Residents of a rural community in England learned a new meaning of “snail mail” after their postal service was disrupted due to gastropod infestation.
A mailbox in Adderstone, which serves a remote area in the northeast of the country, has been out of use for more than a month because snails have been crawling through the letter flap in search of their equivalent of fast food, Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper reported.
A sign on the red box, dated July 11, reads: “Not in use – snails eating mail,” the paper reported.
A mild winter and wet spring created a favorable environment for slugs and snails, a local wildlife expert told the paper.
Snails like paper envelopes because they contain cellulose from wood pulp, which they can digest for energy, and calcium, which they need for their shells, he said.
