Spring has barely arrived and there is still real April weather around the country with alternating sun, rain and snow. But the cooler and wetter period has been favorable for the infamous killer snail.
In several places, the killer snails have already been seen, which is unusually early according to the snail expert Ted von Proschwitz.
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The killer snails are back unusually early
He has studied snails for over 50 years and has himself reflected that the snails have already appeared.
– They are unusually early this year. I have seen several examples myself and people have heard that they have appeared in several different places already, he says Bohuslänningen.
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A lot speaks for a snail-rich year
You can’t yet conclude that it will be a snail-rich year, but there is a lot that speaks for this already.
– They usually arrive at the end of April and the beginning of May. They thrive in moist and wet environments and the young animals then emerge from their winter hibernation. If the spring is dry, the risk of the young animals dying increases, which in turn reduces the risk of them being numerous that year, says Ted von Proschwitz to P4 West.
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Time to act now if you want snail-free
If you want smaller singles later this year, according to Ted von Proschwitz, it’s time to act now.
– Kill as many as you can now and in the next few weeks, then they won’t have time to reproduce. You benefit from that throughout the summer, he tells the newspaper.
He believes the best way to kill a killer snail is to chop its head off with a shovel, it is the least painful way as the snails die immediately.
Photo: Anders Wiklund/TT
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