Page 64 - AG 7-2011 Revised 2016

Brown Garden Snail Brown Garden Snail

Photo Courtesy of UNIVAR Photo Courtesy of UNIVAR

Brown Garden Snail Brown Garden Snail eggs
damage to orange tree leaves in potting soil

Photo Courtesy of UNIVAR Photo Courtesy of UNIVAR

1.Antenna- none 6.Thorax- none Snail 2
2.Eyes- antenna-like eye stalks 7.Petiole- none
3.Head 8.Abdomen- long slimy body 10
4.Legs- none 9.Color- gray to dark brown
5.Wings- none 10.Other- brown shell

Life Cycle 8
Snails have both sex organs and are hermaphrodites. They mate with another
snail, then both lay eggs. Eggs (fewer than 200) are laid in small cavities in the PhPothootCooCuorutertseysyofoUf UNNIVIVAARR
soil hollowed out by the parent. They hatch in less than three weeks. Newly
hatched snails stay close to their birthplace for several days feeding on the
surrounding vegetation. It takes one to three years to reach maturity.

Snails were brought to the U.S. from Europe in the 1850’s, with the idea that they would be a
food, like they are over there. Instead, they became a prolific and very destructive pest. Snails
are mollusks and are related to sea creatures. They need moisture to survive and, if their
environment suddenly won’t support them any longer, they are able to go dormant for periods of
two to four years. They do this by discharging mucus around the entrance to their shell to seal it
shut. When they sense the environment has become favorable they come out and proceed with
their life cycle. They can be very destructive to garden plants and citrus trees.

Snails are also the favorite food of roof rats. When snails start disappearing and you find hollow
or crushed snail shells around, you can almost take it for granted that a small animal is eating
the snails (most probably a rat).

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