Snails

 

Constraint - Snails

Description

• Snails appear to build up most rapidly in canola, field peas and beans

• Snails are a mollusc with a rasping tongue, and one single muscular 'foot' for movement

• Much of thier bodies is encased in a shell that they secrete as they grow

Symptoms

• Snails consume cotyledons and this may resemble crop failure

• Shredded leaves, chewed leaf margins, and irregular holes all occur as a direct result of feeding damage by snails

Damage

• Snails are predominantly a grain/seed contaminant

• The small pointed snail is especially hard to screen from canola due to similar size

• 1 live snail in a 200 gram sample will lead to rejection 

Control

Free living nematodes carrying bacteria that causes snail death are thought to help reduce populations under certain field conditions. Hard grazing of stubbles, cabling and/or rolling of stubbles, stubble burning, cultivation, and removal of summer weeds and volunteers are all effective management options. Molluscidial baits are effective on mature snails, and IPM compatible, but can be less effective on juveniles.

 

Links and Resources

AOF - Snails Description, damage, monitoring, and management.

GRDC - Best Practice Management Guide. Snails Page 52 of 92. Introduction, lifecycle, monitoring, and control. Published 2009.

GRDC - Snail Management Fact Sheet Key points, avoiding grain rejection, monitoring and control, snail facts, threshold, minimising snail intake, maximising snail and grain separation, post-harvest cleaning, and control options. Published 2012.

NIPI - Snails in seedling crops Information on finding, monitoring, recording, natural enemies, thresholds, control, multi pest considerations, and communication around management. Published 2014.

PIRSA DAFWA & CESAR - I Spy Manual. Snails Section 4, pages 65-70. General introduction, main characteristics, lifecycle, and habitat. Then individual species description/distinguishing characteristics, confused with/similar to, distribution, pest status, risk period, host range, damage, monitoring, sampling, and management Published 2012.