ELECTRICAL CONTROL OF POMACEA-CANALICULATA (L.) - EFFECT OF AC VOLTAGE

The possibility of electrical control of the Apple Snail, Pomacea cana liculata (L.) and/or electrical control of eating and mating were inve stigated using an AC voltage of 80-330 V at a pulse duration of 2-60 s . The longer AC voltage pulses did not kill the Apple Snails because t hey were in their electrically-insulated shell when the voltage was ap plied. However, the pulsed AC voltage was quite effective in controlli ng their activities. An index, D-20, is proposed to quantity the effec t of AC voltage application. D-20 expresses the durability of irritati on and is defined as the ratio between the minimum and maximum numbers of stationary Apple Snails for 20 min after voltage application. D-20 increased in proportional to the applied voltage and the cumulative a pplication of the same voltage. Saturation appeared when the applied v oltage duration reached 10 s.