Niclosamide is a lampricide and
molluscicide. It kills a wide variety of
snails, cestodes and Cercariae by affecting
the respiration and the carbohydrate
metabolism. It probably disturbs oxidation
processes by inhibiting oxygen uptake. The
main target pest in agricultural use is the
golden apple snail (Pomacea canaliculata)
in paddy fields (rice-cultivation) but it
is also applied in public health and
hygiene programs to control/eradicate
snails such as Biomphalaria glabrata, which
are intermediate hosts for Schistosoma
spp., the infectious agents of
schistosomiasis in open waters in tropical
Africa. The pesticide is quickly
metabolized in water and does not exhibit a
long-term effect.
It is also applied to commercially managed
fish ponds, in order to clean them from
undesirable fish prior to re-filling the
pond. Niclosamide is highly toxic to fish
but, due to its short half-life in water,
the batch of new fish may be added only a
few days after application of the pesticide