This morning was a lovely cool morning, one of
the last cold fronts over the western cape before
the long hot summer. I stroled through the garden enjoying it for a few moments then my eyes
caught this aloe. The snails were out late on this
cool morning having a brunch before they hide
for the day !
"People pay to have snail slime on their skin,
I am getting this for free" - I told myself
while squashing the snails between my fingers.
In case you do not know it seems the word
is going around that snail slime is one of
those "proven" remedies for a youthfull skin.
I took many years off the age of the skin on
my hands but it did not improve the beauty
of my hands which were scratched and
bitten by the sharp teeth of the aloes at the
same time. It is not easy to get the snails
out between the aloe leaves.
I feel like doing something to that neck !
Something slower than a quick squash
between my fingers.
Unbelievable ...this juvenile snail could not
have eaten all that much in one sitting, he
must be the last one remaining after a party.
Rot can set in where the skin is broken in
aloes and other succulents. The hole, on
the top right side of the photo above this
one must be from the previous party,
it dried out well so there is no danger
of rot any more.
I believe these two snails are an endemic
snail species. I do not know anything
about the identity of snails, you are
to help me out there. We see them often
along the western coast (South Africa).
They climb on the wooden fence poles
and sit in a bundle. It seems easy to kill
them, but those on the poles is only the
tip of the snail-mountain. I have not
seen them sitting in bundles on poles
where we live, 100 km inland. They
are not as many as on the coast, but they
do a lot of damage all the same.
Could this be the delicatessen snail which
arrived here from France? I am not tempted
to try, but if we would learn to enjoy eating
escargot that would solve more than one
problem.
19 comments:
I think I'd rather have rough skin!
But . . . do you think snail slime from aloe-eating snails is better than from snails who eat other things?
Lucy
I can feel the difference if I use the gel from the aloe on my skin. Now regarding the aloe eating snail - To be honest I do not think so. The snail digest the plant material and I would think the body absorb what it needs and discard the rest. The slime would contain the same ingredients in the end ? I cannot imagine anybody covering themselves with snail slime, but I am so furious that I do not mind as long as I kill them. Thinking about it, the slime is without odor and it leaves no residue. Very clean. Thinking about it is the worst part.
It seems like you had a huge party in the backyard last night! This is my first time seeing snail eat aloe. Aloe's skin is very thick. right?
If you look at the photo on my web site it will seem that the skin is thick, but the skin of the aloe is very thin. It is a transparent thin skin followed by a dark green layer with the soft gel layer in the middle.
More like a tomato, not near to an apple.
Every thing here ..beautiful
I didn't know snails ate aloe--or that people used snail slime as a skin youthener. Well, I've heard of worse.
Too bad you can't try salt, which works for slugs, but of course that wouldn't be so great for the aloes. Let's hope this snail turns out to be edible, and you can just use salt and butter!
nice blog ...it is eating succulent and lophophora i collcted snail and kill them .
I am sorry xav.
posts like "your blog is nice.... link" seem like spam to me. I visited your blog and it is open on invitation only. I do not see the advantage to link to your blog for readers of my site.
aloe is said to be healthy but now I learned it not proven
Aloe veras are over used in Puerto Rico, particularly, in our San Juan, Metro Area.
In my wide collection, however, there is one. The beauty of its architecture, and most Agavaceas with this shape, are hard to ignore.
On the other hand we do not have
Sabilas loving snails!
Excelent blog!
Your comment to xav is pertinent, for your reasons and others.
What is the point as in some blog I frequent, to see the groupies as in a command, all stating: nice, beautiful, I dream of tropical breezes,and so on.
I am glad when someone looks at whatever, or read whatever and comes with some thought/idea/concept that will help me
improve my garden or the concept
of gardening I work on.
Until then.
Your second snail looks just like the ones I fight up here in the mountains of Arizona, meaning that, yes, indeed, it is the very same import from France. Just because they are escargot does not make them any nicer in my garden!
Hi Granny !
It is nice to see you are on the run as usual. I had some drama with my new comper and the slow www service in South Africa but I am going to hop over to your site ASAP.
Granny I hope you see this note and I hope other bloggers will take note and have sympathy with us web-tortoises. Please change the setting that wants a new page to open for comment. It times out for me. It seems that the whole blog must load before the comment thingy loads.
Even though you retired I can still see your journalistic talent for adventure, photography and a gift to use words all over your blog. I like the " big cats", in a perspective I would not even have noticed.
You might like my big and small cats playing on my blog felinetalk
I LIVE IN SOUTH FLORIDA AND I HADN'T KNOWN THAT SNAILS EAT ALOE EITHER UNTILL MINE GOT EATEN, SOMEONE TOLD ME ABOUT MIXING 3 TBS OF LEMON DISH LIQUID IN A GALLON OF WATER AND SPRAYING SO FAR IT SEEMS TO BE WORKING AND THE ALLOW DOESN'T SEEM TO BE ANY WORSE AND IMPROVING SLOWLY.
Thank you Anonymous, for that tip. I am going to spay the dishwashing liquid as soon as the sun is up. (now 2:53 surfing is faster at night )
Oh yes !! I can not wait!
Ericat dear,
Just love reading your blog and the many comments you get. I don't blog much about my plants, but do love my small gardens. As I live in Kansas, I am not as fortunate as you and some of your many readers with your aloe plants. Thank you so much for sharing all these wonderful pictures, words of wisdom and just plain love of these beautiful aloe plants with us!! I found you by going to the next blog button at the top of my blog. Loved finding you!! As I said in earlier comment, I will be back soon. I logged in here to tell you about the dishsoap and lemon juice idea, but some one else beat me to it. I can pass on the if there is a weed that you wish to kill, you can use 1 Tablespoon of dishsoap, 1teaspoon of vinegar, and 1 teaspoon of salt to 1 guart of water and spray on plant a couple of times in two days, and it will dry and die. Don't know if you will need that hint. (Hopefully you don't!)
Thanks again.
Hope you have a wonderfully blessed day.
Debi
+
I was SHOCKED to see my Aloe plant is being devoured by snails!! HELP!!! 😱
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