Why Are Snails Crawling Up My House? How To Deal With Snails In Your House

It is annoying seeing snails crawl up your house surfaces, leaving a disgusting mercury trail around the house. 

Imagine setting your bare foot on the repulsive trails of snails when grabbing your late-night snack! Pretty repellent, right?

They crawl up everywhere: walls and windows, flowerpots, and even doors. Snails not only creep and climb for the love of heights but for survival and searching for better conditions too.

Reports indicate that some snails crawl up to heights of 6 feet, especially in dark regions. To deal with the snail’s menace, you have to understand why they come to your house. Afterward, you will be able to find the appropriate mitigation measures. So,

Why are snails crawling up my house? 

Humid conditions and search for nutrients prompt snails movement. Snails may therefore invade your house in search of nutrients or ambient surroundings.

The warm and moist conditions also attract snails. They may move in with you to cope with freezing conditions and settle in dark areas. Snails may also climb up house walls to evade predators and to avoid the fear of being smashed. 

The temperature on the ground is typically high and prompts snails to seek more excellent conditions on walls. Ultimately, they creep around to cool down and access fresh air.

Snails Climb Walls For Safety

Snail predators (like beetles, rodents, dogs, toads, and raccoons) pose a threat to the survival of snails. Gargantuan snail variations may also be an excellent prey to foxes and other animals.

Since the walls are high, it makes sense that snails crawl up to increase their chances of survival. 

However, despite being safe on walls and high surfaces, snails are also at risk of being consumed by birds. Snails try to camouflage or disguise themselves in dark areas to make it hard for the birds. 

The snail’s shell is an exoskeleton meant to serve various functions. It protects them from dehydration and predators and reduces mechanical damage severity. Furthermore, it keeps the snail’s body-safe and moisturized.

If the shell is damaged, the snail can’t repair it. Afterward, the snail may dry out and eventually pass on. Therefore, the snails may scale high heights to protect their shells. 

Snails Climb Walls For Nourishment

Depending on the species variations, snails climb to roofs and high places to seek nourishment and supplies. 

They move in search of algae, fungi, bacteria, woodlice, or plants that may be available at a particular spot. If snails find their way into your house, they most likely eat indoor plants. 

With the aid of their upper feelers, snails navigate themselves when searching for nutrients. Their tentacles wave around, enabling them to locate their potential sustenance.

Like the giant African land snails, some snails creep to eat the paint, stucco, or concrete on the walls. The calcium present in synthesized cement supplements them with calcium which may lack in other diets.

Calcium helps snails regulate the flow of body fluids, contract their muscles and lay eggs. Besides, calcium is vital in solidifying the snail’s shells. 

It would be best if you reconsidered eliminating snails at initial sight. Maybe the poor mollusk may be looking to nourish itself with calcium on your walls.

Are Snails Crawling Up Your House? Maybe They Are Hibernating

The tranquility in a cozy and serene environment is ideal for snails. You should note that your house already offers these surroundings.

They could move in through any opening in your house. Such include the window, ventilation gaps, or openings below the door. 

Moist areas like the bathroom and kitchen may also prompt snails to crawl up into your house. Keeping the house in good conditions may prevent the snails’ invasion.

Moist conditions enhance the ability of the snail to secrete mucus and maintain a moist body. Moisture rises during hot conditions, and the snails climb up the walls to receive it. 

Moreover, the cold moisture cools the snails down from the unbearable heat they receive on the ground. 

Snails will then seal the shell using the mucus plug when they encounter ambient conditions. The eventual drying up of the plug leaves the snail’s skin moisturized.

Aside from moisturizing the snail’s skin, the mucus plug hooks the snail to the wall. This phenomenon especially happens during hibernation, where the snail may sleep for weeks.

Sleep is induced by hibernation since most of the snail’s physiological processes slow down. The reduced heart rate invites sleep during hibernation.

Hibernation also allows the snails to survive the low winter temperatures. They seal their shells using mucus to maintain ambient heat within.

Snails Climb Up Walls To Communicate

Communication has long been associated with humans. It is interesting to note that snails have their way of communicating too.

They crawl up to communicate with other snails when faced with impending danger. Sick snails fall off to avoid infecting other snails too.

When fallen, they secrete a unique chemical scent that the snail civilization uniquely decodes. The information contained in the scent forewarns other snails.

How To Stop Snails From Climbing Up Your Wall 

It is frustrating when snails come crawling up your wall leaving a disgustful picture. Here is how to deal with them: 

1. Sprinkling Salt 

Find the source of the snail’s trail and sprinkle some salt. The salt ions inhibit the snails from crawling out and adding more trails.

It would be best to place the salt barrier on a dry surface to prevent absorption by moisture. Salt, unfortunately, will also kill the vegetation around your house. 

2. Ducks And Snail Predators 

You can make your garden more friendly to snail predators by providing water and seeds to birds. 

Ducks will gladly eat all the snails around your house. A pond can be an excellent addition because it will attract frogs and toads, which collectively lower the snail’s population. 

Encouraging birds to your compound is a natural repellent to snails. Birds will also improve the biodiversity of your garden and keep off snails and slugs. 

3. Slug Trap, Destroying Hiding Spots, And Baits

A slug trap lures the snails using sweet and sugary products such as beer. Once inside the trap, the snails can’t escape. 

The slug trap can be homemade by using an open jar. Filling the jar with beer and later disposing of the trapped snails to an appropriate location. 

Snails find it challenging to navigate through sharp objects since they have a soft body that can easily damage. 

Controlling the snails outside will only do you good, for not many will attack your wall. Therefore, it is necessary to clear bushes and any dark spots around your house. 

Also, ensuring no clogged water pipes or blocked sewage near your house will save you from snails and slugs. 

Baits composed of iron phosphate are palatable to snails and pose little risk to your pet(s). However, its effects are deadly to snails, thus reducing their population.

4. Plant Snail-Repelling Plants, And Sealing Openings

Wormwood, anise, and rosemary plants give off a scent that repels the snails and acts as a natural pesticide. 

This biological control offers a sustainable way of dealing with the snails’ invasion. This option works best when the snails originate from a garden.

It’s essential to survey the door and windows and look for cracks or openings. It is through these creeks that snails crawl inside. Sealing the creeks lowers the chances of the snails crawling into your house.

You may use wool pellets to block any loops and entry points in your house. They also form a great and natural way of keeping slugs away.

5. Use Silicon Dioxide And Copper Tapes

Silicon dioxide is a drying agent that can control the snails at their point of origin. Its drying properties dry off the oily skins of the snails. 

Use this chemical cautiously. You may experience an irritating sensation that may be unbearable on your skin.

Copper tape protects plants from snails’ destructive activities. The tape’s texture creates a small charge that affects the snails. However, the charge from the copper tape is not strong enough to destroy them. 

Copper reacts with the snails’ slime disrupting their nervous system sending an electric shock. The tape will not harm the snails but will surely keep them off your wall. 

Conclusion 

Snails invading your house can be a nightmare, especially if unable to control them. Standing on the snail barefooted is an unpleasant and unimaginable feeling you can have. 

They leave crooked trails on your walls and some dark poop too. Knowing what attracts them to your house makes it easier to deal with them. 

Getting rid of moist and dark spots is an excellent step in ensuring no snails invade and destroy your house. 

With the techniques discussed above, you can keep slugs and snails off your wall. You need not worry about accidental stepping on the snails and never worry about stepping on a snail in a night.