The balance of the Spanish snail control work is 5000 kilos of snails - thanks to those who participated

The Etanapassi campaign to combat the Spanish worm, which was implemented on the initiative of participatory budgeting, has ended. The aim of the campaign was to attract new collectors by offering small rewards.

"During discussions with residents, it became clear that not only residents who had been collecting snails for years but also new residents were participating in the campaign. The campaign also got apartment building residents excited about collecting snails from, for example, their grandparents' plots," says Anne Kulhoranta, the city's invasive species coordinator.

"The Snail Passport campaign also increased cooperation with residents. Even in short encounters at snail camps and when stamping passports, we received good information about the distribution of snails, which was useful in planning and targeting the control work," Kulhoranta continues.

The campaign collected 1 liters of snails

82 residents participated in the Etanapassi campaign. Passports were distributed to a maximum of three per person for fiscal reasons. A total of 167 snail passports were returned and more than 1 liters of snails were collected.

In the campaign, snails were accepted at two points, the recycling center and the SER point of the city depot. In these places, you could get a stamp in your passport of snails collected from a liter. The passport was filled with six stamps.

Rewards with the money of participatory budgeting

The budget of the participatory budgeting Etanapassi campaign was 6 euros. The money was used to buy rewards for those who collected their passports full of stamps. The prizes were entrance tickets to the land swimming pool, the Youth Theater, the Biorex cinema and gift cards to the cafe Laurell and the Kaarlonkatu maintenance car wash. The most popular rewards were Laurell and Biorex gift cards.

Three new snail litters were also purchased from Budget, so there were a total of 28 around the city this summer.

The traditional snail talks continued

During the campaign, seven snail talks were organized, in which 38 residents participated. About 2 snails were collected in the taluks, which corresponds to about 550 liters. The participants in the talks also received stamps in their passports.

During the campaign, collection tools were distributed to residents: 50 collection tongs and 60 vinegar bottles were distributed.

In total, almost 5 kilograms of snails were collected

The snail waste bins placed in the city have been actively used by the citizens. This year, the residents collected a total of 4 kilos of snails during the summer season, including the amounts left as snail snacks within the framework of the campaign. This is almost double the number compared to last year.

In Riihimäki, Spanish snails have been resolutely fought for several years. Since 2020, control work has been carried out by spreading pesticide, organizing taluks and mowing and cutting park areas, taking control measures into account.

The city of Riihimäki thanks all the citizens who participated in the campaign.

More information about the control of the Spanish hornworm and other harmful alien species in Riihimäki.