Molluscicides () – also known as snail baits, snail pellets, or slug pellets – are

pesticide Pesticides are substances that are meant to control pests. This includes herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, microbicide, fungicide, and lampri ...

s against

mollusc Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...

s, which are usually used in

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

gardening Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants as part of horticulture. In gardens, ornamental plants are often grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants, such as root vegetables, leaf vegetables, fruits ...

, in order to control gastropod pests specifically

slug Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word ''slug'' is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a very reduced shell, or only a smal ...

s and

snail A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gastro ...

s which damage crops or other valued plants by feeding on them. Limacide

A number of chemicals can be employed as a molluscicide: *

Metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

s such as

iron(III) phosphate Iron(III) phosphate, also ferric phosphate, is the inorganic compound with the formula Fe PO4. Several related materials are known, including four polymorphs of FePO4 and two polymorphs of the dihydrate FePO4·(H2O)2. These materials find few ...

aluminium sulfate Aluminium sulfate is a salt with the chemical formula, formula aluminium, Al2sulfate, (SO4)3. It is soluble in water and is mainly used as a Coagulation (water treatment), coagulating agent (promoting particle collision by neutralizing charge) in ...

, and

ferric sodium EDTA Ferric sodium EDTA, also known as sodium ferric ethylenediaminetetraacetate, is a broad spectrum molluscicide used to kill snails and slugs and protect agricultural crops and garden plants, and in particular to eliminate infestations of ''Cornu asp ...

, relatively non-toxic, also used in

organic gardening Organic horticulture is the science and art of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, or ornamental plants by following the essential principles of organic agriculture in soil building and conservation, pest management, and heirloom variety preserva ...

Metaldehyde Metaldehyde is an organic compound with the chemical formula, formula (C8H16O4). It is used as a pesticide against slugs, snails, and other gastropods. It is the cyclic tetramer of acetaldehyde. Production and properties Metaldehyde is flammable, ...

Niclosamide Niclosamide, sold under the brand name Niclocide among others, is an anthelmintic medication used to treat tapeworm infestations, including diphyllobothriasis, hymenolepiasis, and taeniasis. It is not effective against other worms such as flukes ...

Acetylcholinesterase inhibitor Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEIs) also often called cholinesterase inhibitors, inhibit the enzyme acetylcholinesterase from breaking down the neurotransmitter acetylcholine into choline and acetate, thereby increasing both the level and ...

s (e.g.

methiocarb Methiocarb is a carbamate pesticide (an acetylecholinesterase inhibitor) which is used as an insecticide, bird repellent, acaricide and molluscicide since the 1960s. Methiocarb has contact and stomach action on mites and neurotoxic effects on mo ...

), highly toxic to other animals and humans, acts also as a

contact poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

Accidental poisonings

Metal salt-based molluscicides are not toxic to

higher animal The evolution of biological complexity is one important outcome of the process of evolution. Evolution has produced some remarkably complex organisms – although the actual level of complexity is very hard to define or measure accurately in biolog ...

s. However,

metaldehyde Metaldehyde is an organic compound with the chemical formula, formula (C8H16O4). It is used as a pesticide against slugs, snails, and other gastropods. It is the cyclic tetramer of acetaldehyde. Production and properties Metaldehyde is flammable, ...

-based and especially

acetylcholinesterase Acetylcholinesterase (HGNC symbol ACHE; EC 3.1.1.7; systematic name acetylcholine acetylhydrolase), also known as AChE, AChase or acetylhydrolase, is the primary cholinesterase in the body. It is an enzyme Enzymes () are proteins that a ...

inhibitor-based products are highly toxic, and have resulted in many deaths of pets and humans. Some products contain a

bitter Bitter may refer to: Common uses * Resentment, negative emotion or attitude, similar to being jaded, cynical or otherwise negatively affected by experience * Bitter (taste), one of the five basic tastes Books * '' Bitter (novel)'', a 2022 nove ...

ing agent that reduces but does not eliminate the risk of accidental

poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

ing.

Anticholinergic drug Anticholinergics (anticholinergic agents) are substances that block the action of the neurotransmitter called acetylcholine (ACh) at synapses in the central and peripheral nervous system. These agents inhibit the parasympathetic nervous system ...

s such as

atropine Atropine is a tropane alkaloid and anticholinergic medication used to treat certain types of nerve agent and pesticide poisonings as well as some types of slow heart rate, and to decrease saliva production during surgery. It is typically given i ...

can be used as an

antidote An antidote is a substance that can counteract a form of poisoning. The term ultimately derives from the Greek term φάρμακον ἀντίδοτον ''(pharmakon) antidoton'', "(medicine) given as a remedy". Antidotes for anticoagulants are s ...

for acetylcholinesterase inhibitor poisoning. There is no antidote for metaldehyde, the treatment is symptomatic.

References

External links

* Overview of potential piscicides and molluscicides for controlling aquatic pest species in New Zealan

National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC)
Information about pesticide-related topics. *
Get Rid of Slugs and Snails, Not Puppy Tails! Case Profile
- National Pesticide Information Center *

- National Pesticide Information Center

Snail Bait Poisoning

{{pesticides Molluscicides,

Accidental poisonings

See also

References

External links