What eats snails?

Snails have many natural predators, including beetles, mites, millipedes, flies and other insects, as well as small mammals, such as mice and squirrels. A number of amphibian species, including toads and turtles, and ground-foraging birds, such as blackbirds and grouse, are also predators of snails.

For at least 30,000 years, snails have also been in the diet of humans.

Snails have such a range of predators because of their slow movement and diminutive size. However, they also have a number of defenses. These include camouflage and hiding, chemical irritants, and their hard shell, into which they are able to withdraw for protection.