--- title: "Garden Snail (Cornu aspersum) | AnimalTracks.wiki" description: "A night-feeding garden snail that seals itself shut to wait out hot, dry weather." image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/garden-snail-1.webp" published: "2026-10-11" updated: "2026-10-12" --- # Garden Snail (*Cornu aspersum*) > **Status**: Checked against 8 sources, listed under Sources below. > **Tagline**: A night-feeding garden snail that seals itself shut to wait out hot, dry weather. > **Soundtrack Vibe**: Neo-Classical & Baroque Chamber // Hania Rani, "Eden" > **Soundtrack Links**: [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/6Yy3QRfT2WsUXrdplVdt4h) > **Vibe Match**: In hot, dry weather a garden snail seals itself off with a parchment-like membrane, and it can stay dormant for many months. Hania Rani's Eden is slow, repeating piano that barely moves, music for waiting a long spell out. ## Biological Superpowers & Stats - **Taxonomy**: *Cornu aspersum* - **Danger Level**: Low - **Conservation Status**: Not Evaluated ([IUCN Red List](https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2026-1.rlts.t156890a220141565.en)) - **Superpower**: Seals itself off with a parchment-like membrane in hot, dry weather - **Habitat**: Gardens and parks; native to Britain, western Europe and the lands around the Mediterranean and Black Seas, and introduced across the world - **Diet**: Living plants and decaying plant matter - **Tags**: mollusc, invertebrate, herbivore, agricultural, nocturnal ## Natural History & Behavior ## Three kinds of slime The garden snail, *Cornu aspersum*, is a slime factory. It makes three different kinds of mucus (the sticky slime snails ooze): one shielding the animal from environmental threats, one adhesive mucus from the pedal surface of the foot, and a lubricating mucus from the foot too. The foot is a muscle that glides the snail along. It constantly secretes mucus, which later dries to form the silvery slime trail. > **Epiphragm** > The adhesive mucus is used to create the epiphragm, the persistent glue that maintains bonds between the snail's shell and the surface it sits on. ## A year in the life How big is a garden snail? The adult shell is 32 to 38 mm across and 29 to 33 mm tall. In a Chilean study, adults picked for roughly the same body mass averaged 4.21 grams and were thought to be under a year old. Maturity takes about two years in southern California but about 10 months in South Africa. EDDMapS says that under favorable conditions it may mature within a year, and that adults can normally live about a year. ## Night shift At night, the snail goes to work. Snails are most active at night and on cloudy or foggy days. On sunny days they seek hiding places out of the heat and bright light. They feed on a variety of living plants and on decaying plant matter, scraping with rasp-like tongues. When the weather turns hot and dry, the snail estivates, which is hibernation during hot weather. It seals itself off with a parchment-like membrane and often clings to a tree trunk, fence or wall. In cold weather it hibernates in the topsoil instead. ## Spread across the world The garden snail is native to Britain, western Europe and the lands around the Mediterranean and Black Seas, but it has been distributed widely worldwide, on purpose and by accident. It was originally introduced for escargot dishes, meaning snails cooked to eat, and it has escaped confinement and become established as a pest. One study calls it one of the most widely spread land snails in the world. It was brought to South Africa as food in 1855, though one expert thinks it probably arrived there by accident long before, and the Pacific's oldest recorded introduction was in New Caledonia in 1879. The USDA and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency both considered it a plant pest in 2009, and quarantines were set up to stop the snail being imported in plant and soil material. The IUCN Red List's 2024 Europe assessment rates it Least Concern, with a stable population trend. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Is a garden snail a boy or a girl? Both. Every garden snail has both male and female parts, so any adult can lay eggs after mating with another snail. A snail lays an average of 80 pearly white eggs at a time, and it can do that up to 6 times a year. *(Source: [UC Statewide IPM Program, University of California]())* ### Why do gardeners hate garden snails? They scrape holes in leaves and flowers with rasp-like tongues. Seedlings and herbaceous plants are the main targets, and ripening fruits close to the ground, such as strawberries and tomatoes, are also at risk. Citrus trees are especially at risk, and silvery slime trails are the giveaway. *(Source: [UC Statewide IPM Program, University of California]())* ### How long can a garden snail stay sealed in its shell? For many months. During dry periods the snails can become dormant and sealed within the shell, and they can remain in that state for many months. *(Source: [EDDMapS, University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health]())* ## Sources 1. [Cerullo et al. (2023). Comparative mucomic analysis of three functionally distinct Cornu aspersum Secretions. Nature Communications.]() 2. [Snails and Slugs. UC Statewide IPM Program, University of California.]() 3. [European brown snail (Cornu aspersum). EDDMapS, University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health.]() 4. [Gaitán-Espitia et al. (2013). Variation in Thermal Sensitivity and Thermal Tolerances in an Invasive Species across a Climatic Gradient: Lessons from the Land Snail Cornu aspersum. PLoS ONE.]() 5. [Guiller et al. (2012). Tracing the Invasion of the Mediterranean Land Snail Cornu aspersum aspersum Becoming an Agricultural and Garden Pest in Areas Recently Introduced. PLoS ONE.]() 6. [Walther (2026). Cornu aspersum. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2026: e.T156890A220141565.]() 7. [Cornu aspersum (European brown garden snail): Fact sheet. Canadian Food Inspection Agency.]() 8. [Dekle and Fasulo. Brown Garden Snail, Cornu aspersum. University of Florida IFAS Extension, EDIS IN396.]() *Published October 11, 2026. 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