An invasive species is wreaking havoc for some Louisiana crawfish farmers. LSU Ag Center Entomologist Blake Wilson said apple snail egg masses are being reported in as many as six parishes.
“They’re clogging up a lot of the crawfish traps, eating the crawfish bait, and also really slowing some of these operations down cause now every capture has to be sorted through to remove dead snails,” said Wilson.
Wilson said apple snails got their name because they can grow to be the size of an apple and their eggs are bright pink and resemble bubble gum. He said in the egg stage, they emit toxins and can irritate your skin.
While the species isn’t extremely widespread across the state, Wilson said crawfish farmers that have been besieged with them are suffering.
“We’ve seen reductions in crawfish capture about 50% and in some cases, the farmers just quit fishing those ponds altogether,” said Wilson.
Apple snails were introduced to the Louisiana ecosystem back in 2016 when they were sold in pet stores for aquariums. Wilson said they believe once the snails reached full size some owners were possibly overwhelmed.
“A lot of people dumped those snails out into the wild and so that’s why the distribution tends to be spotty. We think there were multiple introductions here as well as throughout the gulf coast states,” said Wilson.
Wilson advises if you have an infestation, do not move boats or equipment to another body of water because the species will continue to spread.
Wilson says the snails have been reported in Cameron, Calcasieu, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, St. James, and Vermilion Parishes.
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