Giant snails and tiny insects threaten the South's rice and crawfish farms

Farmers in Louisiana are going toe-to-toe with some nasty enemies: apple snails that clog crawfish traps while laying millions of bubblegum-colored eggs and tiny bugs called delphacids that can wipe out half a rice field while spreading plant disease

February 6, 2026Updated: February 6, 2026

By MELINA WALLING and JOSHUA A. BICKEL