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El Día de los Caracoles
Apr. 14th, 2003 09:04 amThis will be the title of my low-budget horror film when it airs on the local Spanish language channels.
Why, you ask, am I planning to make a horror film? Well, you see my life this weekend kinda turned into one without any effort on my part. I woke up Saturday morning, a bit later than intended as there was 7th Sea, then the Indian flick "Fire" that I'd rented. Went through the usual routine, and as I opened the front window blinds gazed out in horror to see garden snails everywhere! It was between torrential downpours so I growled, "Oh hell no," and started scooping the little demons into an empty flower pot I had lying around. I transferred them to Stalag 17 (or the green yardwaste bin) and after about 50 of the worst offenders had been located, I slammed the top shut. Then went into the backyard and finding even more, added them to my new compost bucket. My secret ingredient!
I then ran my regularly scheduled errands and got back only slightly more damp than I'd hoped to. Shared the war stories with Aelf, who was equally as horrified as myself and we both vowed death to snail-kind.
Zoomed up to RWC for dinner with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
elo_sf and philipalden, sushi, yum! Then we sat around chatting for a bit which was delightful. Got back a bit later than expected and as I pulled into the driveway both Aelf and myself were dumfounded. See, the driveway, front walk, even the garage door, were all teeming with snails!
Would that I'd had a video camera...
Anyway, Aelf flew out of the car and began knocking them off the garage door as I pulled in. Grabbing some rubber gloves she looked at me and asked, "Ok so what do we do with them?" I first suggested Stalag 17, but realized we had more than enough POWs (or experimental subjects as I like to call them) to test some different snail deterrants on. So I went in the house and came back with a large container of salt and then I introduced my roommate to the joys of white, salty death.
When I pointed out that they make a little hissing noise and fizz when they die Aelf began to chuckle darkly. It all went downhill from there.
In an orgy of killing unprecedented in the annals of Santa Clara, we rained death and destruction on our slimy foes. One by one we gathered them, flipped 'em, and salted 'em. Now I am a peaceful person by nature, and a lover of most creatures on this planet. But I will not abide those things taking over my yards!
I think we spent at least a half an hour bringing about the demise of at minimum 3 dozen more snails. Dead ones were scooped into a plastic bag and added to the trash, leaving just the goo to deal with. I'm considering a beer trap but am concerned that my killer snails might be attracted. I'm also contemplating various copper barriers, which will be instituted on the Stalag to judge their effectiveness. The best ones will be added to large areas of the yard and plantings for added protection.
Andelo_sf suggested attempting to rent a duck for a bit as apparently they're voracious snail killers. Of course it does beg the question, where and by what means would one go about renting a duck? All suggestions are welcome.
( Let's dance! )
Why, you ask, am I planning to make a horror film? Well, you see my life this weekend kinda turned into one without any effort on my part. I woke up Saturday morning, a bit later than intended as there was 7th Sea, then the Indian flick "Fire" that I'd rented. Went through the usual routine, and as I opened the front window blinds gazed out in horror to see garden snails everywhere! It was between torrential downpours so I growled, "Oh hell no," and started scooping the little demons into an empty flower pot I had lying around. I transferred them to Stalag 17 (or the green yardwaste bin) and after about 50 of the worst offenders had been located, I slammed the top shut. Then went into the backyard and finding even more, added them to my new compost bucket. My secret ingredient!
I then ran my regularly scheduled errands and got back only slightly more damp than I'd hoped to. Shared the war stories with Aelf, who was equally as horrified as myself and we both vowed death to snail-kind.
Zoomed up to RWC for dinner with
elo_sf and philipalden, sushi, yum! Then we sat around chatting for a bit which was delightful. Got back a bit later than expected and as I pulled into the driveway both Aelf and myself were dumfounded. See, the driveway, front walk, even the garage door, were all teeming with snails!Would that I'd had a video camera...
Anyway, Aelf flew out of the car and began knocking them off the garage door as I pulled in. Grabbing some rubber gloves she looked at me and asked, "Ok so what do we do with them?" I first suggested Stalag 17, but realized we had more than enough POWs (or experimental subjects as I like to call them) to test some different snail deterrants on. So I went in the house and came back with a large container of salt and then I introduced my roommate to the joys of white, salty death.
When I pointed out that they make a little hissing noise and fizz when they die Aelf began to chuckle darkly. It all went downhill from there.
In an orgy of killing unprecedented in the annals of Santa Clara, we rained death and destruction on our slimy foes. One by one we gathered them, flipped 'em, and salted 'em. Now I am a peaceful person by nature, and a lover of most creatures on this planet. But I will not abide those things taking over my yards!
I think we spent at least a half an hour bringing about the demise of at minimum 3 dozen more snails. Dead ones were scooped into a plastic bag and added to the trash, leaving just the goo to deal with. I'm considering a beer trap but am concerned that my killer snails might be attracted. I'm also contemplating various copper barriers, which will be instituted on the Stalag to judge their effectiveness. The best ones will be added to large areas of the yard and plantings for added protection.
And
elo_sf suggested attempting to rent a duck for a bit as apparently they're voracious snail killers. Of course it does beg the question, where and by what means would one go about renting a duck? All suggestions are welcome.( Let's dance! )
