There are certain things you should never see in your bathroom—and one of those is a snail. These slimy creatures are not just a nuisance but they can also leave your bathroom’s vanity, sink and shower covered in snail-slime.
We’ve all seen a giant, disgusting snail making its way into the bathroom, slowly going up the wall, and generally wreaking havoc.
If this ever happens to you, why exactly are they in the bathroom? Mostly, snails find your bathroom as a source of food, water, shelter and a hiding spot from predators.
There are a lot of reasons why you might see a snail in your bathroom.
Most of the time, snails are harmless to humans, but they can be a sign of other problems in your home as we’ll later see.
Regardless, when you have a snail in your bathroom, it is important to take steps to get rid of it.
Before we discuss that, let’s shift our focus to what snails are and why they’re attracted to your bathroom in the first place.
A little background about snails
The most common type of snail is the garden snail.
Snails are gastropods, and the garden snail is a large snail.
These mollusks have a coiled shell that they will retreat into, if they feel threatened.
Like many mollusks, garden snails have siphon-like breathing tubes.
These are usually located on their undersides.
Snails have been around for hundreds of millions of years.
They were originally sea creatures that came onto land, and have been present ever since.
Because of this, they have developed a reputation for being slow movers.
This is not really true, at least for the garden snails of today.
These snails can move as quickly as three feet per minute.
Why snails end up in your bathroom
You turn on the shower, close the door, lather up and then you spot them: a few snails in the corner of your shower and a trail of slime leading up the wall.
That’s right: the bathroom isn’t the most welcoming place for snails, but they can still find their way in.
To most people, snails are harmless – but unwelcome – house guests.
The slimy creatures may be cute in small doses, but if you’re grossed out by the idea of sharing your space with them, you’re not alone.
For many, the thought of a snail in their bathroom is not only revolting but terrifying.
Most will understand that snails are slimy creatures, and slimy creatures belong outside.
But, while it may be a bit out of place, the fact is that you will never find a snail in your bathroom without there being a cause.
1. Food
The reason snails go to peoples bathrooms is because they are looking for food.
The reason they are in your bathroom is because they smell food.
They are nocturnal, so they can only come out during the night.
They tend to stay out of our sight, because they are in the dark.
Snails come out during the night to look for food and to avoid other snail competition.
The reason why people think snails are in their bathrooms is because they ate something and left it there.
Snails may find your bathroom a good source of food if there are algae, plant leaves, fungi or mushrooms around.
Snails do not have teeth, so they eat by filtrating water through their bodies so they can get the food.
2. Water
You might be surprised to learn that there are a few different types of snails.
In some areas, you might even find these creatures lurking in your bathroom!
Just imagine the horror when you’re taking a relaxing bath and you see a snail waddling into the tub.
Even worse is when these pests are found in your toilet.
In most cases, these creatures are just in search of the water they need to survive.
Because of their slimy bodies, they’re not able to absorb water from their surroundings.
An important point to note is snails are generally hardy creatures, but they are particularly sensitive to the presence of copper.
3. Shelter
Snails, even the tiny garden variety, often do the same thing we do when we’re in need of a place to stay—they look for a place to stay.
While we can tell when the plumbing isn’t working, snails have to do a little more detective work to find out if our house is suitable for moving in.
You may have heard about snails living in the bathrooms, which is true.
As the snails need a moist and humid environment to survive, they will look for shelter, which is why they are found in bathrooms.
If you have a snail in your bathroom, do not panic, as it is not a harmful or dangerous creature.
4. Predators
Snails are slow and vulnerable creatures that are preyed upon by many other animals.
To protect themselves, they hide in moist, dark places.
One thing to remember, though, is that snails are hunted by a wide variety of predators, from frogs and snakes to birds and other snails.
When a snail is hiding from a predator, it leaves its shell behind to make it look like it’s dead.
While the predator is distracted by the fake shell, the snail moves to a new hiding place.
Snails can hide in lots of places, including under rocks and logs, in the dirt, or in your bathroom.
How snails end up in your bathroom
Don’t panic, but it seems there is a snail invasion in your home.
It is not as scary as it sounds, however.
Experts say these creatures are beneficial to our gardens, and many of us actually get along with them.
Some say that snails in our bathroom are even a good sign of a happy household.
Although the sight of these slimy visitors is gross, it is not uncommon for them to show up in your toilet or bathtub in the middle of the night.
Here are the common ways snails get to your house in the first place/
- Your toilet
- Heating vents
- Window sills
- Wall joints
- Gas pipes
- Under door spaces
- Furnace cut-outs
- Drains
Why you should get rid of snails and slugs
Think about it: the bathroom is the one room in your house where you can relax (a bit) and not worry about the rest of your home.
You can almost always count on it being a little cleaner than the rest of the house, too.
Getting rid of snails and slugs from the bathroom is bound to make the home look attractive.
Invasive creatures are gross, and a colony of slugs in your bathroom is an unwanted sight.
Here are more reasons to motivate you to keep snails away from your home.
1. Unattractive
Even the cleanest of houses are susceptible to pests, but seeing any sign of pests, such as snails, slugs, or even ants, in the bathroom can be considerably more alarming.
It makes sense for people to be more worried about pests in the bathroom than other areas of the house, because the bathroom is both where we do our most personal activities and it is a room that is considered to be clean and tidy.
There is more to bathroom cleaning than just cleaning the toilet and tub.
In fact, it is important to inspect the floor, walls, and ceiling for defects and irregularities every now and then.
Even the tiniest little things, like having a few snails and slugs on the wall in your bathroom, can make your bathroom look dirty.
Plus, they are slimy and leave little slime trails everywhere they go.
2. Damage to house plants
One of the easiest ways to make your home feel more like a home is to grow plants inside of it.
House plants can help purify your air, reduce stress, and even provide you with a convenient place to store your keys or mail.
But even the most plant-friendly household can fall victim to pests like snails and slugs.
It may sound like a joke, but it’s true: snails and slugs can chew up your houseplants!
These little mollusks feast on the stalks and leaves of your houseplants.
That’s not the worst part. They also produce a foul-smelling mucus as they move around your plants.
3. Contaminate your water
These slimy creatures are known to be drawn to the dampness of bathrooms, where they can find a source of food and a comfortable hiding place from the light.
They may even stay all night in the shower or bathtub!
If you’re noticing black or white particles in your home’s water supply, it might be from little creatures living in your pipes.
This may seem gross, but it can be serious business.
Snails and slugs in your bathroom can contaminate your water.
A slimy trail left behind by these critters can trap soap scum and minerals, creating a black residue that appears in your bathtub, sink, and toilet.
This slime trail also can lead to contamination of your general water supply in case of heavy infestation.
4. They harbor parasites
Just because you don’t see them, doesn’t mean that they aren’t there.
Sure, we don’t often give them a second thought, but slugs and snails are everywhere doing their thing – they are just animals, and we are just humans.
What we need to remember, however, is that these little buggers are carriers of parasites that can lead to a variety of diseases.
For example, snails are known to host a parasite called Angiostrongylus cantonensis, which is an infection that can lead to meningitis in humans.
So, if you see a snail or slug in your bathroom, it is important to think about eliminating it immediately.
How to get rid of snails in your bathroom
If you’re dealing with a snail infestation in your bathroom, you may have initially thought that you were dealing with a minor case, but upon closer inspection, you’ll realize you’re not just dealing with a single case, but rather you’re dealing with a case of hundreds of tiny snails that are taking over your bathroom and are multiplying at a rapid rate.
These snails are not only taking over the bathroom, but they’re also breeding in every water source you have in your toilet, sink, and tub.
In order to get rid of these snails, you’ll need to start by removing all these water sources that are attracting these snails to your bathroom.
Other things you can do today to eradicated mollusks infestation include:
- Use bait like beer or honey, so that they get attracted and drown into the liquid
- Use traps like inverted saucers, flowerpots or any other vessel with a scented grapefruit to attract the snails and get the trapped inside
- Use repellents like copper, egg shells, coffee, ginger or garlic to deter and kill the mollusks
- Employ biological control methods such birds, chicken and ducks to prey on snails
- Grow non-inviting herbs and flowers like lavender, sage, lantana or rosemary
- Use pesticides, chemicals like iron phosphate or even just salt to dehydrate the mollusks
