Anyone who finds this big cat snail in the garden has the jackpot

I put on a bed last year and quickly annoyed myself over the many naked snacks that the young leaves enjoyed. I am already curious to see how the 2025 garden season will go.

The worst culprit in my garden is the Spanish snail with its characteristic rust red color. Hardly a plant is safe in front of her. I have also already spotted the brownish gardening snail in my beds.

But not all nude snacks are on my search list. I even welcome a copy with open arms (and you should do that this year). Well, not quite. But at least I have it granted them.

We are talking about the tiger snail. A type of nude snack that would be suspected in the tropical rainforest due to its striking pattern. At least I was very amazed when I discovered her in the bed. And I was still astonished when I saw how the useful animals mate.

What does the tiger snail look like?

The tiger snail competes with its drawing. In the front of the body, the dark spots remind of a leopard pattern, the rear part of the body has tiger strips. The rest of the body is beige to brown.

But not only the drawing of the nude snail is impressive. Also their body length. The tiger snail, scientifically asSlug is the biggestknown, is one of the large types of snacks and (hold on to you) can grow up up to 20 centimeters!

Even if the tiger snail looks exotic, it is native to Europe. In Berlin andBrandenburgthe extravagant snail is threatened and is on the red list.

Why are tiger snails an enrichment for the garden?

In addition to dead plant material and fungi, the tapped naked snails prefer to feed on other types of snails. You particularly like to eat other young snacks.

Practical! Tiger snails even make it out before you can use the bed buffet. An environmentally friendly alternative to snail grain. And best of all: tiger snails work for us without having to do something.

Also read:

But not only his hunt for other nude snacks makes the tiger snail a welcome garden guest. It also feeds on dead organic material and mushrooms, which helps to break down and composting and thus improve the soil quality. A valuable helper in the cycle of nature.

The exciting sex life of the tiger snails

The tiger snail likes it extravagant. This not only shows his pattern. Even during sex, the domestic nude snack species literally takes it to the extreme. The pairing ritual of the tiger snails is spectacular. And it runs like this:

When snails willing to mate meet, they embark on an elevated position and start crawling around each other for hours - head on tail.

In the meantime, they outgoing large amounts of clumpy mucus that accumulates between them. The snails draw their hug more, devour and twist increasingly as they weigh their heads back and forth.

In this process, they blindly trust each other: Both produce a mucus thread at the rear end, where they steeply abseil up to 40 centimeters deep. Fertilization is usually in the air.

After the pairing, your paths separate in a dramatic way: a snail falls to the ground while the other crawls up on the mucus thread. The sperm transmitted remains fertilizing for months. Crazy, right?

You notice: The tiger snail is anything but an ordinary naked snail.

Do you fancy even more garden information? Then scroll through the picture gallery and discover easy -care perennials that defy pests like snails:

More practical tips for house and garden:

Are you interested in gardening? Then have a look on our new websiteLandIDEE.deover. Our expert editorial team shares your personal tips and tricks and important plant knowledge there so that your garden becomes even more beautiful and your thumb becomes even greener!