Snailien Invasion!!!

I've gotta hand it to us, we've been downright diligent with yard work. Every other evening we douse ourselves in bug spray and head outside to tinker with sprinklers, water the petunias (which I think might actually be dead), and weed like there's no tomorrow. Nate came up with the brilliant idea of watering the weed patch about a half hour before we head out, so we can actually make some progress. It has made our weeding sessions much more efficient. It also makes the snails very happy. And there are several of them.

As a kid I thought snails were very cool. I made them out of playdough, believed I'd found a real treasure when I found one of their shells, and enjoyed touching the ends of their eyes to watch them sink back into their gooey bodies. But that was when there was like one to deal with. I believe that our house is actually the North American Snail Association headquarters.

After watering, you cannot take three steps without crunching at least one snail (see background of picture - I know it's gross - just be glad you weren't the one who stepped on it.) And I get major heebie jeebies when I'm weeding, because they are very well-camouflaged and seem to hang out right in the spots I want to grab. And then it starts getting dark so we can't really see them, and we're trying to rid our flower bed what look like three foot tall stalks of wheat that tickle legs, necks, and arms at this vulnerable time. I'm sure we're a sight to behold. I do have to mention, though, that Nate is very brave and picks any visible snails off my section of weeds and throws them far away.

We've discussed several possible tactics for ridding ourselves of these slimeballs - my favorite so far is making a line of salt, turning on the sprinklers, and watching them migrate across the sidewalk to their doom. But I think we'll probably just buy some snail killer and hope for the best.