People warned to be on the lookout for invasive snails

Havre Daily News staff

MSU Extension Blaine County has issued a warning for people to be on the lookout for the eastern heath snail, an invasive species originally from eastern Europe.

Several sightings of the eastern heath snail have been observed in counties to the south and west of Blaine County. The highly destructive pest travels easily in loads of hay.

The Montana Department of Agriculture first discovered a population of the eastern heath snail in July 2012 near Belt, the first population reported in western North America. Since their initial introduction, satellite populations have been discovered in Monarch, Great Falls and in the Highwood areas.

The snail has a shell slightly less than 1 inch in diameter with five to six whorls, a Montana Field Guild entry on the snail says, and is dull opaque white with with a single dark band above the edge of the shell and up to six paler bands below.

The combination of size and shell markings, as well as habitat, are distinctive and unlikely to be confused with any other species in Montana. Native species of the same general appearance do not typically climb vegetation and other upright objects or aggregate in large numbers the way this species does,

An entry on the Montana Invasive Species Council website says invasive terrestrial snails have invaded a variety of habitats around the world and have the ability to damage native plants, agricultural crops, contaminate agricultural exports and potentially transmit parasites to livestock, wildlife and people.

The eastern heath snail feeds on a wide range of plants including, alfalfa, clover, lupine, wheat, barley, fruit trees and weeds. This species is known for climbing on vegetation, fence posts, and other upright objects to escape high temperatures and will aggregate in enormous numbers in a behavior called massing.

Since the initial discovery of the eastern heath snail in Cascade County, Montana Department of Agriculture has worked with landowners and stakeholders to monitor and suppress the population and to detect and respond to new populations, the Invasive Species Council entry says.

Any sightings of suspect snails should be reported to the Montana Department of Agriculture at 406-444-9430 or [email protected], USDA APHIS at 406-449-5210, or the local Montana State University county extension office, the Blaine County Extension post says.