with cubes of bread to mop up the herb butter.”

This recipe sounds great. I don’t know if I am brave enough to eat garden snails but I would certainly purchase the commercial eating snails as I have tried snails in France and enjoyed them. Let me know if you have a go as well.

Hope this helps.

Sara @ farmingfriends

Comment by Sara @ Farming Friends — February 13, 2008 @ 4:50 pm
Thanks for the information ! I am certainly going to attempt this !

Comment by craig — February 13, 2008 @ 5:11 pm
We have a snail that we found in Sept 2007. It appears to be the same type of garden snail you have written about above. She (my 4 yr old has named her Gabriella) was about the size of a pencil eraser and now she is about the size of a nickel. We had a rock in her container but our cat knocked the container off the table and the rock must have fallen on top of her because the shell is now broken in a couple of places. This was 2 days ago. It appears as though she has somehow fixed the shape of the broken part of the shell but there is a small piece missing. I usually spritz her container with water once every day or so but would you say it is better to let her “hibernate” and perhaps heal herself if that’s possible? Also I see in the information you gave that they need calcium. We have only been giving her lettuce and carrots. Also, fresh grass when there is no snow on the ground but we are in the eastern US so it is winter right now. Are there any suggestions on what we could give her to increase her calcium intake? Also, come spring time should we look for another one as a “companion”?

Comment by Cindy — February 27, 2008 @ 2:39 pm
Please could a snail enthusiast let me know the answer to this question:, if you step on a snail and damage its shell, will it be able to survive and grow a new one? or is it best to put it out of its misery? thank you, Jeremy

Comment by jeremy blake — April 20, 2008 @ 7:21 pm
same question please about stepping on snail which I just did and then decided to kill it quickly which was really horrid. Can they regrow their shells?

Comment by Nadia Smithers — April 23, 2008 @ 11:17 am
Same question as the two above only with a specific part - I have a snail I found that someone had stepped on with a glancing blow. The rim of the shell is still connected, but a large part right between the rim and the rest of the shell is completely missing and the snail is now coming out of that hole. So he’s got his shell on one side of his body and the rim of his shell on the other if that makes sense. If he regrows his shell, he’s going to get squashed between the new growth and the rim. But he seems really healthy otherwise and I really don’t want to kill him. Is there anything I can do to help him? I’m afraid if I try to take off the rim, I’m going to make it worse - it isn’t going to just pull off. It’s really on there strongly still - I thought about cutting it off, but I have nothing to cut it with - I don’t think anything like scissors will do it and I’m afraid I’ll crush him or cut him.
Thank you.

Comment by A — June 6, 2008 @ 12:41 pm
I live in Louisiana and raise helix aspersa (garden snails) snails, and just wanted to know that if anyone has any snails in their yard that they want to get rid of, I will buy them from you! No small ones, though, they need to be left alone because they are VERY breakable! Well, thanks! You can just email me if you have any snails for me!

my email address: additupncm504@gmail.com

Comment by Nicole Milburn — June 20, 2008 @ 1:03 am
Hi I have unfortunatly stood on a snail most of the shell brushed off but he is still alive can he survive and rebuild his shell. I have put him out of harms way and he has got food. Please let me know

Comment by spirit — July 2, 2008 @ 8:56 pm
hi I have a garden snail as my pet how do i get it out of her shell??????

Comment by reno 233 — July 10, 2008 @ 8:46 pm
hi I have had a garden snail (jack) living in one of my potted pants for 7 years and still going strong. I feed him lettuce and corn meal and fruit. How long can they live?? I have some helpful hints about snails I learned as I went. Happy to share if anyone is interested.

Comment by Cheri Browne — July 26, 2008 @ 1:47 pm
Hello!
I have a very small garden snail and it’s only a few milimeters how big does it grow? I found this snail in the supermarket. It was stuck on SPINACH! I was very surprised! So I decided to keep it safe and now I LUV snails. Could u please tell me a great website on snails? Thank you!

Comment by Liz — August 14, 2008 @ 10:27 am
hi i have 2 garden snails and 1 egg (i am trying to be a snail breeder) how do i care for the egg ?

Comment by james — August 18, 2008 @ 4:43 pm
:):):):):):):)

Comment by bob — September 11, 2008 @ 1:37 pm
Hi, I work at a florist & yesterday a co-worker found a brown garden snail in one of the shipments & gave it to me. I’m debating if I should keep it or let it go. If I do keep it… how should I care for it? If you’ve any information please let me know. Thanks a bunch.
PS, what a wonderful & informitive website, thanks

Comment by Sarah Camp — October 1, 2008 @ 5:15 pm
Hello, I’d like to ask what is a garden snails impact on civilization?

p.s Urgent

Comment by annie — November 15, 2008 @ 8:52 pm