A pain in your garden could prove pleasing to your palate.This season’s number one pest Olata lacta the milk snail, came to Bermuda in the 1920s. The mollusc was imported to use as escargot and somehow either escaped or was thrown into the wild.Government entomologist Claire Jessey confirmed that the snail is edible. Ms Jessey has provided directions for anyone who might like to try to cultivate a few or indeed breed them for consumption.The snails should be fed a diet of bran and lettuce for two weeks or more, then starved for two to three days to “evacuate their systems”.Local farmer Roger Pacheco said chefs would love to use the snails on his farm.“They eat so much of my onions and thyme, that they’d come already seasoned,” he said.This is a recipe from ‘Snails as Food Escargot’, a publication of the University of California.Snails in tomato sauce1 medium onion chopped2 cloves of garlic crushed½ cup chopped bell pepper2 tablespoons oil1 16oz can tomatoessalt & pepper to taste1 pint snails, cleaned and blanchedtoast wedges or cooked riceSauté onion garlic and bell pepper in oil. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper and simmer until bell pepper is tender and flavours are blended. Add snails and simmer for 10 minutes.Serve over hot toast wedges, hot cooked rice or hot noodles. Makes four to six servings.Stuffed snail shellsSimmer cleaned, blanched snail meat in salted water until tender.Chop snail meat and mix with minced garlic. Sauté in olive oil or margarine for about five minutes.Stuff cleaned shells with the chopped, seasoned meat. Seal shell opening with garlic butter.Place under broiler for a few minutes until butter bubbles. Serve immediately.