Gardeners on guard as marauding hordes of snails invade vegetable patches

Successive summers of cool and wet weather have resulted in perfect breeding conditions for the garden pests, much to the chagrin of householders fearing for the survival of their prized plants.

Andrew Halstead, of the Royal Horticultural Society, said: 'Cool and wet weather conditions improves the snails' success at breeding and of course you are more likely to see them when the weather is cool and wet, as it has been this year.'

Infestation: snails are taking over British gardens

Mr Halstead added: 'It is mainly down to the weather that people will see an increase in snails and there is very little they can do about it except their usual methods of pest control. They are a problem for gardeners, particularly in the spring when they eat the young shoots and plants that are just starting to grow and are at their most vulnerable.

By the time you get to late summer the plants have done most of their growing so snails are not so much of a problem.'

The explosion in snail numbers has resulted in gardeners across the country writing on internet message boards desperately seeking ways to save their plants.

In a recent posting on the BBC website, Richard Jones, the gardening expert for Gardener's World, said he could 'barely walk to the front gate without the familiar sound of snails crunching underfoot'.

He said there are many ways of dealing with snails, from stamping on them to laying down a trail of salt. But he added, collecting them by hand and leaving them in the countryside or woods is a more humane approach.

Encouraging natural predators into your garden, such as thrushes, toads and hedgehogs, and surrounding vulnerable plants with barriers such as copper tape or egg shells are also suggested ways of stopping the marauding hordes.

Other tactics include shop-bought pellets or bowls of dog food or beer, both of which are said to attract snails.