[3] The native distribution of P. canaliculata is basically tropical and subtropical,[4] including Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Brazil.

[5] The southernmost record for the species is Paso de las Piedras reservoir, south of the Buenos Aires province, Argentina.

[11] Moving North, the Government of Alberta has labelled channeled apple snails as an invasive species.

[15] The species has also been found in the Philippines, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Papua New Guinea, parts of Indonesia and Malaysia, Singapore, and Guam.

[11] This species lives in freshwater lake, river, pond and swamp habitats and tolerates a wide range of temperatures.

[19] In natural settings, they rely on grasses and other emergent vegetation growing along the perimeter of bodies of water to lay their eggs.

The duration of the reproductive period of P. canaliculata decreases with latitude, to a minimum of six months in the southern limit of its natural distribution.

[6] Adult females oviposit on emergent vegetation at night, but will also lay their eggs on rocks and manmade surfaces like boats.

[25] Approximately 1% of the Pomacea canaliculata on sale on local markets in Dali City, Yunnan, China were found to be infected with pathogenic Angiostrongylus cantonensis in 2009.

They are picked by hand or with a hand-net from canals, swamps, ponds, and flooded paddy fields during the rainy season.

After rinsing with water, they are mixed with roasted rice, dried chili pepper, lime juice, and fish sauce, and then eaten.

However, this method runs risk of the snails also eating young rice plants, and of spreading to nearby fields and waterways as an invasive pest.