Yesterday was a super-hot day, and this morning was cool and dewy. Later, though, we're expecting temperatures higher than yesterday's.
So the gastropods were out enjoying the break in the heat while it lasted.
On the plus side, many of them will not have to suffer through today's heat. I brought them to my Soapy Bucket of Merciful Deliverance. (Thanks to Heddi for the tip!)
The gastropods in evidence were skewed heavily toward slugs today. My shocking discovery was a climbing rose against the back fence whose blooms closest to the ground were festooned with slugs. At a certain point, I decided that the most efficient way to get these slugs into the bucket of soapy (phosphate-free) water was just to pluck the entire blossom and toss it in. (I won't have to double-back to dead-head that rose bush later, I guess.)
I ended up hauling a bucket that looked like a rose petal bubble bath ... with a little something extra.
Today's take: 230 slugs and snails (maybe 2/3 slugs to 1/3 snails).
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There are quite a few recipes for snails and slugs. It is a shame to let them go to waste when you are going to so much effort.
http://www.squidoo.com/snail-recipes
OK, you have done snail/slug hunting for a number of days. Can't you just spray with salt water and be done with this? I do not know if it works, but it is an idea.
You rather not want to spray salt water (that is water with enough salt to kill snails & slugs) on ground you are cultivating food on. For some reason that tends to create soil that doesn't grow anything.
You appear to have found the prototype of the retaliatory trebuchet. I suppose this is a clew as to where the buggers are building the full-sized unit, and perhaps even what it looks like. I'd be very very careful poking around the back fenceâyou might suddenly be woken up by the breeze and find yourself covered in salty (or soapy?) water and being flung through the air.