It was a bit of a surprise, but they’re back — and with a vengeance.

I stepped out front Wednesday morn at about 2 o’clock clutching my hiking headlamp when I saw the first one.

I made a sweeping motion with the headlamp and there was a second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh all in just the upper part of my driveway.

I should have seen it coming.

The mild and wet weather prolonged the emergence of spring going on for four weeks for what is usually over in a week or two given how in this part of the world Mother Nature has a nasty habit of reducing the fall and spring seasons into three-week miniseries.

Weeds are growing like weeds.

I should have been prepared for what I found in my driveway in the wee hours of Wednesday morning — snails. Lots and lots of snails with a slug or two tossed in I assume to meet nature’s version of Title IX for mollusks.

There are only three living things on earth that I will try to kill with abandon when they routinely pop up in my yard — gophers, slugs, and snails.

So on Wednesday when all of my neighbors were fast asleep, I was busy walking up and down my driveway and sidewalk stepping on — and killing — every slug and snail I could see. After I racked a dozen or so direct smashes.

Yes, spring has arrived and the war is on.

I refer to this time of year as the start of the “grow and kill” season.

You invest time and money into getting things to grow in your yard and then you spend time and money trying to kill what’s trying to eat what you are growing.

After years of dealing with roses, I waved the white flag. Combatting the aphids was bad enough. I’d literally spend hours picking them off petals and dropping them into a jar of soapy water.

In case you are wondering, Ajax super degreaser with real citrus extract is the most effective way to drown aphids plus it has a pleasant fragrance.

I would still have roses today despite all of the work they take if I hadn’t finally decided they took too much water and too much time pruning. Actually, that’s not true. That’s just what I tell myself because I don’t want to admit I finally decided to throw in the towel and let the gophers declare victory.

The gophers aren’t too smart. Because they couldn’t keep their gluttony in check, I decided to rip out all traces of what more than one master gardener has told me provides one of their three favorite foods — soft roots —with the others being bulbs and gazinas.

I do not know if the two experts were absolutely right on the pecking order of gophers’ favorite foods but I do know in the 35 years I have lived in the sandy plains of Manteca I’ve easily dropped $3,000 plus feeding them.

At one point, I had 44 rose bushes in my current yard. That, however, is a drop in the bucket compare to my first yard where at the pinnacle I had 168 rose bushes. Cynthia thought it was excessive. The neighbors thought it was strange.

My yards — front and back — are now what might be called less demanding on water. I took out the grass years ago.

The back yard has seven trees along with potato bushes, oleanders and other shrubs that are mature enough they get by being watered once a week during the hottest days of summer. The front is a different animal and can could get by with a twice a week watering if it weren’t for the Japanese maples.

By design, yard work is at a minimum as I strive for low-maintenance, somewhat controlled natural looks.

A neighbor, John Alves, who has a classic low-key front yard with a well maintained lawn along with traditional flower beds and shrubbery, refers to my yard as “the jungle.”

Rest assured he is smarter than I am. The reason was evident early Wednesday morning.

I will be spending a lot of time in the coming weeks eliminating snails and slugs that are under the assumption it is safe to venture out from cover in the cool of the dark night to blaze slimy trails across my driveway and sidewalk as they travel to new dining spots. They do so under the assumption no human in their right mind will be prowling around their yard at 2 a.m. on a mission to kill them.

This column is the opinion of editor, Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinions of The Bulletin or 209 Multimedia. He can be reached at dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com