Watch out for these strange pink eggs in your garden in France
Apple snails can lay hundreds of eggs and quickly destroy gardens
Importing apple snails to the EU has been banned since 2012
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Gardeners in France are being warned to look out for small pink eggs on their plants that are laid by a highly invasive species of snail.
The eggs are only two to three millimetres in diameter, but the snails that spawn from them can reach up to 15cm – and have a voracious appetite.
The apple snail (pomme escargot or Pomacea canaliculata) is a freshwater gilled snail, originating in South America and is known as one of the world’s 100 most invasive species.
Introduction of the species into the EU - or its distribution within the bloc - has been banned since 2012. The snails were first spotted in France in 2018.
Adaptive species
The reason for the concern around the snail is its adaptability – although it prefers wetlands, it can thrive almost anywhere, including on land.
In addition to this far-reaching biosphere, the snails eat almost all plants, leading to rapid destruction of green spaces when present.
The snails lay hundreds of the small pink eggs following each mating session, often on plant stems above water surfaces.
The video below shows one of the snails laying eggs.
Alongside their bright colour, the eggs are coated in toxins, making them safe from predators and allowing the majority of snails in each cluster to survive.
The rapid reproduction rate and varied diet of the animals threatens not only local biodiversity and ecosystems, but also agriculture, particularly rice paddies (including those in the south of France).
Read more: Why pampas grass is forbidden in French gardens
What to do if you spot eggs in your garden
If you spot apple snails or their eggs in your garden, you should contact the Office Français de la Biodiversité (OFB) or Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle
They will be able to advise you on the best course of action to prevent damage to the local ecosystem.
Once you have informed authorities of the presence of eggs, you should destroy them.
This can be done by crushing them – make sure to wear gloves before touching them due to the toxins on their surface – or by pouring bleach over them to prevent any snails from spawning.
You should round-up all the adult snails you can find, and place them in airtight bags before removing them (to prevent them from escaping and causing issues again in your garden or somewhere else), is the advice from French media outlet Le Figaro.
An option to make the snails easier to find is attracting them to a natural habitat, for example creating a pool of stagnant water to draw them towards or pruning aquatic plant life on which they spend their time and feed on.
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