Going out at night would be a big NO for me. I am afraid of spiders and here all the big orb weavers seem to build their nests at night. I can look out my back door about dusk and see them all dropping out of the trees so they can start building their webs.

* shudder *

Polymerous said:...I don't fancy a nocturnal encounter with the resident rats or raccoons. Not to mention that with the creek, it is definitely too mosquito-y, and I am more sensitive to their bites than most people.

Sensitivity aside, there are too many new viruses floating about to be casual about mosquitos, and I really don't like the idea of having DEET all over me, either. I wear long-sleeved white cotton/canvas shirts as protection from the sun and heat, and I've thought seriously about getting a beekeeper's-style hat, or maybe adding organza netting to my Tilley hat.

Polymerous said:I keep coming across empty or broken snail shells, and I know they weren't from Warp or me.

When I ran large numbers of seedlings, I used to find piles of snail shells stashed in my seedling beds, and I determined that it was rats. Each shell had a dime-sized hole nibbled in it at the tip of the spiral, which I assumed was a strategy to avoid the slime. I believe that the liver is at that location. Paté le helix, c'est magnifiqué!

Holy crow! (We really need an ACK!!! type of smilie!)

We certainly have the rats here... but how on earth did you figure out that it was the rats that were eating the snails?

It was a combination of things.
The property backs up against open space, including a creek, so there are skunks, foxes, opossum, raccoons, rats, gophers, and field mice. Crows, at that time, had not invaded to the levels they have now. Blue Jays were plentiful. I had 4' fencing around the seedling patch to keep my dog out. A rat could get through, but nothing larger. And, there were lots of rats.

I couldn't envision a bird "hoarding" the snails into little piles, whereas rats do tend to stash things. The shells appeared to be nibbled, not pecked open, and anything larger would have left tracks in the soft beds or would have damaged plants while gathering snails.

Good investigation, Ken, but terrible find!!

I haven't had too much trouble with snails here. But when I was on the mainland I used to catch them and put them in a bin of oatmeal to clean them out and fatten them up. They were delicious in garlic. The only problem is after awhile there are not enough for regular snacks. I think they call this "turning off functional fixedness" when problem solving.

What we have here in CA is the common brown garden snail. What I have read is that the infestation is all the fault of French immigrants who just had to bring their snails with them... http://www.independent.com/new...

I'm not about to start snail farming here, though one person has tried it. http://www.salon.com/2007/07/2... (Yes, I've had escargot a few times. Interesting, but the texture was always a bit rubbery and it is not something that I really care to re-order.)

What excellent articles, Polymerous!!

Polymerous said:What we have here in CA is the common brown garden snail.

Ah, yes. Good ol' Helix aspersa. Brings back some interesting memories; sophomore year, high school biology class, the subject of a 15k word term paper. Talk about having to scrape for information.

I've had escargot a few times. Interesting, but the texture was always a bit rubbery and it is not something that I really care to re-order.)

I feel the same way about it—rubbery, with a slight liver aftertaste—but to its credit, it was my introduction to drawn garlic butter.

Lol, Ken - I agree that drawn garlic butter is great, but my introduction to it was via crab legs - a much more pleasant dining experience!