Gardeners, watch out: snails are sliding into season
I AM starting to reappraise the Japanese concept of micro-seasons, where the year is split into 72 periods.
Certainly over the past five days, we have slipped from one to another: from late spring drought to the snail season of warm sunshine and plothering rain.
My first two rows of lettuces have been gobbled overnight by a couple of such rogues.
The plentiful frogs that reside around our garden pond normally keep the slugs in check, and in previous years we have had chickens to take care of the snails. This year, though, we are between birds and so have lost a vital last line of defence.
Also, normally blackbirds guzzle up their fair share but after being everpresent over winter, they seem to have disappeared to nest. And so it is open season out there: the snails are running amok.
After rousing from their winter hibernation, where they seal themselves inside their shells and allow their metabolism drop, the gastropods wait for the wet days of spring to glide out in pursuit of foliage.
The snail movement is fascinating when you consider it up close – they propel themselves forwards by generating waves of muscular pulses that run the length of their bodies, and can travel up to 80ft over a 24-hour period.
They also possess a remarkable homing instinct. Research has shown that snails can return to a home location from 65ft away, which means my current preferred means of deterrence – creeping out under torchlight and slinging them over the garden fence (apologies, neighbours, if you are reading this) – may not be all that effective.
Over the weekend and into the next week, the occasional rain showers are persisting, and, after the exceptionally dry past few weeks, are very welcome, too.
But more rain means more snails. Might be time to unleash another brood of chickens in defence?