Repellent containing
By Anthony Sommer
chili peppers to slow pace
of ravenous wolf snail
Star-BulletinNew Mexico scientists who combined chili peppers with paint, rubber and plastics may have found a nontoxic repellent to help control the rosy wolf snail in Hawaii and other Pacific islands.
A 2-inch tall pink snail commonly found in back yards and in the wild throughout Hawaii, the rosy wolf snail feeds on other snails and is threatening to eliminate virtually every species of native Hawaiian snail, according to Robert Cowie, snail expert at the Bishop Museum.
Scientists from New Mexico Tech and the University of Hawaii plan to field-test the material in Hawaii next month.
UH biologist Mike Hadfield said the rosy wolf snail also is known as the cannibal snail in Hawaii, and it's well named. Hawaii once had 800 species of snails unique to the islands. More then 75 percent have disappeared, a great many due to the rosy wolf snail, he said.
Hadfield believes a 3-inch plastic strip embedded with chili placed around a tree containing endangered tree snails will "keep the good snails in and the bad snails out because it seems to burn the feet of both and they won't cross it."
The story of the rosy wolf snail goes back to 1936 when the giant African snail was first imported to Hawaii. "Somebody decided it would be cool to have these monster snails crawling around their back yard," Cowie said.
By the 1950s the giant African snail had become so numerous that it was causing a traffic hazard. On rainy nights many roads were covered with them, and when crushed they created a slick coating that resulted in numerous accidents, Cowie said.
In response, the territorial Agriculture Department imported about 15 species of predator snails in an effort to wipe out the giant African snails. One was the rosy wolf snail, a native of Florida.
"The rosy wolf snail showed no interest in the giant African snails at all. But they went right after native Hawaiian snails instead, and now have migrated up into the mountains where they are finishing off what is left of every native Hawaiian snail species," Cowie said.
"It's a particularly voracious predator, and, as snails go, it moves very fast. It tracks the other snails by their slime trails," he added.
The rosy wolf snail presents no danger to humans unless eaten uncooked. Both they and the giant African snail carry a parasite that can cause encephalitis in humans if eaten raw, Cowie said.
New Mexico Tech President Daniel H. Lopez said Tuesday a consortium of scientists has successfully tested the school's patented nontoxic repellent to help control the rosy wolf snail.
Roger Klocek, director of conservation at Chicago's John G. Shedd Aquarium, is a specialist on the rosy wolf snail and has worked with New Mexico Tech officials on the testing.
"These pilot studies certainly prove that rosy wolf snails will not willingly cross materials containing the naturally repelling qualities of chili pepper," Klocek said.
"By building special preserves surrounded by these materials, we believe we can protect endangered snail species from the rosy wolf snail. This could be a significant breakthrough."
Associated Press contributed to this report.
