Having a pond in New England requires a different approach to some of the prescribed options elsewhere in the country. Among them are snail control. I have snails that naturally made there way to my pond (I suspect via GBH droppings). I haven't identified the species of snail yet, but will work on that when the pond thaws. My concern regarding snails is their role as an intermediate host to parasites that embed themselves into fish.
I've learned that it is far to cold for RES to do well here, leading me to consider PS as a northern alternative to RES. My reluctance in adding PS is:
- sourcing them
- their affinity to biting swimmers
- and not knowing if SMB and angling will be able to control their population adequately.
I recently discovered that several species of trout are known to eat snails, so much so that there are people who tie flies that mimic snails. Based on a quick internet search, it seems that brown trout, brook trout and rainbow trout are all known to eat snails. What I haven't found is data on what species of snails they tend to eat (I suspect they have a preference). I'm also not clear on what species of snail are more worrisome as intermediate hosts to parasites.
If trout eat snails in sufficient quantity, they could be an option for many of us on here, although I haven't found mention of trout being used for this on here. Has anyone attempted this? If so, what were your results? What trout species did you try? What snail species were you trying to control?
I've also learned that YP will eat snails. Has anyone had success with this? If so, what species of snails were they eating?
Do these snail eating fish end up becoming infested with the parasites that use the snails as an intermediate host?
Also, if anyone has information that would help identify snail species, as well as which species are particularly troublesome, I would be grateful.
I expect that neither trout or YP will be as effective at controlling snails as RES or PS, but I'm looking for alternatives that may be adequate. I'm welcome to any advice.
