The advancing invasion of several Pomacea species and the damage that these snails can cause to the food production (mainly rice), makes it more and more important to focus on good pest management. Delivering adequate information about apple snails, and improving knowledge about pest management is essential to control this growing threat.

Request for pest management information

If anyone has good suggestions about golden apple snails pest management, please Especially suggestions/non published material in the field of natural (botanical) derived pesticides and vector (parasite) based methods are very welcome.

Detailed alert information about the golden snail pest

• Interactive view of the spreading of Pomacea canaliculata in Asia.
  Get a better understanding of the rapidly spreading apple snail pest in Asia with this interactive map.

• Pomacea canaliculata is spreading rapidly accross Asia during the last decades and is now on the verge of entering India.
  The results of such an invasion into rice fields can be devastating for the food production. Therefore it's very important to be alert in this matter and report any new spreadings. In order to achieve this, an 'alert poster' has been produced to alert farmers and other people involved in the rice production and trade.
  You can find this poster below. You are encouraged to spread this poster in any form.
  Pomacea canaliculata Asia: pest alert poster
  Pomacea canaliculata Asia: pest alert poster (Adobe PDF format)

• Management options for the Golden Apple Snail Recommended reading!
  On-line version of the "Management options for the Golden Apple Snail" guide (Rice Technology Bulletin 2001 n°33).
  From the Department of Agriculture, Philippine Rice Institute (PhilRice).

• "Know your plant enemies in the Cordillera Administrative Region" [PDF file 130kb, intended for printing].
  Informative pamphlet from the Crop protection Knowing Series (No. 3, 2001), produced by DA-PhilRice, RTOFKC, and DA-RFU-CAR.
  

• Apple snail eradication section.
  In this small guide, some general methods and techniques are presented about how to keep apple snail populations under control. This documeny is directed both to aquarium hobbiist as well people involved in rice and taro production.

• The fire ant as biological control agent?
  Can the fire ant be use as a biological method to control Pomacea canaliculata populations in the Asian rice fields? The observation that the fire ant Solenopsis geminata predates on the eggs of the apple snail Pomacea canaliculata suggest a possible use of this ant as a biological agent. However, cautions should be taken in this approach as the fire ant can become a pest itself.

• Long-horned grasshoppers (Conocephalous longipennis) eat golden kuhol eggs
  The long-horned grasshopper (Conocephalous longipennis de Haan), locally known as tipaklong na mahaba ang sungot, is reported to predate on the eggs of the golden kuhol snail. The news article recommends that rice farmers should be informed on the importance of conserving egg predators such as the long-horned grasshoppers.

Related pages on applesnail.net

'Apple snails as bio-agent' section, 'Pomacea canaliculata' section, 'Fire ant (Solenopsis geminata) predation' on eggs section.
'Apple snails as food ' section, 'Recognizing apple snails' section, 'Bibliography on the golden apple snail' section.

Links:

• Apple Snails in Wetland Taro Production
  Basic info about Apple snails in Hawaii and methods to control their population.
• Some Hawaii pests arrived by invitation (article)
  Invasion of the (Pomacea) apple snail inHawaii.
• Aquatic Species Introductions Database
  Database with species introduction info. Search with "Pomacea" for apple snail spreading.
• The Parable of the Golden Snail
  A frightening story about genetical 'improved' rice seeds. The apple snail invasion in the Philippines is used here as example to warn that these new technologies are not always beneficial for the farmers. 
• Socio-economic aspects of apple snail invasion in Asia (article)
  Invasion of the (Pomacea) apple snail in the rice fields of Asia.
• Fish farming in Vietnamese rice fields fights golden apple snail pest
  Includes the methods used to control the snail population.
• Golden Apple Snail
  A radio interview about the possible invasion of the Golden Apple Snail in Australia. This snail, which is originally from South America was introduced into Asia through the aquarium trade It was then also promoted as a potential food source for humans Now it's in plague. This danger is now treatening Australia.
• Keeping predator snails at bay
  New techniques and advances in the battle against the Golden Apple Snail in South-East Asia. The results indicate that extracts from the leaves and the stem from Ximenia americana kills the snails at low dosages, while leaving other species unharmed.
• Un sudamericano invade Asia
  Article in Spanish about the invasion of Pomacea canaliculata into Asia. This article was written by María Cristina Damborenea y Gustavo Darrigran and published in CienciaHoy, Volumen 11 - Nº 66 Diciembre 2001/ Enero 2002.

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