When killer snails ravaged the wrong garden…

It was deep-seated irritation at the arrival of killer snails in his garden in Fredericia that drove electrician Jens Jørgen Olesen to invent an electric fence that has now led to a licensing agreement with Kohsel Elektronik.

Springtime is here, and all over the country Danish gardening enthusiasts are outdoors with their gardening gloves, hoes and garden shears. But activity is not limited to those requiring the gardening gloves. Because now is also the time when those slimy, plant- and meat-eating killer snails start to sneak into our gardens. Their intentions are clear: to gnaw their way through other snails, ornamental gardens and kitchen gardens.

Last summer these snails were something of a national plague, and garden owners chatted over their hedges about how the snails could be dealt with. Signe Olesen in Fredericia was also frustrated about the high number of killer snails invading both garden and greenhouse. This drove her husband, electrician Jens Jørgen Olesen, to experiment with an electric fence. The principle worked as intended, and he invented a version that was able, discreetly and effectively, to keep the eager little snails well away from their garden.

The invention is now protected by an exclusive licence, and in autumn 2007 the Concepts & Growth centre at the Danish Technological Institute arranged a licensing agreement with Kohsel Elektronik A/S in Hørning. Kohsel produces the well-known electric fences Elephant and Nervus, and in recent years they have been on the lookout for the right product with which to combat the killer snails.

“We’ve experienced a high level of demand – also from abroad – for something that can help keep these killer snails away from flowers and vegetables in gardens, or that can just protect the lawn so that you don’t step on anything sticky or slimy,” explains Claus Pretzmann, Product Manager at Kohsel Elektronik.

For this reason Jens Jørgen Olesen’s invention is now in production. The system behind the snail fence is simple: a 6 centimetre high, natural green electric strip is installed quickly and easily around the area to be protected against the snails. The second the killer snails creep up onto the fence and create a connection between two live wires, they are left in no doubt that they have taken a wrong turning.

Kohsel expects the snail fence to be on the shelves in DIY outlets, etc. from the end of May 2008.