Emma, Auckland.

I decided to start tidying my small vege garden today, ready for spring planting. In the centre of it there was an old square recycle bin, lying upside down. As I lifted it up I just about fainted; the inside was covered with snails! There must have been a thousand! Now, what to do with them all? I half-filled a bucket with water and a liberal amount of salt. Within 2 minutes they were crawling their way up to the top. So much for salt. Cut a long story short, it took more than an hour before they finally gave up the ghost. I then remembered an old trick: Strong, fresh- brewed coffee is the thing – kills them dead!