Euthanizing snails?

[Peacelily]

I have a snail infestation and wondered if there is some way to kill snails that isn't cruel. I have three dojo loaches and had hoped that they would just eat the things and keep the snail population down in a more natural fashion, but my dojos are just juveniles and seem to ignore the snails.

I could just remove snails and let them dry out, but this seems like a nasty way to go. I hope this isn't a silly question, but is there any way to kill snails in a more humane fashion?

 

[LyndaB]

You can get a couple of assassin snails, which will consume them. If you are truly overrun, you may want to cut back on feeding. They will usually only overpopulate an overfed/undercleaned tank.

 

[RussellC]

I could just remove snails and let them dry out, but this seems like a nasty way to go. I hope this isn't a silly question, but is there any way to kill snails in a more humane fashion?

How about removing them and simply stepping on them or otherwise squishing/crushing them?

I would imagine that their demise would be close to instantaneous.

 

[butterfly_koi]

If your concerned about the well being of the snails, you could always do as Lynda suggested or put them in a zip lock bag of water and stick it in the freezer
advice taken off of google:
"Euthanasia can be accomplished by placing the animal in a freezer: since a snail’s metabolism is dependant on the ambient temperature, it’s nervous system will slow down and it will loose consciousness before death."

 

[Peacelily]

You can get a couple of assassin snails, which will consume them. If you are truly overrun, you may want to cut back on feeding. They will usually only overpopulate an overfed/undercleaned tank.

I'm not completely overrun but I do have a lot of them. Thanks for mentioning the food -- I might be overfeeding the loaches. I'm new to having an aquarium and I'm still getting a feel for the right amount of food. I think I've got it figured out for my white clouds, but I'm finding it harder to know how much the bottom feeders need.

Once the tank finished cycling (about 8 or 9 weeks ago), the ammonium and nitrite have always been zero. I do a PWC with vacuuming once or twice a week based on nitrate, which I'm trying to keep below 20ppm. Does that sound like a reasonable level of cleanliness? (Still trying to figure all of this out...)

 

[Peacelily]

How about removing them and simply stepping on them or otherwise squishing/crushing them?

I would imagine that their demise would be close to instantaneous.

I guess it depends on how hard the shells are. A lot of stomping might make the people in the apartment downstairs wonder what we were up to, but, as Mr. Bennet says in Pride and Prejudice, "For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn?"

 

[RussellC]

Once the tank finished cycling (about 8 or 9 weeks ago), the ammonium and nitrite have always been zero. I do a PWC with vacuuming once or twice a week based on nitrate, which I'm trying to keep below 20ppm. Does that sound like a reasonable level of cleanliness? (Still trying to figure all of this out...)

It certainly sounds like a reasonable level of cleanliness, and a good maintenance routine to me.

 

[Peacelily]

If your concerned about the well being of the snails, you could always do as Lynda suggested or put then in a zip lock bag of water and stick it in the freezer
advice taken off of google:
"Euthanasia can be accomplished by placing the animal in a freezer: since a snail’s metabolism is dependant on the ambient temperature, it’s nervous system will slow down and it will loose consciousness before death."

Sounds like it's worth a try. I just have to remember to explain it to my husband ahead of time, lest he get quite the surprise the next time he opens the freezer!

 

[RussellC]

Sounds like it's worth a try. I just have to remember to explain it to my husband ahead of time, lest he get quite the surprise the next time he opens the freezer!

"I thought we'd try a bit of continental cuisine this week, dear. Surely you've heard of escargot?"

 

[Peacelily]

"I thought we'd try a bit of continental cuisine this week, dear. Surely you've heard of escargot?"

Oh, I'd love to see the look on his face!

 

[librarygirl]

The quickest way is to put them in some newspaper, fold the paper in half and smash it with a hammer a few times. I did this recently with some pond and ramshorns that were getting too comfortable for my taste. I hated to do it, but didn't want to just toss them and have them suffer; maybe freezing would have beeen ok but I would still imagine there might be some suffering as they froze. The hammer was quicker.

 

[Peacelily]

The quickest way is to put them in some newspaper, fold the paper in half and smash it with a hammer a few times. I did this recently with some pond and ramshorns that were getting too comfortable for my taste. I hated to do it, but didn't want to just toss them and have them suffer; maybe freezing would have beeen ok but I would still imagine there might be some suffering as they froze. The hammer was quicker.

Thanks, librarygirl. I don't want to do it either, and I'm thinking of waiting a bit to see if the snail population continues to go up. But it's good to know I have some more human options.

 

[Dxbeast8508]

Could you just give them away?