Efficacy of thymol as a promising candidate substance against the exotic pest Achatina fulica Bowdich, 1822 (Mollusca, Gastropoda)

Achatina fulica is a terrestrial snail native to the African continent but currently found in many countries worldwide. It is considered an urban and agricultural pest, causing significant economic losses. Therefore, substances extracted from plants have demonstrated effective results in pest control, such as thymol, a compound obtained from the essential oils of Lamiaceae plants. It is used in oral microbicide products, acting both as a bactericide and fungicide. This work aimed to evaluate the molluscicidal activity of thymol on adults and 30-day-old juveniles of A. fulica in bioassays. Nine hundred sixty adults and 960 juvenile snails. Thirty concentrations, between 80 and 0.01gL-1, were tested. Thymol acted as a molluscicide on A. fulica adults and juveniles at concentrations of 80 to 30gL-1 causing 100% mortality. No deaths were recorded for the control group. These results contribute to the control of this gastropod in highly infested areas, including in association with other control techniques. This is a difficult pest to control and even at present there is no effective control pest.