TRAP DOOR SNAILS

[turtlemike]

On the subject of the " do snails harm baby waterlilies " thread a while back.      Here's some pics of some 2 to 3 month old hardy seedlings that where getting over run by algae, the kind that grows on the sides of your pots and liners. 
     the first two pics show the over run lily seedlings with big trapdoors just added.
     the next pics show a job well done, all algae gone with no seedlings eaten, just a little digging but only in empty cells.   No lilies dug up or damaged. Two big double hand fulls of snails maybe 3 or so pounds in a 2  x  3 ft. concrete mixing tub for 10 days.
     I then remove the snails to prevent digging and leaf eating by starving snails.
     Trapdoors are the worst diggers of the three types of snails that I have.  Ramshorns dig too but since they're smaller they do no damage except to the smallest weakest seedlings.  As of now I don't think the small pond snails dig at all or are more prone to nibble on healthy leaves as I used to think.    Ideal for small delicate slow growing crosses.
     Mike.

[miguynmkoi]

Nice experiment!  Look at all those baby lilies.  All I can say is my lilies taste better to my snail than yours!    But this only happens when my water gets too warm and the snail take advantage of the partially cooked pads. 

[bunny56lbc]

I had a lady come to the g'house & when she saw I had snails in the ponds she begged me for some    ..I of course tried to talk her out of them but she insisted so I let her take all she wanted....dang ...wish I had more customers like her...

bonnie

[turtlemike]

Small pond snails, ramshorns and Japanese trapdoor snails are nothing but beneficial in my ponds.   They NEVER do any damage to my lilies or anything else, except algae.      If you like algae then make sure you don't have any snails because they will eat it all,including the good kind that grows on your pots and liners.

[emm]

I really like the Japanese trapdoor snails in my pond.  They appear to cause no harm, I'd need many,many more to clean up the algae they like did for Mike in his experiment though.  My friend purposely keeps trapdoor snails in each of the tanks she uses to overwinter tropical plants with great success.  I do have a much smaller variety of snail with a conical shell that does eat living vegetation (can't remember what they are now even though I have looked up their identification in the past).  I toss them out of the pond when I see them.  They favour the marginals and will climb up the stems out of the water to munch.  But trapdoors - they're great! 
emm

[turtlemike]

EMM, sounds like you have what's called giant pond snails.  I have seen them and there eggs on lilies I have bought in the past.  Of course I quarantined and de-snailed them so I still have none in my ponds.     
      I have read that they will eat anything including lilies.