Members of the Gastropoda (a class of mollusc) with a coiled shell. Use this tag with questions about identifying snails or protecting plants from snails.
snail is the common name for members of the class Gastropoda that have a coiled shell when adult. The name may refer to sea snails, land snails, and freshwater snails; although without a qualifier (and in most horticultural usage) the name usually refers to land snails only.
Many kinds of snail are herbivores. Within a horticultural context, they are usually considered pests due to the damage that they can cause. Snails can generally eat a wide range of different plant types and parts, due to their abrasive manner of eating ('chewing').
Snails without a prominent shell are usually known as slugs.
Slug and snail baits based on metaldehydes are available and frequently used (especially in agriculture) but they can be toxic to cats, dogs, and other mammals.
