Know your enemies?

Know your enemies is a phrase banded about in many aspects of life. However, this phrase could not be seemingly more important to the Allotment plot holder whose constant battle against invaders focused on a free meal from all their hard effort is continuous.

However, some of those foes that we may consider to be enemies, should be in fact considered friends. Take the wasp. For most a pest, and frequently questioned as to 'what is their purpose?'. A recent study and article in the Daily Telegraph championed the cause of the wasp suggesting that without their voracious appetite for aphids, bugs and beasties we could potentially be over run with these damaging invaders. A link to the article can be follows



Snails on the other hand should definitely be considered an enemy. With their messy trails and taste for greens, garden snails are often considered to be pests whose strong homing instinct makes human control difficult. They are often seen after rain, and leave a tell-tale trail of mucus. When conditions are dry, snails retreat into their shell and seal the entrance. They can then survive in a state of suspended animation for several months. Did you know? A single garden snail can have 430 babies in a year.



Despite all the writers best efforts to ensure plants protected, this particular snail seemed to have an interest in extreme methods in the search for a feast, climbing this six foot cane, and struggling a little at the top to turn round. Regrettably for the snail, I found it before it found my aubergine plants, and after posing for the camera, he was duly removed. It never occurred to me that snails have strong homing instincts, (as per articles on the web) and hope that where i deposited the fiend is suitably distant enough for no further concern.