Snails and Dragon Fruit

2023 year of the snails! Wet winters bring an abundance of snails on Dragon Fruit. Snails look for calcium-dense food, so we have concluded by the amount of snails on our Dragon Fruit, that  Dragon Fruit plants must be a great calcium source.    Snails lay their +/-80 eggs in the soil which hatch after 2 weeks and there can be 6 egg-laying cycles a year....around 500 baby snails, oh my.   The population can soar if not controlled.  Snails will eat new growth and potentially buds so we are starting a removal process.   Because we try to maintain a natural environment we will rehome snails to empty fields, as they do help create rich organic material.  We also collect for neighbors' ducks and chickens.  And on a year like this one, we also bait using a certified organic input with Spinosad, a fermented bacteria with negligible effects on bees and animals.  Copper Sulfate is said to work at the base of the plant to deter climbing,