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Barbados Under African Snail Attack

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african snail

Submitted by Commenter, Saski
This is a serious problem that has been going on for such a long time and no-one seems to be taking it very seriously. Barbados has now got infested with these snails and except for the concern of a few, they go by unnoticed. The Government issues snail pellets but these,
  1. have to be bought
  2. can only be obtained from the Agricultural Station in Graeme Hall. What a long haul with all the traffic these days. This has been the situation now for what 4 or 5 years. And to what effect – the island is still infested.

What about being able to buy these pellets (if we must buy them) from any Garden Centre or possibly Hardware Shop. At least then they would be more accessible to the general public. And possibly then we might have more people fighting the battle. I have a relative that lives in Bamboo Ridge and their garden becomes infested if the pellets are not put down at regular intervals. Just next door there is a property that is so overgrown that the snails just slide back in there to hide as he/she does absolutely nothing. It’s been like this for years and it makes me wonder if the Health Inspector ever walks around this Bamboo Ridge/ John’s Plain/ Dairy Meadow area. Obviously not. Do we take any matters seriously on this island ? Or only when the snails invade the gardens of the High Up does anything really change. Soon we’ll have no crops but who cares, as just about everything is imported these days.

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46 responses to “Barbados Under African Snail Attack”

  1. David Avatar
    David

    In support of our farmers we want to join with all those who have gone before in highlighting this growing scourge. It seems the efforts so far are just scratching the surface of this problem. Its time to declare war with the same fervour which the African sympathizers have unleashed on the government.

  2. Snail Avatar
    Snail

    Your article gives the impression that you have to buy the pellets from the Gov’t office. But in fact, you do not have to. Once you go there and show them a couple of snails you have caught, they give you them free. I have done this on a number of occasions. But it is quite a drive!

  3. Snails still every where Avatar
    Snails still every where

    every day i doe see these snail

  4. Bajanboy Avatar
    Bajanboy

    I own a house in John’s Plain and can concur regarding the snail infestation. About every six weeks I have to treat the property with about $40 of pellets, but the snails from adjoining properties crawl back in after a few weeks. I have had a couple of visits from the inspector in about five years, so not really a concerted effort.

  5. David Avatar
    David

    Can we lick this snail invasion? Is Saski correct that the problem has worsen? What is the implication for Barbados

  6. Zachary Avatar
    Zachary

    This snail was allowed to get completely out of control by the Ministry of Agriculture. As usual in Barbados we only try to deal with a problem when it is too far gone. These snails are everywhere. I live around Pine Gardens. I pick up all I see at night and the very next night there are twice the amount. I don’t know how we are going to handle this but that is what the taxpayers pay the people at the Min. of Agriculture for.

  7. Fred Avatar
    Fred

    Zachary // April 23, 2008 at 7:35 am

    This snail was allowed to get completely out of control by the Ministry of Agriculture. As usual in Barbados we only try to deal with a problem when it is too far gone.
    ****************

    I agree with the above comments totally.

    People in bim have properties and don’t realise that they they have to treat their homes/properties like gold these days.

    Gov’t needs to introduce a special tax/levy for people who don’t clean their lands and who don’t rid them of rodents and pests that is the only way that they will begin to be clean alot of bajans are too nasty. It is like a lady at work who says that if a 6.3o in the morning the water is too cold she does no take a bath.

    I walk around my garden a nights, almost every night and if i see a common slug I throw a fit, so an african would not servive, but the neighbours to the left and right of me are totally different.

  8. Thewhiterabbit Avatar
    Thewhiterabbit

    Bloggers here need to note that the Min of Ag is mounting a major effort to get the snails under control. Please contact Dr. Ian Gibbs there for info. In all probability it will be well nigh impossible to eradicate the snail, but efforts might help get it under control. At this time Min of Ag is looking into some mites that seem to attack the snail, and I was informed at a snail meeting recently that firefly (lightning bug) larvae also eat snails. Perhaps if we stopped spraying malathion to get rid ofmosquitoes and started to use BT-Israelii to kill mosquito larvae in the water we might get back our population of fireflies and other beneficial insect helpers that would put our ecosystem somewhat back in order. In the meantime the snails are very good to eat (we don’t have any of the disease problems with our snails yet), and even if English-speaking people don’t eat snails the French-speaking people do and we could set up a canning facility, process the snails, sell them for foreign exchange, and turn a pest into a profit. Now why do I think Bajans will never have the drive, ambition, insight, or sense of innovation to do this????? Instead of putting down massive quantities of evil and expensive poison, simply pay people 5 cents a piece at the canning factory and in two twos there would be no more snail problem on the island.

  9. Iriebrown Avatar
    Iriebrown

    Initially I think someone was saying they were ok to eat but I’m sure I have read somewhere that they can contain some serious types of parasites. The article below states this info

    Read:-
    http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/gas/index.shtml

    The snail came into B’dos thru the Port. Initailly it was only in that area but as nothing had been done to exterminate it, it is now prevalent across most of the island. And it will need the participation of every household to fight it.

    But everyone needs to play their part. It is a serious situation.

  10. The Truth Avatar
    The Truth

    Saski…
    I have friends in Sunset Creat that have problems with these G snails too. There is a house at 38 Plumbago Ave owned by Wolfgang Bowoering a german man. He has been reported to the ministry/health/etc and nothing happens. His house and garden are full with hundreds of these snails and nothings happens.
    I am told that George Hutson owns a house on same street does anyone know his number.

  11. peltdownman Avatar
    peltdownman

    The sandhole in St Andrew is infested with them, so how do you think they get to spread?

  12. Adrian Hinds Avatar
    Adrian Hinds

    Thewhiterabbit // April 23, 2008 at 9:44 am

    Bloggers here need to note that the Min of Ag is mounting a major effort to get the snails under control. Please contact Dr. Ian Gibbs there for info. In all probability it will be well nigh impossible to eradicate the snail, but efforts might help get it under control. At this time Min of Ag is looking into some mites that seem to attack the snail, and I was informed at a snail meeting recently that firefly (lightning bug) larvae also eat snails. Perhaps if we stopped spraying malathion to get rid ofmosquitoes and started to use BT-Israelii to kill mosquito larvae in the water we might get back our population of fireflies and other beneficial insect helpers that would put our ecosystem somewhat back in order. In the meantime the snails are very good to eat (we don’t have any of the disease problems with our snails yet), and even if English-speaking people don’t eat snails the French-speaking people do and we could set up a canning facility, process the snails, sell them for foreign exchange, and turn a pest into a profit. Now why do I think Bajans will never have the drive, ambition, insight, or sense of innovation to do this????? Instead of putting down massive quantities of evil and expensive poison, simply pay people 5 cents a piece at the canning factory and in two twos there would be no more snail problem on the island.
    =================================

    Finally a post that may be written, free of spelling errors and grammatical mistakes,( I don’t know, don’t care), and yet contains useful information. I don’t know about eating and or canning thing, but paying people to capture the pest may yet be the best approach to maintaining a sustain unslaught on them. I can think of the success instituting a 5 cent deposit on drink bottles, in ensuring they did not litter our streets and gullies.

  13. The Devils Advocate Avatar
    The Devils Advocate

    ‘This snail was allowed to get completely out of control by the Ministry of Agriculture’ ……………. I don’t know how we are going to handle this but that is what the taxpayers pay the people at the Min. of Agriculture for.”

    Did the Ministry move the snails from Brandons where there were first seen?
    Barbadians were too sqeamish to destroy the snails themselves when the snails first started spreading. No one paid the Ministry much mind, after all that is what we pay taxes for and we are a nation of people that believes that civil servants are lazy overpaid people who have nothing really to do. Civil servants are taxpayers too, some pay more taxes than some of the people they work for.
    If you are paying a maid to clean your home does mean that you don’t do anything for yourself? You leave garbage all over your home and tell her that is what you pay her for? You stool and pee in your bed because you pay her to clean?
    Did the Ministry not have meeting after meeting about this snail problem over the years?
    Did the Ministry not ask people to stop moving bagasse and topsoil from certain areas?
    If Barbadians had taken heed when the snail was not so widespread we would not be in this position. The snail, due to our own perverseness has spread way beyond the control of the same people who have been warning us about them for years. Remember Noah and the flood?

  14. no name Avatar
    no name

    Adrian, collecting the snails sounds good but is impossible.

    I live in an infested area and there are not thousands but hundreds of thousands of snails.

    We were told at first that the snails did not eat plants. They not only eat all sorts of plants but they eat fruit off the trees and even try to come into the house.

    I am opposed to baiting but there is no choice. The new bait from the Min is the only one which has worked for us. It is called Deadline M-Ps.

    Three baitings over a period of several weeks has reduced the 6″ to 8″ size snail population and we are now working on the smaller 1″ ones. There are hundreds of thousands of these also.

    I am hoping that the snails have to mature before they can lay eggs. Does anyone know if the samller snails can lay eggs? If so, we have a really big problem.

  15. Adrian Hinds Avatar
    Adrian Hinds

    Unless these snails can out run Bajans then i will not accept that there numbers cannot be significantly reduce by a consistent harvesting initiative. If wunnuh can’t make headway in this fight wuh de hell could todays bajans accomplish?

  16. no name Avatar
    no name

    Adrian,

    The problem went unchecked too long. It is our own fault and we have to solve the problem.

    I have seen these snails ranging in size from half your littlest fingernail to 8″. They move in the evening. Not too many Bajans are going to be walking about at night looking for snails. Not me for sure, although, at first I did walk with a bucket of salt water for several nights but it really made little difference and my back gave out by the third night. Putting them in salt water kills them. Had to buy salt by the pound.

    When the rain falls they come out in droves. You have to see this thing to believe it.

    They are in the gullies and bushes and you seldom see them in the day unless rain is falling. Barbados has had a lot of bush fires but the snails are still here.

    As I said, consistent baiting works for me so far but if I let up it is back to square one.

  17. no name Avatar
    no name

    p.s. all the time you are picking them up they are hatching by the hundreds. Each snail lays a cluster of eggs.

  18. Adrian Hinds Avatar
    Adrian Hinds

    no name // April 24, 2008 at 3:35 pm

    p.s. all the time you are picking them up they are hatching by the hundreds. Each snail lays a cluster of eggs.
    =================================

    ………so this furthers your belief that it is impossible? Wow Bajans defeated by the African giant snail. If this is the case, and knowing that a snail competes with the slug, turtle, and sloth as the slowest animal, can i link the concerns about Bajans lack of productivity, their sedentary lifestyle and statistics that show high incidents of obesity, and lifestyle diseases, i.e, diabetes, hypertension etc to the proliferation of this pest against very little odds?

  19. no name Avatar
    no name

    Adrian,

    The problem will be solved if everybody takes responsibility, something that Bajans are not very good at these days.

    We seem to be looking for somebody else to solve the problems. This is not the Ministry’s fault.

  20. Adrian Hinds Avatar
    Adrian Hinds

    Bajanboy // April 22, 2008 at 10:58 pm

    I own a house in John’s Plain and can concur regarding the snail infestation. About every six weeks I have to treat the property with about $40 of pellets, but the snails from adjoining properties crawl back in after a few weeks. I have had a couple of visits from the inspector in about five years, so not really a concerted effort.
    =================================
    What do these pellets do? Do they kill them? It sounds like they taste the pellets and retreat. This point is not clear to me, so hopefully someone can clarify. If they do retreat they certainly don’t fly back to whence they came, surely they crawl, could they not be another set of bait waiting for them on their return trip? Caught between two sets of bait what will do? what are their choices?

  21. Adrian Hinds Avatar
    Adrian Hinds

    no name // April 25, 2008 at 9:07 am

    Adrian,

    The problem will be solved if everybody takes responsibility, something that Bajans are not very good at these days.

    We seem to be looking for somebody else to solve the problems. This is not the Ministry’s fault.
    =================================

    ….It kind of appeared to me that the problem all along is one where Barbadians are willing to leave the fight up to the authorities. Yuh got tuh love socialism, people refusing to help themselves for any number of things. Mia and the political class should be proud of their achievement,….turning Barbadians (with their help) into a society of helpless dependent, and entitled class of people.

  22. Tell me Why Avatar
    Tell me Why

    Adrian, are you a Barbadian? Do you remember anything whilst growing up and seeing slugs invading garden beds and centipedes and millipedes evading a dousing of kerosene around th house, yet we still see them under our pillows etc?

    Yes, we might say that Barbadians prefer to sit back and let the Agriculture Ministry do the work, but you must forget your comfortable home in the developed world and put yourself in the position of the many people who silently try to get rid of these fast reproductive snails.

    Millions have been spent in eliminating them to no avail. Outside is hot at the moment, but when the rainy season comes around, heaven help in with our efforts. Maybe, you can return with for a vacation with some of your family and neighbourhood and assist us with the collection of them. Your presence will serve two folds, to get rid of them and increase our tourist arrivals and put some foreign exchange in our coffers.

  23. Adrian Hinds Avatar
    Adrian Hinds

    Tell me Why; yes i am a Bajan, and yes i have seen slugs in gardens but never in any amount that i would concider an invasion. Whatever their number they were dealt with. In fact i use to walk de village hunting slugs, and other pest. I grew up poor, did not have a TV and many of the the mind numbing entertainment gadgets to waste time away, getting fat and lazy. 😀 not that anybody in particulars does :D, …. My home aint nuh more comfortable than the one i left in Bim, in fact a lot of the things we did in Barbados out of necessity we do now here in North America under the guise of being “green” and or conservation, makes us stand out amongst our neighbours in a positive way. But don’t look for me anytime soon in Bimshire. I no longer fly for vacation,(can’t afford too), only work and reluctantly so. At any rate if i were to travel to Bimshire anytime soon I am sure my few dollars wouldn’t be notice as one of the biggest ways I practice “green” living is keeping as much as of the “greenback” US dollar in my pocket as possible. 😀

  24. Tell me Why Avatar
    Tell me Why

    But don’t look for me anytime soon in Bimshire. I no longer fly for vacation,(can’t afford too), only work and reluctantly so
    …………………………………………………………………….
    Boy oh Boy, it is really hard to get vex wid you, always have soothing words to defend blaring statements. Anyway, you might have to bring your doggy bag with food cause tings gettin’ real bad in Bim. Block ah cheese dat was $25 bucks now up to $45 bucks. Tings risin’ suh fast dat you can’t keep check. Do have a nice weekend yuh hear.

  25. Adrian Hinds Avatar
    Adrian Hinds

    Tell me Why // April 25, 2008 at 5:23 pm

    But don’t look for me anytime soon in Bimshire. I no longer fly for vacation,(can’t afford too), only work and reluctantly so
    …………………………………………………………………….
    Boy oh Boy, it is really hard to get vex wid you, always have soothing words to defend blaring statements. Anyway, you might have to bring your doggy bag with food cause tings gettin’ real bad in Bim. Block ah cheese dat was $25 bucks now up to $45 bucks. Tings risin’ suh fast dat you can’t keep check. Do have a nice weekend yuh hear.
    =================================
    Um is funny you should say so, last time i was in Bim (2004) Two barrels was sent ahead of me. De cost uh living in Bimshire didn’t just get high, for one um is one uh de main reason i am an economic refugee in America (1993) and long before that i use to hear my Mother (in de 70’s)and before she My Grand Mother (in de 60’s)saying Lawrd the price uh things real high, but wuh yuh gine do, Yuh can’t eat de money yuh could as well spend um.

    But New Zealand cheddar cheese aint all dah good for you, although when i down dey i duz eat cheese cutters morning, noon and night. 😀

    as fuh muh weekend i gine and do my 2 nights uh week part-time job later. 😀

  26. Iriebrown Avatar
    Iriebrown

    Giant African snail

    Scientific name: Achatina fulica

    Country: Kenya, Tanzania, introduced to many more countries worldwide

    Continent: Africa

    Diet: Leaves – folivore, herbs – forbivore

    Food & feeding: Herbivore

    Habitats: Tropical grassland, tropical dry forest, urban

    Conservation status: Not Threatened

    Relatives: Partula snail

    Description: A snail that lives in a large shiny conical shell with darker bands running across the spiral. They are usually around 7 cm in size, but can reach 20 cm. They move along on a single foot, driven by waves of muscle contraction in the sole of the foot. A gland at the front of the foot produces slime for the foot to slide over. Teeth are carried on a flexible strap in the mouth, called a radula, that is used like a file, grinding away at the plants they feed on.

    Lifestyle: These snails are active mainly at night. During the day, they shelter from the tropical sun under stones or leaves. Those that do not find shelter before sunrise overheat and die. Their dried out empty shells are a common sight on lawns in tropical Africa.

    Family & friends: These snails are hermaphrodite which means each one carries both eggs and sperm, but they need to mate with each other to fertilise their eggs.

    Growing up: Up to 200 eggs are laid in damp places five or six times a year. About 90% of these eggs hatch. Adult size is reached in just 4 months. This species can reproduce very quickly.

    Conservation news: This species has been introduced by humans all over the world. It breeds rapidly, carries a number of parasites harmful to humans, out-competes native species of snails and reaches such large numbers that other predatory species of snail, such as Euglandina rosea, have been disastrously introduced in some areas to control them. In Polynesia, Euglandina has caused the extinction of dozens of native species of tree snail.

  27. Adrian Hinds Avatar
    Adrian Hinds

    —–During the day, they shelter from the tropical sun under stones or leaves. Those that do not find shelter before sunrise overheat and die.——
    ============================

    Thanks Irie Brown, so it seems that hunting can also be done during the day. In fact i think this should be the preferred time rather than at night, for a number of reasons.

    1: You can fight them when at rest
    2:If their rest area is largely a shaded area, they can be collected and burnt or pellets applied if possible in such a manner as to trap them where they will starve to death.

  28. Zachary Avatar
    Zachary

    Given the serious threat of this snail to the little agriculture that we have in Barbados, it is truly amazing that the article has only merited 27 responses. Other topics of far less importance got a hell of a lot more.

    Guess this shows what our priorities are!

    I went out again last night and tried to tackle some more, but these creatures breed at a very alarming rate. When you see them in their numbers it looks somewhat like an invasion in a horror movie. Pretty scary. Seems that I’m fighting a losing battle. Also, this is truly an exhausting task and not at all safe for a female at night.

    Thanks for the info, Iriebrown. Adrian Hinds – perhaps you are right that we should make a go of it during the day.

    p.s. I still think the Min. of Ag. did not move quickly and aggressively enough.

  29. David Avatar
    David

    Barbadians are known to have a attitude of if it is not affecting us we can’t be bothered. Last night we heard a report that one of the key people in the Ministry in the fight against the African snail was off to St. Martins last night to continue the battle. We get the feeling that it is a token fight even if the people involved mean well.

    It seems to us that the time is NOW to call in the calvary!

  30. Snailnews Avatar
    Snailnews

    This promlem will get worse David. Not only can we stop the problem but the plan to increase trade will heap on the problem.

    Barbados has spent an estimated US$500,000 over the past eight years in an effort to eradicate the Giant African Snail that has been infesting crops in countries across the Caribbean.

    Entomologist Brett Taylor said the figure is expected to increase significantly in light of the introduction of approximately 19 new destructive plant pests into the island over the last 10 years.

    He said the Plant Quarantine Unit has also had to pay close attention to dangerous plant pests that could enter the island as a result of trade with other CARICOM countries.

    The Unit had also stepped up its surveillance in light of requests for increased trade with countries like Columbia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Argentina and Peru.

  31. blackbart Avatar
    blackbart

    These snails are prolific. Theoretically one pair can become 8 to 10 billion individuals in their 5 to 7 year life span. Let these 8 billion continue for another half a generation and you could have a population of 16 quadrillion. Scary. Not only can they bury themselves when the climate isn’t right for them, they can do so for up to 6 months, and they can repair their shells from the inside. The GAS is likely the finest example on this planet of a species that can survive and multiply. Can we eradicate them? I doubt it however it has been shown that during the initial period of infestation the population increases dramatically and then begins to fall reaching a level of coexistence. How much time this takes I don’t know. I believe in Sri Lanka it was 50 years before it stabilized in most of the country.

    Yes we have to use bait but as judiciously as possible. This poison, metaldehyde, does kill snails and slugs rather efficiently. The problem is that it is the leading cause of deaths among pets and it, the agonizing convulsions, is not a nice way to die. Furthermore other animals and birds in our habitat will ingest this poison and die. Last but not least metaldehyde will attract and kill all snails and slugs, not just the pest. These creatures are extremely useful to our planet as they break down rotting vegetation into soil. It has been postulated that mankind would not live long in a world devoid of snails.

    As an aside, I dropped by the Min of Ag station the other day only to drive back out quickly when I read the sign, ‘No Pellets, Liquid Only’. I really didn’t mind. My first trip there was scary. They gave me 2 paper bags of pellets which they had repackaged on the premises. The air in the warehouse stank of the poison and an employee was busy sweeping up the contents of a spilled pallet. It was very obvious that these employees had not been trained to handle this poison. Metaldehyde is considered by the WHO as a moderately hazardous pesticide when ingested, slightly toxic by dermal absorption and highly toxic by inhalation. The US EPA classifies metaldehyde as a Restricted Use Pesticide because of its potential short-term and long term effects on wildlife. Metaldehyde is toxic to all organisms that ingest it, either directly or as a result of secondary poisoning from consuming poisoned prey. Long term repeated skin exposure can result in dermatitis in humans while prolonged eye exposure can cause conjunctivitis. The autopsy of a 2 ½ yearr old boy who lived for 33 hours after ingesting metaldehyde revealed areas of collapse and congestion in the lungs as well as cellular changes in the liver and kidneys.

    A year and a half ago I ejected two Min of Ag employees from my land. Our old gardener had let them talk him into allowing them to spray the pellets on our property. They sprayed everywhere, walkways, on top of hedges, in piles. The directions state that distribution should be such that each pellet is within a 10 to 12 cm diameter.

    We are not the first country to be infested. The GAS have been on a world tour since leaving east Africa two centuries ago. It was only a matter of time before they reached our shores. It has been found that hand collecting is the best way to do away with them however you then have to kill them. Immersion in salt water doesn’t work too well and the odor produced is not pleasant. One test found that there was an 85% survival rate after 48 hours of soaking. Burning works but stinks. Same for boiling. The surest method is to make sure that the shell is well broken. I propose that the Min of Ag distribute appropriately coloured and stenciled plastic bags that homeowners can put out with the garbage. At the dump they can easily be sorted out, run through a crusher and buried in a deep trench.

    When to collect them. Don’t waste your time if it hasn’t rained for 2 or 3 days but if it rains off and on and is overcast much of the day the snails will be out foraging. During the rainy season you can usually go out at 5 p.m. and collect several hundred before 6:30 p.m. If you go out at 5 a.m. you will likely be able to collect 6 to 700 per hour through to 8 a.m. when you will no longer find enough to warrant the effort. I roam over 2 acres of land every morning and some evenings. My best day I collected 3,000. For the month of November my total was 42,000. Since then the dry season has yielded an average of 15,000 per month. This is exercise. I no longer feel a need to go to the gym and my back muscles have strengthened considerably.

    As you collect these snails night after night you will begin to notice a pattern of where they are concentrated on your property and where their travel routes are. I keep a record of the numbers I collect by area. Then when I apply the bait I do so where it will be most effective. I also carry a spray bottle of liquid metaldehyde to use when I encounter a recently hatched nest of tiny ones. I also spray a little in the collector bags every so often as they fill up but I’d rather know that they were going to killed properly in a manner such as I have outlined above without the use of this toxin.

    And while you’re collecting the live ones also collect the ones that have been killed by poison or natural causes. Their shells can hold a fair bit of water and provide a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Also they stink as they rot and attract flies.

    Are they edible? Yes, and an excellent food source at that being, 15% protein and only 2% fat.

    Can they carry parasites? As with most creatures yes they can, specifically something called rat lung disease which they get from eating rat feces. The US CDC website states that there have been no known deaths reported from rat lung disease and that the symptoms are akin to a mild flu. It further states that human beings can be infected with rat lung disease if they eat raw or undercooked snails. It cannot be had by handling the snails or after cooking them well. A survey was conducted in Barbados in 2004 and no rat lung disease was found. Lastly may I say that in countries where these snails did not become part of the food chain the infestation was far worse than where they were included in the diet.

    Questions.

    Can Roberts figure out a way to use this excellent source of protein in their production of animal feed?

    Can Supercentre tell us how many cans of canned snails they sell, 8 oz for $9.79, in a year and if they would be prepared to offer locally canned snails instead?

    Could the Sanitation Dept. tell us if they could sort out bright orange plastic snail collection bags at the dump and crush and bury them properly?

    Could the Min of Ag please assure us that they are handing out complete and concise directions on the proper use of metaldehyde and the consequences of misusing it?

    Sorry for being so long winded but we have a major and complex problem on our hands that isn’t going to go away too soon. There is a lot more information to be had in a book originally published in 1961 and now available for free on line. It is The Giant African Snail: A Problem in Economic Malacology and is the result of over a decade of toil and dedication by Mr. Albert R. Mead.

  32. GT Eagus Avatar
    GT Eagus

    Hello,

    Bajians – these snails are edible. Furthermore they are excellent fish bait. In West Africa they are smoked and eaten – if you are concerned about invasive species – then you should be more aggressive because they breed rapidly. Otherwise ignore them.

  33. Partly bajan girl Avatar
    Partly bajan girl

    Hi!
    Theese snails are coming in scary numbers in barbados now!
    I remember that the first time I noticed them in my Grandparents garden was in 2003.And they were many! yuck!

    From the text one can read that they like beer and that this is a growtstimulus for them….

    From wikipedia:
    “Suggested preventative measures must include strict quarantine measures to prevent introduction and further spread. Many methods have been tried to eradicate the Giant East African Snail. Generally, none of them have been effective except where implemented at the first sign of infestation. Methods include hand collecting, use of molluscicides, flame-throwers, and the failed attempts at biological control discussed below. In some regions, an effort has been made to promote use of the Giant East African Snail as a food resource, collecting the snails for food being seen as a method of controlling them. However, promoting a pest in this way is a controversial measure, as it may encourage the further deliberate spread of the snails.

    One particularly catastrophic attempt to biologically control this species occurred on South Pacific Islands. Colonies of A. fulica were originally introduced as a food reserve for American GI’s during the second world war, but naturally escaped. A carnivorous species from East Africa, a known predator of the East African Land Snail was introduced, but instead heavily predated the native Partula, causing the loss of some species.[citation needed]”

    So I got this wild idea;

    Why not let bajan autorities sponsor Banks breweries
    and build up huge beer-tanks around, were theese snails can do their final “pilgrimage”,drowning silently and happy in the the best beer in the world??:-))

  34. Partly bajan girl Avatar
    Partly bajan girl

    …and bajans can “lime” and be cool,as they are used too?;-))

    Another advice is to spray ammoniumchloride on them,that will maybe make`m DIE!

  35. maria verivaki Avatar
    maria verivaki

    are these snails edible?

  36. Partly bajan girl Avatar
    Partly bajan girl

    Looks as they are edible,originally,in a perfect world.
    But if they carries meningitis and other virus and stuff,its maybe best to cook them properly??
    I can se that You like snails from your internetsite,Maria?
    I also like snails french style at home in Europe,but it doesn`t give me the same feeling to collect this monsters for same purpose,its not exactly petit cuisine…..

  37. no name Avatar
    no name

    Not me! I am not eating any African snails thanks.

    Now that the rains are in they are rampant in my garden. Time to bait again.

  38. keryanne Avatar
    keryanne

    leave thebladdy snails alone.

  39. Juice Avatar
    Juice

    I have no idea why you are al complaining about snails! they are beautiful creatures that shouls be thinned out some YES! BUT keep some around for us to enjoy man!!!!!

  40. Mashup Avatar
    Mashup

    In the area of St joseph where I live the sails are more common place than the people, from 6.00 pm the snails are out and the people are all locked in side like a horror story while the snails invades,only two people ( two Houses) tries in vain to controll them with bail..Pride is gone from the bajan and hardly any industry remains.

  41. David Avatar
    David

    @Mashup

    You are absolutely correct when you talk about Bajan pride, it has rapidly diminished. While continue to discuss social issues in a vacuum the way of life which made us Bajan is being debajanized.

    Why don’t we hear vigorous discussions about what we can do to plant and nurture the things which makes us Bajan. Perhaps we are happy to assimilate into the emerging culture which we are told will translate to the Bajan way of life become Caribbean.

  42. Avatar
    Anonymous

    you can put sand around the perimeter of your property once you have them controlled in your own back yard. t stops them from invading onto your property

  43. General Lee Avatar
    General Lee

    People can also try spreading white lime around infested areas at night or after a heavy shower.

  44. ace Avatar
    ace

    This BLOG is losing it

    C-R-A-P !

  45. Ron-lee Avatar
    Ron-lee

    Does anyone know how the ministry of agriculture pays persons for collecting the snails.

  46. Belcart Avatar
    Belcart

    These snails are indeed pests. I live in St. James and there was time when you could not walk for stepping on the things. No a nice feeling or sound. For some unknown reason the population had dwindled tremendously. I say unknown because my neighbours fight these things with Slug-it?? and salt. I have found the best way to get rid of them to to pick them up and put them in a bag and destroy them by any means necessary. That seems to diminish the population and the only thing that does. Once the pellets are gone they usually come back en masse.

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