DOI: 10.5061/dryad.c2fqz61hf
title: An alternative to molluscicides? Toward a push-pull strategy against invasive snails using chemical and visual stimuli

description: Four invasive Mediterranean snails (Theba pisana (Müller), Cernuella
 virgata (da Costa), Cochlicella acuta (Müller) and Cochlicella barbara
 (Linnaeus)) cost $170 million yearly to the grain industry in Australia.
 Their impact is mainly due to their estivation behavior: snails climb on
 cereal stalks to rest during summer, which coincides with harvest, causing
 grain contamination issues. Diverse management methods have been developed
 to regulate snail populations, with limited success. Our study aims at
 investigating the potential for a push pull strategy to divert invasive
 snails from cultivated fields. First, artificial estivation supports of
 different colors were tested under laboratory and field conditions and
 showed that red supports were the most attractive for these snails.
 Second, different substances were tested as potential snail deterrents
 (garlic, coffee, coffee grounds, copper). Garlic extracts were the most
 powerful snail deterrent and were shown to effectively protect an
 estivation support and food source from snails under laboratory
 conditions. These results, which were highly consistent for the four
 species, illustrate the potential of a push-pull strategy against invasive
 snails in Australia. A “push” part based on the use of a chemical
 deterrent repelling snails from the cultivated field, and a “pull” part
 based on offering attractive estivation supports for snails to aggregate
 outside the cultivated field. It is the first attempt to develop a
 push-pull strategy based on manipulating the estivation behavior of a pest
 and to rely on both visual and chemical stimuli to achieve results.
description: # An alternative to molluscicides? Toward a push-pull strategy against
 invasive snails using chemical and visual stimuli
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.c2fqz61hf](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.c2fqz61hf) Data from all experiments performed are included as CSV files. ## Description of the data and file structure Data from all experiments described in the manuscript are included as CSV files. Files can be imported in R. Abbreviations are described in each file. *Color_strip_choice_Cernuella_virgata.csv* *Color_strip_choice_Cochlicella_acuta.csv* *Color_strip_choice_Cochlicella_barbara.csv* *Color_strip_choice_Theba_pisana.csv* These files contain the data from the color strip choice tests (black vs. another color) for each snail species separately - *Theba pisana*, *Cernuella virgata*, *Cochlicella acuta* and *Cochlicella barbara*  *Color_post_choice_pisana__virgata__acuta___barbara.csv* This file contains the data from the color post choice tests (black vs. another color) for the four snail species - *Theba pisana*, *Cernuella virgata*, *Cochlicella acuta* and *Cochlicella barbara* *Field_test_pisana___virgata.csv* This file contains the data from the field post choice tests (black vs. red) for *Theba pisana* and *Cernuella virgata*. *Dry_barrier_Cernuella_virgata.csv* *Dry_barrier_Cochlicella_acuta.csv* *Dry_barrier_Cochlicella_barbara.csv* *Dry_barrier_Theba_pisana.csv* These files contain the data from the dry barrier tests for each snail species separately - *Theba pisana*, *Cernuella virgata*, *Cochlicella acuta* and *Cochlicella barbara*  *Wet_barrier_Cernuella_virgata.csv* *Wet_barrier_Cochlicella_acuta.csv* *Wet_barrier_Cochlicella_barbara.csv* *Wet_barrier_Theba_pisana.csv* These files contain the data from the wet barrier tests for each snail species separately - *Theba pisana*, *Cernuella virgata*, *Cochlicella acuta* and *Cochlicella barbara*. *Test_Theba_Barrier_24h.csv* These files contain the data from the 24-hour barrier tests for *Theba pisana.*