On two separate occasions I have opened the bonnet on my '52 VRs to find B-B-Q'd snails well and truly baked onto the engine cover, alloy head, and on the surrounding wiring. It appears that somehow the snails are making their home on my engine overnight...and getting cooked the next morning when I drive off. It's taking ages to clean the mess that remains.

Has anyone experienced this strange phenomena...and does anyone have a suggestion for irradicating this problem. I'm having to open the bonnet to check before driving off, but have still been caught out when I don't check. It's as though they know. I am now even considering a boundary of slug pellets around my car at nightfall to try to stop these annoying creatures.

Help.....a desparate vrs owner.

(checks calendar ... nope! )

Slug pellets or a slug trap containing beer are all I can think of, sorry.

Drive a bit faster..........They won't catch you then.... Better still Get a Furbie vRS

Do you park on or near grass when you come in from work in the evenings ?

At least snails are better than finding dead birds in the front grill, or a mouse eating the wiring !!

run a ring of table salt on the floor around each front tyre

Drive over to the continent and sell your delicacies to the French.

They must be seeking out a smell they like. Slugs and snails love the smell of beer - maybe there's something they like under your bonnet. (If they've gone cannibalistic then you might have entered a vicious circle here...)

Try putting out "tasters" of different things on the drive and run a snail snack bar:

some long-life oil, some power steering fluid, windscreen wash, battery acid, etc, and see how much interest they all get.

Be patient though - these guys never like to look in a rush.

As ncarring says, putting a preferable trap nearby should do it. Be interesting to see how many you get in your beer bottle/can.

broken egg shells under the engine cover??

Joel

Strangely there was a snail on the wing of the Ibiza this morning, it was on the middle of the bonnet by the time I got to work, with a skid mark from where it started.

Strangely there was a snail on the wing of the Ibiza this morning, it was on the middle of the bonnet by the time I got to work, with a skid mark from where it started.

He must have wheelspun. The earlier model snails had lighter shells and couldn't lay the power down properly.

He must have wheelspun. The earlier model snails had lighter shells and couldn't lay the power down properly.

FPMSL

:eek: Thanks for your replies guys. Well last night it was rather wet outside....so ...torch in hand went for a look see. Blow me wasn't a little fella trying to pull his (or her ! ) shell through my front spoiler grill...from the inside of the spoiler to the outside. Only this one snail visible on the car.....lifted the bonnet to check.....all clear. However my brick gate post was crawling with them.....small baby ones at that. Obviously nursery was out ! Going to try a snail beer trap in the garden to divert them from my Octy. The black under bonnet sound insulation shows up the trails when they have been on the march around the engine bay. Checked again first thing this morning...all clear. Will have to check late on & early doors to keep on top of them. Wish me luck.

If you use the beer trap make sure you empty it regulary as I tried this once and forgot to empty it...the smell was horrendus!

If you use the beer trap make sure you empty it regulary as I tried this once and forgot to empty it...the smell was horrendus!

I used to refill mine every nite - 1" for the slugs, and the rest for me

:orb_lol: :orb_lol: :orb_lol:

Drive a bit faster..........They won't catch you then.... Better still Get a Furbie vRS

Electrocute them!

In addition to liking moist conditions slugs also like acid substrate and hate sulphur. Slugs can be deterred by a barrier of wood ash or pure coal soot6. Other barriers that slugs and snails dislike crossing include wood ash, diatomaceous earth, sawdust and copper backed paper or sheeting stapled to boards around beds. Care should be taken to prevent earth and sawdust from becoming too wet. Copper reacts with the secreted mucous used to aid locomotion giving the slug or snail a slight electric shock. It is necessary to ensure that vegetation does not cross the borders offering an entry route. Once areas within the barriers are cleared it should be a matter of monitoring the state of the borders to prevent further build up of slugs and snails(25).

Read more here:

http://www.pan-uk.org/pestnews/homepest/slugs.htm

Your local SHELL garage might be able to help.

I realise how this could be seriously annoying...... but this thread is seriously funny!

Perhaps one day you'll find a different variaty of crawling slimey creature under there - then the can SLUG it out between them.