Crushing Snail Eggs Is Probably the Most Humane Thing You Can Do When Keeping Snails

The Gist:

• Snail owners often have to crush snail eggs on a regular basis.
• Though some are reluctant to do so, many advise that the eggs should be taken care of.
• We break down what folks have to say about destroying snail eggs.

Not so long ago, everyone was on the spotted lanternfly killing spree. As overt pests that can disrupt ecosystems and harm crops, we as a society were pretty much tasked with keeping these bugs at bay and crushing them on sight. I, personally, have seen plenty of crushed lanternflies on the sidewalk and have gotten a couple myself as recently as Fall 2023. It might seem a bit cruel at first, but it's more necessary than one might think.

By that same measure, people do the same thing with snail eggs. If they happen to find some or if a pet snail lays them, it's apparently better to get rid of the lot rather than let them hatch. Here's what folks have to say about what to do with snail eggs.

Folks began discussing snail eggs after a TikTok video from @mildhippie went viral. As the self-proclaimed "snail egg crushing queen," she has made several videos on both snail keeping and, of course, crushing snail eggs.

You might be surprised to know that she does have several snails as pets and she cares for many of them as best as possible. It's because of this that she is an active proponent of crushing snail eggs.

In one of her most popular videos, she offers a deep dive into the importance of crushing snail eggs as a snail keeper. She explains that snails reproduce asexually and can lay more than 800 eggs a year. Allowing them to hatch means that you could, you know, end up having to care for more than 800 snails! Taking care of 800 of anything is an impossible task for anyone, even snails and snail keepers.

Releasing these snails in the wild is also not an option, as you may be introducing an invasive species into an ecosystem. Not only that, but many of these snails would hatch as "runts," which are weaker snails that supposedly suffer every day because of their weakened bodies.

Given all of these troubling statistics around snail care, it's no wonder that expert snail owners advise that snail eggs be crushed on a regular basis.

While @mildhippie loves her pet snails deeply, she also recognizes the responsibility placed on her to ensure that no one's lives are completely overrun by snail eggs. To that end, she even offers tutorials and advice on how to crush snail eggs safely. In some cases, she even feeds the crushed eggs to her living snails, which is apparently something that snails are a fan of?

If you've ever thought about taking care of a snail as a pet, this is your first important lesson.