I just use a hunt, pluck and toss method to keep snails under control. When I see any evidence of their foraging, I do a seek and destroy, gathering them up and tossing them down in the road below my back garden.

Any beer in my garden is going down my throat, not for the benefit of any molluscs.

I like escargot plenty of garlic and herbs. They're a real treat.

Gastropods are highly mobile. If they don't like the conditions they'll move. Covering the soil gives them a lovely place to lurk. If it gets too hot they'll exit. And anyway there's no fallow in my garden. It's permanently full

It is a good 30' steep slope from my back garden to the road below. If not smashed from the impact or pulverized by a vehicle, they are certainly not able to slime their way back up!! And their diet is not restricted to vegetables - I only grow tomatoes and they don't bother them - but they will munch on just about everything else.

" And anyway there's no fallow in my garden. It's permanently full"

That being the case snails and slugs might only be the tip of iceberg when it comes to crop production. I realize you must take what you have access to but land needs periods of rest.

Traditinal fallow periods are not necessary in small gardens if the soil is well cared for. Crop rotation and organic additions are all it needs.

Are those actually culinary snails? The only snails I've seen here are small and soft-shelled.

I had an indoor worm bin once that I tossed some outdoor leaves into one fall. By Dec., in addition to the brown, lemon-shaped, worm eggs, I started getting round, white eggs in the bin that looked like tiny badminton balls. Slug eggs. Because I'm not able to kill things, I ended up tending a thriving slug bin all winter long until the weather was warm enough outdoors to dump the bin. That was pretty creepy to crack the lid on at feeding times.

The most common snail in PNW gardens is the European brown garden snail, Cornu aspersum. This is also the same species used for escargot. However, it is not advised to eat them directly from the garden as they often contain harmful parasites. One needs to purge them in clean water for several days first.

I have seen those when visiting Polly. And the largest slugs I've yet to see.

Yeah, we can grow 'em big here - both slugs and snails!!

The ones in my hand are indeed Cornu aspersum, the Garden Snail. But the type used for escargot are Roman Snails (Helix pomatia) which is roughly double the size of the Garden Snail. I've gathered the latter in Germany and eaten them after purging. It takes several days and involves rinsing with clean water, feeding 'clean' food like lettuce and then starving them for a couple of days. You could eat the smaller garden snails if you wanted to. I've eaten even smaller snails in Crete but they're definitely a bit of effort.

I would eat snails at a good restsurant. I would not do them myself. I feel the same about mushrooms. I love mushrooms, but do not trust my gathering.

I ate snails in Europe and yep, we fed them on tasty herbs for a day or two, then starved them for a day or two, before cooking them. I pick and eat mushrooms, too. That said, there are plenty of tasty mushrooms I don't pick, because they are too hard to identify. I only eat ones I'm sure of. I've been foraging for mushrooms for decades now.