Effectiveness of potential attractants to the apple snail Pomacea canaliculata (Caenogastropoda: Ampullariidae)

Abstract Background The apple snail Pomacea canaliculata (Lamarck) (Caenogastropoda: Ampullariidae) is an invasive rice pest worldwide. Using attractants for the apple snail offers an environmentally friendly way to control the snail in agricultural and nonagricultural areas. Still, no effective attractants have been developed for the snail that last nearly a week. Thus, we tested the effectiveness of 42 potential attractants of natural or artificial origins, which were compared against rice seedlings as a control. Results Eight of the potential attractants were preferred at a level equal to or higher than that of the rice seedling control. A mixture of rice bran, rice koji, and carp feed (called “Mixed Bait” here) was most attractive to P. canaliculata juveniles and maintained attractiveness for 5–7 days at 25℃, aided by its fermenting components. Conclusions The “Mixed Bait” is a promising material as an attractant for traps to collect the pest snail, due to the snail’s preference, its accessibility to agricultural growers, and the length of time over which it is effective.