Native Plants

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants

See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

rate this answer

Not Yet Rated

Wednesday - October 01, 2014

From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Pests
Title: White snails in Austin, TX.
Answered by: Joe Marcus

QUESTION:

We walked through an undisturbed site off of Hwy. 71 near Old Bee Caves Rd. and there were little white snails on the majority of the plants on site (not specific to certain types of plants). What type of snail would this be? Is there a reason they are in abundance on the site (ex. moist soils) and is there any way to discourage them from spreading to new plants once the site is developed?

ANSWER:

Snails are normal constituents of healthy ecosystems. However, there are some instances when the presence of large number of snails might indicate one or more problems. There are a number of snail species in the Austin area, both native and non-native. Though not necessarily the case here, an unusually large number of snails -- or any other organism -- might be an indication that they are an introduced species that have found a new home where there are not predators to keep their numbers in check.