Barbados has not lost the battle against the giant African snail, according to Minister of Agriculture Haynesley Benn.
In response to comments by entomologist Ian Gibbs, who recently said that Barbados had lost the battle against the snail, Benn said before a determination was made on that, he was appealing to the public to employ the pick-and-burn method as the surest way of dealing with the snail population.
“I am not disputing what Gibbs has said, but before we throw our hands in the air let us try the pick-and-burn process,” Benn said.
The minister said: “This method is the surest bet to eradicating the snail, because when households spread the bait, as the adult snail dies it releases between 100 and 300 eggs into the soil or dirt.
“When people bait, they are killing one snail and giving potential life to several hundred others,” he added. Therefore the ministry wants to push the idea of the public bringing the live snails to the ministry where there is a facility to burn them.
“If each householder does this, within a short period of time we could make a dent into the population,” said Benn.
In an effort to propel the pick-and-burn process, the ministry has cut down on the quantity of bait made available and put in a bounty in place.
“Pick the snails, bring them to the ministry. We will weigh and pay the public for the snails, then burn them. We have a bounty in place as we would rather use the funds to pay a bounty than buy bait from overseas,” Benn said.
The minister also said that it presented an opportunity for church groups, youth groups and community groups who want to raise money to do so.
“I do not get the impression that the effort we put into the programme has not been appreciated by the public,” Benn said.
General indifference to the problem has thwarted the control process as householders are not clear on the destruction and havoc the snails can have on vegetation.
Despite education and training over the past two years, Benn noted that a lot of people seem to think it was the role of the ministry alone to eradicate the snail. He added that people with overgrown lots provide areas for the snails to live and multiply.
The snail, which was first seen in the island in 2000, has now become a major challenge.
“I do not think we will ever get rid of the snails totally because they also live in gullies and areas where the public will not see them, but if the pick-and-burn method is employed, we can see a decrease in the numbers,” Benn said.
The minister said for the month of August over 10.3 tonnes of snails were brought in to the ministry. (LK)
