The identification of the best period of control of Achatina fulica in Maringá, Paraná, Brazil

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the relationship between the giant African snail with the mean compensated temperature, the relative humidity of the average air and the average rainfall. The data of the snail with the phenomena El Niño and La Niña were also confronted. The methodological procedures were based on the approval of the research by the ethics councils of the State University of Maringá and the Municipal Health Secretary. In the sequence, the climatic data were obtained and treated to build up the climograms. We used the Microsoft Excel 2010®, the Quantum GIS 2.18.1® and the ArcGis 10.4® softwares. After the preparation of the climograms, the analysis of the relationship between the climatic variables and the African giant snail was carried out. As a result, it was possible to identify the periods that are more favorable for getting success in the control of the species, which are in the years that present hotter and more humid summers, possibly associated to the El Niño phenomenon, since it was observed that these years are more conducive to reproduction and dissemination of the exotic species. It was concluded that the control of the mollusc should be daily. It should also be noted that the process of manual harvesting should not only be of the mollusc and eggs on the soil, but also of the eggs that are buried to avoid hatching and in fact control of the exotic species.