recent arrival of giant snails to Orchidland

[Kapoho Joe]

The slime that the snails have on them carries the nemotodes. Smashing the shell sprays the slime. Watching Dexter has taught me to respect the splatter pattern!

[terracore]

quote:

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Does anyone know if the snails have any natural predators?

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Predators

It may surprise you to learn who the various predators are of the Giant African Land Snail. They include the caterpillar, ground beetles, other species of snails, and many types of vertebrates.

In Africa, the Giant African Land Snail is considered to be a very delicious source of food. It is nutritional in value and in many areas it is also very expensive. Many villagers will harvest these snails in order to either eat them themselves or to sell them to make money. It is important to note that this particular type of snail has been associated with different types of parasites. The failure to cook them completely can result in humans becoming very ill called meningitis.

[Tink]

I guess if you don't like 'em you could add it to the list of "target plinkin' from the lanai" along with the rat, mongoose and feral rooster. Just brine the tip of the pellet before you go snail hunting.

Community begins with Aloha

[bananahead]

"...This snail is listed as one of the top 100 invasive species in the world.[2]..."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achatina_fulica

theyve been in Orchidland for a while, when I lived there about 8 years ago the place I was at on 39th was infested with them...

Ive only found about 3-4 in 7 years Ive been up on Rd2 in HA....but Im sure they will make it here as well...

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save our indigenous and endemic Hawaiian Plants... learn about them, grow them, and plant them on your property, ....instead of all that invasive non-native garbage I see in most yards... aloha

[shave_ice]

This part from wikipedia is crazy:

"Transferred sperm can be stored within the body for up to two years. The number of eggs per clutch averages around 200. A snail may lay five to six clutches per year with a hatching viability of about 90%."

No wonder they are so prolific.

[Midnight Rambler]

While they can have rat lungworm in the slime, there is much less in the slime of African snails than the semi-slug, Parmarion. That's why the disease only really took off after that arrived around 10-15 years ago (it also has very small babies which can be accidentally swallowed), while the giant African snails have been here (and been infected) for decades.

[lquade]

Hey banana head. i would have said i never saw them higher in acres, but this is a first on one road they have suddenly made my yard their home. don't know what i brought them in on, but now they are everywhere.. my ducks don't seem to want them at all, i was hoping they would eat them but NOT.

[terracore]

I've continued to read on this topic, and apparently rats eat snails. I haven't yet found any references that they specifically eat African land snails, but if they do, it could explain the population explosion of snails. In response to the weird rat bloom we had this year, we put out rat bait stations which wiped out most of the rats, and we noticed the snails showed up in force a few months later. Of course this is all anecdotal, but one possibility to consider. It would also be an interesting twist to the rat lungworm cycle. I also read that Indian mongoose also eat snails and we have an active mongoose eradication program.

[lquade]

interesting terracore, we also had the same timeframe. rat explosion, (hundreds!) elimination of rats in force, now explosion of the GLS. as luck would have it my good ratter dog has taught the other 3 and now have 4 ratters on the hunt and haven't seen a rat in some time..now to tackle these snails.

[justthefacts]

snails and slugs will kill your poultry if they eat them and it is a slow death .