Throwing snails 20 metres away may save your plant

New research has shown that snails lose their ability to find their way back to a garden if tossed more than 65 feet away 

  

Gardeners struggling to protect their plants from snails should develop a strong throwing arm to tackle the pests.

New research has shown that throwing snails at least 65 feet out of the garden is as beneficial as killing the molluscs.

Scientists found snails placed within a 20 metre (65 feet) radius can use a "homing instinct" to find their way back to a a patch of ground while those moved further away almost always failed to find their way back.

It comes after a recent survey showed that a fifth of gardners admit to lobbing snails over the fence into a neighbour's garden.

Frustrated gardeners often deploy a range of imaginative strategies to tackle snails and slugs, including chemical pellets, beer traps, egg shells and simply stamping on the creatures.