Apple snail is major pest for coastal La.

Apple snails have invaded coastal Louisiana and are eating lots of vegetation that is vital to the region’s ecosystem, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries biologist Bobby Reed said.
Anyone who finds the snails or snail eggs should call Wildlife and Fisheries’ aquatic invasive species hotline at 225-765-3977.
Adult apple snails can grow to the size of apples and lay eggs with pink casings, Reed said. They’re the only snails in the United States that eat “fresh, live vegetation,” he said.
A mild winter encouraged the snails to reproduce. Another reason that apple snails may currently be more visible is because they have reached “critical mass” with millions of the snails now in the environment, he said.
The snails seem to prefer eating the state’s native, succulent vegetation over invasive plants, Reed said. Other animals such as ducks, geese and crawfish have to compete with the snails for food, he said.
Apple snails also pose a threat to the wetlands by consuming too many plants that act as barriers to coastal erosion, Reed said.
Though people eat apple snails in some parts of the world, Reed cautions people who attempt to handle or eat the snails. Apple snails are host to the rat-lungworm, which can cause meningitis in humans. After handling apple snails, people should wash their hands as well as they would after eating raw chicken, Reed said.
Apple snails have been prevalent in the Atchafalaya Basin near Morgan City for several years, Reed said. The Daily Review received a report last week of apple snail eggs seen at Lake End Park.
If someone spots the snail’s pink egg casings, Reed asks people to scrape the casings off into the water. Doing so will drown the baby snails inside the eggs, he said.
“That’s the best thing that folks could do for us,” Reed said.
Spotting an adult apple snail on land is less likely, but people can crush the shell if they do see one, he said.
In small ponds, people can control the population of apple snails by routinely knocking the eggs into the water. But, controlling the population in larger waterways isn’t practical, Reed said.
The pink egg casings are commonly found on any hard surface near the water above the water line including tree stumps, sides of boats and even duck decoys, Reed said.
Females lay eggs about once a week from March through October. There’s no “magic spray” to attack the apple snails without harming other animals, he said.
Eggs take about 21 days to hatch and float for 10 to 12 days before settling into the water.
“After they hatch, and they’re already floating, there’s not much you can do” to get rid of the snails, Reed said.
Biologists first recognized apple snails in Louisiana in the early 2000s. In the past decade, the snails spread from the New Orleans area to 19 parishes throughout southeast Louisiana, Reed said.
Some people keep the snails as pets, and biologists suspect the wild population developed after young snails escaped captivity.