Article: If you're having trouble finding snails in the wild, you might try luring snails out by creating ideal conditions for them. Remember that terrestrial snails like cool, slightly wet environments that are out of direct sunlight.  Identify an area that might house snails. You can usually find snails in cool, damp, shaded environments or near food sources like gardens. Water the area late in the afternoon. Try to dampen the soil and leave a mist on any low lying vegetation nearby. Return after dark with a flashlight. If snails inhabit the area you've watered, you should see them or their slime trails fairly easily. If there aren't any ideal snail habitats in your area, you can create your own by leaving objects in and around a garden or field. As you set up your hiding places, consider whether a given object would provide adequate shade and moisture to a soil-dwelling terrestrial snail.  Try laying boards of wood, large, flat bricks, stones, or flower pots near an area you believe snails inhabit. You can also use inverted melon rinds, but be aware that these may also attract other insects like ants. Pitfall traps are an excellent way to catch terrestrial invertebrates. Be aware, though, that pitfall traps catch many different kinds of ground-dwelling insects. Your pitfall trap may catch a couple snails, but it will most likely also catch other critters. This will require some sifting through and releasing other insects.  Dig a small hole in the ground that is deep and wide enough to hold a cup. Add beer or baking yeast to a 5% sugar and water solution in a pitfall trap. Be sure you only leave a shallow pool of liquid or the snails you catch might drown. Check your trap on a regular basis. You may decide to check every day or you might check the trap multiple times each day, but if you leave your snail for a prolonged period of time it may die. Aquatic snails can be a bit more difficult to catch than terrestrial snails. However, with the right tools you should be able to find and catch some freshwater snails near you. One of the most common ways of catching aquatic snails (and other aquatic invertebrates) is by using a kick-net.  Purchase or build a kick-net. A kick-net can be easily made by fastening a long, thin mesh to two wooden poles, creating a net that looks like a giant scroll with handles in the folded ends. Look for an area in the water where there are riffles or falls. Approach the chosen area from downstream to avoid disturbing any snails you might catch. You can use rocks to stabilize the net underwater and downstream, then lift submerged objects to "shake" snails loose. You can also hold the handles of the kick-net so the net is downstream and walk backward upstream, kicking rocks and submerged objects loose. Be aware that a kick-net will catch all kinds of aquatic invertebrates. While some of the invertebrates you catch may be snails, there will probably be many other types of unwanted invertebrates present in the net as well.
What is a summary of what this article is about?
Lure snails out of hiding. Create a snail hiding place. Build a pitfall trap. Catch aquatic snails.