Snail trail

IT’S not a homing instinct that explains why paintmarked snails find their way back the day after being thrown over the neighbour’s fence (Letters).

Perhaps the neighbour has thrown them back. This could go on for ever! SUE BAILEY, Skipton, N. Yorks. I OPENED my back door one Christmas Eve and found a large snail on the doorstep. I hurled it over the fence, far into my neighbour’s garden.

The following Christmas, there was a tapping on my back door. I opened it to find a large snail on the doorstep. He looked up at me and said: ‘What did you do that for?’ PHILIP HIRST, Malvern, Worcs. I FAIL to understand why some people regard snails as a problem. This is tasty food coming to you, so if they are the right species and you don’t use pesticides in your garden, you could cook them.

STEvEN DJOGO, Bedford. I AM interested that hot chilli sauce has deterred snails from hostas (Letters).

I was plagued by squirrels digging up bulbs, but I found sprinkling extra hot chilli powder around flowerbeds and pots has stopped them.

J. LITTLEY, Chislehurst, Kent.