Farmers in Dien Chau catch and destroy tons of golden apple snails to protect their summer-autumn rice crop.

Farmers in Dien Hoa commune (Dien Chau district) catch golden apple snails before planting rice seedlings. Photo: Mai Giang

In Dien Hoa commune, the snail density is so high that there are dozens of snails per square meter.²Therefore, the commune launched a campaign urging all residents to urgently catch and exterminate golden apple snails. Not only during the day, but people also used flashlights to catch snails throughout the night.

Ms. Cao Lien from Hamlet 2 said that her family has two plots of rice fields that they replanted immediately after harvesting, but after only a few days, snails had eaten everything, so they had to mobilize the whole family to go to the fields to catch snails. At night, they managed to catch a few hours' worth of snails and managed to collect a sackful of 30-40 kg; after catching the snails, they had to replant.

Due to their rapid reproduction rate, golden apple snails are posing a threat to summer-autumn rice crops in Dien Chau. Photo: Mai Giang

Mr. Cao Van, who was catching snails in the rice field, also said: "Seeing our neighbors' rice seedlings being eaten up, we started catching snails before planting. There are so many snails; you can grab a whole handful with your hand. Some days we catch more than 50kg. Throwing them on the edge of the field would cause pollution, so we bring them home, crush them, and feed them to the chickens."

This year, Dien Chau district planted 9,200 hectares of rice during the summer-autumn crop season. Although it's only the beginning of the season, approximately 1,000 hectares of rice fields are already infested with golden apple snails, with a density of 5-10 snails per square meter.²_;This density is even higher in low-lying communes such as Dien Hoa, Dien Hanh, Dien Nguyen, Dien Quang, Dien Minh… Dozens of hectares of newly planted rice paddies have been completely devoured by snails.

In Dien Chau district, approximately 1,000 hectares of rice fields are infested with golden apple snails, with a density of 5-10 snails per square meter.2Photo: Mai Giang

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Phu, head of the Dien Chau Agricultural Extension Station, farmers are currently destroying tons of golden apple snails every day. The station has encouraged people to catch snails early in the season and continuously; this can be done manually by hand. In addition, stakes are placed along the banks and scattered throughout the fields, at water sources, and along irrigation ditches to attract golden apple snails to lay eggs, which are then collected and destroyed. Golden apple snails can be used as animal feed or disposed of by burying them with lime, chemicals, or crushing them.