snails

[Spartamets]

I know I've been posting a lot of questions lately. Sorry; it's been that kind of run. I noticed today a bunch of black dots in my stream that I first thought were mouse droppings--that's what they looked like--which of course got me in a state of terror about rats, because I live in the city, and I recently had to stop feeding the birds because the never-far-from-anywhere rats seemed to be taking an interest in my feeder. (I'm going to resume feeding the birds again in a few weeks, but with MASSIVE doses of pepper sauce added to the feed.)

Then I saw that there were A LOT of these droppings, and that they weren't droppings. From what I can tell they're snails, which I did not introduce or want in my pond's ecosystem. I'm alarmed that my first sighting of them showed such a large number, like hundreds, because that suggests that they are very, very prolific. I feel like the pond is on the cusp of a major infestation, if it's not there already. So I need them gone. Does anyone have any idea if they are snails, and if so, how I can get rid of them safely? I assume they got here from the birds that play in the waterfall constantly, but I really don't know how it happened.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Common in all fresh water aquatic eco-systems They are considered bneficial because like tadpoles they are scavengers and eat not not only algae but also detritus. They help with the 'house-cleaning' so-to-speak. The population size is determined by food availability and will at some point reach a cap. Only danger of an "infestation" is if the pond has a considerable build-up or organic debris and much.

 

[Spartamets]

Common in all fresh water aquatic eco-systems They are considered bneficial because like tadpoles they are scavengers and eat not not only algae but also detritus. They help with the 'house-cleaning' so-to-speak. The population size is determined by food availability and will at some point reach a cap. Only danger of an "infestation" is if the pond has a considerable build-up or organic debris and much.

That is reassuring. Thank you for the insight. I was concerned that they seemed to appear, uninvited, all at once in such large numbers. In most contexts, that is not a good sign. The stream seems to catch a lot of gunk under the rocks and pebbles, so they do have a lot to feed on there.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

You are correct in assuming that the birds brought them...as eggs....from another pond or the eggs could have been attached to a plant that you introduced.

 

[DutchMuch]

Birds transfer eggs usually on Their feet when they walk into the water. They walk across egg(s) sacks and they stick to their legs, they go then to the next pond or lake and transfer the eggs there and the eggs fall off. I have tiny little blue gills now in my pond, never let them in there… but they are doing fine so I don’t mind at all lol plus I can go fishing now!