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.