Our Garage Door is CoVeReD In... Snails!?!?

We have been noticing a strange phenomenon this summer on our detached garage in the woods behind the house. The white garage door is covered in tiny snails! :duh2:

We have no idea why they are there, or what they like about it, or even where they come from. (Stupid useless biology degree. :shakehead: ) They don't migrate to the other garage door on the attached garage, or anywhere else we can find on the house; only on the garage. Last week we cleaned all of them off, brushed them into the woods, and bleached the garage door to eliminate any substance or algae or fungi they may have been feeding on. In one week the door went from sparkly clean to what you see below - hundreds of snails!!! Every dark speck is a tiny snail, about 1/4 in. long.

What the heck is going on? Why are they there and what do they want? Why only there on that door? Why only this year and never before over all the years we've lived here? Has anyone else seen such a thing? :huh:

thats nuts. do any of em have a huge S painted on them?

please excuse me as i laugh obnoxiously at your predicament. seriously though, gonna do some google research. Did you recently do anything that involves a scent that you have never used or done before?

Also, they seem to be in pairs, or even in quadruples...maybe it's mating time? how is the air quality around you? do you taste anything funky that may end up collecting in deposits on your door? Final question: is your garage door warmer or cooler than the area you're in?

T​hats crazy. I've never heard of such a thing

raggie33 said:

thats nuts. do any of em have a huge S painted on them?

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No, I don't believe any have super powers... at least none have demonstrated any as of yet. :laughing:

dc38 said:

please excuse me as i laugh obnoxiously at your predicament. seriously though, gonna do some google research. Did you recently do anything that involves a scent that you have never used or done before?

Also, they seem to be in pairs, or even in quadruples...maybe it's mating time? how is the air quality around you? do you taste anything funky that may end up collecting in deposits on your door? Final question: is your garage door warmer or cooler than the area you're in?

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That garage is where my dad keeps his old collector cars and parts. Some times he cleans things with solvents or spray paints stuff in front of the garage, but that is nothing new, the same drill for years, and I have never heard of mollusks that are attracted to paint thinner, haha.

You are correct, some are grouped. They could be mating, but they have been traversing the door for some months. I would expect the "snail rut" to be a much briefer period of time.

Air quality is good, we live in the suburbs and our whole subdivision is surrounded by trees. Pretty clean area. Also, they came back even after cleaning/bleaching the door; I would expect any tasty deposits to have been washed free. I know that fungi, mosses and other plants can subsist on minerals from rocks or cement they are adhered to but can snails feed on dissolving paint or aluminum or deposited pollution? I have no idea.

The door should be essentially ambient air temperature but perhaps slightly cooler in the summer. The garage is in the shade and the door may stay a little cooler if it drops in temperature at night.

i know beer atracts slugs i mean if ya spill a bit it will be covered in slugs in a hour or so

nbp said:

You are correct, some are grouped. They could be mating, but they have been traversing the door for some months. I would expect the "snail rut" to be a much briefer period of time.

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Well, you know snails are kind of slow . . . . :naughty:

maybe you could give the door a static charge? many creatures don't like the tingly feeling of electrical current running though stuff. Something unorthodox to try: lick the door! lol

spray the bottom inch of the door with wd40. that should discourage them.

Maybe someone is using your garage door to zap into the 8th dimension and they're actually alien creatures? LOL, sorry but I had to.


Perhaps someone is playing a prank on you and sprays your door with something to attract them when you're not looking...?

dc38 said:

maybe you could give the door a static charge? many creatures don't like the tingly feeling of electrical current running though stuff. Something unorthodox to try: lick the door! lol

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ZZZZap! Take that snails! haha

jcr71 said:

spray the bottom inch of the door with wd40. that should discourage them.

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Hmm, perhaps. Although I have known people to spray WD40 on fishing lures with great success as one of the main components of it is purported to be fish oil. Crazy right? Either way, they don't seem to be doing any damage - we are mostly interested in the WHY, more so than how to discourage them. They will undoubtedly perish over the winter anyways.

Cataract said:

Maybe someone is using your garage door to zap into the 8th dimension and they're actually alien creatures? LOL, sorry but I had to.


Perhaps someone is playing a prank on you and sprays your door with something to attract them when you're not looking...?

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Now the alien idea I believe! :hahaha:

I doubt it is a prank. It's not really the kind of joke any of my friends would play.

clean them off then put salt at the bottom of the door to kill any new ones

hkenawy said:

clean them off then put salt at the bottom of the door to kill any new ones

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Should work for the snails and will definitely keep ghosts away for Halloween! That is, so long as it doesn't rain... You could always try the same method they use to salt bloody-Mary glass rims, although you'll need something that holds a little more than usual... how about a garlic butter base?

+

Maybe something in the garage has a strong odor resemblance to Snail'tang

As I think about it, the idea of an odor in or around the garage that is attracting them is not a bad theory. I'm sure it is not something someone would have put there on purpose, but it could be something done inadvertently. I have no idea what it could be, but it is something to ponder. I think the first order of business is for me to identify the species of snail and learn about their preferred habitat, food sources and life cycle. Then work out from there. :shrug:

You are probably on to something now, but the inadvertent stuff is the hardest to identify, especially when a newer habit has already taken root -truly detective's work... good luck and may the force be with you!

The funny part is why mostly that particular area? wind direction? door is easier to cling to? Larger crack in the door for odors/heat? Trash can right behind there? No car exhaust on that part of the door ever? (already mentioned: warmer / cooler... ooh! warmth could be an indicator, but does it come from the fridge or freezer behind the door? IR imagery would answer all these questions) Try asking an exterminator what he thinks just for fun.

this is obsessing me:
"Some of the easiest ways to trap them is to place lids from jars with beer in them in the garden."

"Snails have to feed on foods that include large amounts of calcium. This is necessary to keep their shell hard and protective like it should be."

"Snails are nocturnal so they will be looking for sources of food during the night or during the very early morning hours. (2) They will consume more food at the colder months ahead come. This is so they can store up fat reserves to live on while some they hibernate during the winter."
"If you feed them anything containing salt or sugar they will die."

More here (and tons of possible leads):
http://www.snail-world.com/What-do-Snails-Eat.html

Have you figured out what has attracted the snails to your door?

I was thinking that the garage must be near an area where a lot of snails are already using to reproduce themselves.

Lately, a lot of snails been showing up around my place too. Just walking in the yard I feel several crunch underfoot. Wall under one window is covered in snails. They stay outside, so I don't mind. There's also a giant slug that comes to visit every few nights, and lotsa salamanders. Like, I move the trash can, there'll be like, 30 tiny salamanders.

Sounds like they're preparing an invasion :tinfoil:

I wonder if it can be bad for the mortar between the bricks... if they do climb brick walls.