Photo by Rory McDonnell, Oregon State University
Two University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers and an Extension agent authored an article in the Cold Hardy Citrus Connection about the invasive peanut snail in citrus. The authors are Xavier Martini, associate professor of entomology; Issac Esquivel, assistant professor of entomology; and Extension agent Danielle Williams. Excerpts follow.
Bulimulus bonariensis (also known as Bulimulus sporadicus),commonly known as the peanut snail, is a non-native arboreal and terrestrial snail originating from South America. It was first reported in Florida in 2009. These snails are tan colored with a pointed shell, reaching up to 1-inch long.
Over the past decade, the peanut snail has established populations across Florida, Georgia and Alabama. Peanut snails were not considered an agricultural pest until around 2015.
Observed snail injury to horticultural crops such as citrus include aggregating and clogging microsprinkler irrigation emitters, feeding on tissue damaged by late winter freeze/frosts, and girdling of trees. Snails rely on humidity and moisture to complete their life cycle, prompting them to seek out micro-sprinkler emitters during periods of reduced rainfall.
WHAT WORKS
Snails favor high humidity and take shelter in places such as vegetation, mulch or leaf litter that provide them with a moist environment. Keeping the ground under the tree canopy free of weeds will help reduce their habitat.
Tree wraps may also provide shelter for snails. Removing tree wraps as soon as practical may also help reduce numbers.
Snails can be managed chemically with molluscicides. Molluscicides target slugs and snails. Specially formulated molluscicide baits are available and labeled for use in citrus.
Chemistries that have been tested and have proven to be efficient for peanut snails include metaldehyde, 4% (Deadline), iron phosphate + spinosad (Bug-N-Sluggo) and sodium ferric EDTA (Ferroxx).
For best efficiency, baits should be applied after a site has been watered or irrigated. Those molluscicides are quite dangerous for vertebrates and should be scattered thinly in and around vegetation to make it unlikely that pets or wildlife will ingest too much of the bait.
Several traps have been developed to capture snails in large quantities. One of these, known as Snailer, can be particularly effective when supplemented with a lure made of fermented bread dough.
Other traps, including pyramid traps, flat traps and tubular traps, are being developed and evaluated by UF/IFAS.
BIOLOGICAL CONTROL
The rosy wolf snail is a naturally occurring predatory snail that feeds on a variety of slugs and snails, including the peanut snail. Rosy wolf snails are typically larger than non-predatory snails, with a grey to brown body and an elongated shell that ranges from brownish to pink.
This species was introduced to Hawaii and other Polynesian Islands to control the African land snail population, but it seems to prefer smaller snails, including native ones, and is now considered a pest in these regions. Rosy wolf snails should not be transported or moved outside of Florida.
Other natural enemies include flesh flies that can develop on the body of snails.
Source: UF/IFAS
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