I used to do the night time Snail Patrol back at our old house. Flashlight, disposable gloves, and a gallon sized Ziploc bag were my tools of choice. (Apart from being squeamish, I too had some concerns about parasites (and what does that say about the safety of our fresh lettuce and herbs and green onions?
).) But that yard had some scattered light from the street lights, even without using a flashlight (though, of course, you still needed one). (Nowadays, if I were still doing Snail Patrol, I
would use one of my hiking headlamps. I didn't have one back then/there.)
At the current house, it is too dark and creepy outside to do Snail Patrol, unless maybe right off of the patio. There are too many critters, no street lights (and not many yard lights) and 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.
* Rustle * * Creak * * Snap * * HMMMMMMMM *
I'm outta there and back inside!
(Fortunately, the bird population here has been somewhat helpful in keeping the snail numbers down, and maybe also the slugs. I keep coming across empty or broken snail shells, and I know they weren't from Warp or me. We do have crows and scrub jays resident in the neighborhood, so one has to wonder. However one year we had a bird that kept knocking the little irrigation valve covers off (because snails like to hide down there below ground by the valves), leaving smashed snail shells nearby, and otherwise scattering the mulch around. I finally managed to spot what it was and (with my Audubon handbook) solve that mystery - it was a California Thrasher.
http://www.audubon.org/field-g... )
