Effectiveness of a box trap with a new attractant bait for controlling golden apple snail, Pomacea canaliculata, populations in paddy fields in Shiga Prefecture

Abstract

The golden apple snail, Pomacea canaliculata, is a pest that feeds on young rice seedlings. Recently, new box traps and effective baits have been developed for controlling this species. We used a combination of these box traps and baits to examine the capture rate of P. canaliculata that had a shell size of >2.1 cm, which cause damage to rice seedlings. The capture rate of the box traps with baits was estimated to be 31.8% in the enclosures established in paddy fields. Moreover, approximately 10% of young rice seedlings were found damaged in enclosures with five P. canaliculata individuals per square meter. The highest damage was 50% observed in enclosures with a high density of P. canaliculata (more than 10 individuals per square meter). In the irrigation canals, the box traps captured more P. canaliculata individuals in September than in June, and up to 50% of the released individuals were captured in September. As the water temperature was almost similar in June and September, this difference in capture rates may not be attributed to water temperature.