Biological control of snail-borne diseases: a review

The need for alternatives to chemical control of snail-borne diseases and the growing interest in biological control methods are noted. Two groups of natural enemies of snails reviewed as especially promising for biological control are competing and predatory snails, and predatory fly larvae. Potentially useful natural enemies of the intramolluscan stages of trematodes include microsporidian infections and antagonistic trematode larvae. More unusual methods of biological control include the use of a toxic plant product (endod) and genetic manipulation of snails to decrease their susceptibility to trematode infection. The disappointing progress in biological control of snail-borne diseases in the past is attributed largely to delay in recognizing the need for alternatives to chemical control and to lack of interdisciplinary communication.