A buthanol extract of Phytolacca dodecandra (type 44) obtained from Ethiopia berries, was tested as molluscicide in our laboratory and in the field. The lethal dose (LD90) for adult snails, newly hatched and egg-masses of Biomphalaria glabrata, in 24 hours exposure, were of 4.5, 23.0 and 102.0 ppm respectively. The LD90 for the fish Lebistes reticulatus was of 2.0 ppm. These results are similar to those of Lemma (1984) in Ethiopia. In two water ponds treated with 10 ppm of the buthanol extract or 3 ppm of niclosamide the mortality rates of B. glabrata were of 84.6 and 100.0%, respectively. Both treatments were toxic for L. reticulatus in the field trials. The possibility of using molluscicides derived from plants is discussed as an alternative for treatment of schistosomiasis foci in Brazil.