By Orville Williams
The longstanding scourge of the Giant African Snail appears to be on the decline in Antigua and Barbuda, with human intervention and ecosystem changes likely behind a drop in numbers.
Since it was first reported in Antigua back in 2008, the pest spread rapidly, reaching nearly 70 percent of the island up to the end of 2021, according to the Agriculture Ministry’s Plant Protection Unit (PPU).
During the height of the spread, the snails wreaked havoc on plants and crops, causing thousands of dollars in damage to homeowners, backyard gardeners and perhaps most importantly, the nation’s farmers.
Some of the most badly affected areas were Bolans, Christian Valley, Fitches Creek, Golden Grove and Jennings.
The local spread of one of the world’s worst invasive species was so bad that the PPU was forced to constantly urge members of the public to support the national eradication effort, while acknowledging that its scarce resources could only go so far toward solving the problem.
Now, it seems reports of snail infestations have been decreasing in the past couple of months, though it remains a problem in some of the most badly affected areas to this day.
According to Chief Plant Protection Officer Dr Janil Gore-Francis, while her team hasn’t yet completed any studies on the current situation, two key factors could be behind the visible decline.
“We realise that the weather has been more wet than usual, because typically this is our dry season, so we would expect that the snail activity would be much higher than what we’re seeing.
“What that could be indicative of is what we’re hoping to have as the development of more natural controls – [meaning] there are other things in the environment that are developing an appetite for the snails. That could be it, [but] we haven’t studied anything,” she explained.
Another factor, Dr Gore-Francis told Observer, could be the intervention of members of the public under the aforementioned eradication programme.
“In some instances, some people would have been collecting the snails, and so they would have prevented snails from getting big to the stage where they can lay eggs and increase the population.
“We do have staff who continue to collect, but we’re focusing on specific areas. So, it could be a combination of all of that, but the snail is still there. The problem is still there, just not as intense as before,” she said.
Members of the public are still being urged to be on the lookout for the snails and report sightings to the Plant Protection Unit.
They are also encouraged to play their part in the eradication process by collecting and destroying the snails using environmentally-safe methods.
