The Giant African Land Snail Has Been Spotted Again in Florida

South Florida was declared free of the giant African land snail last year after a decade-long battle of people versus pests.

The people are baaack.

In the first instance of a population of GALS outside of South Florida, a gardener spotted the snails in June in the northern part of the state.

The New Port Richey area was placed under a vechicle to try to contain them. For fear of the clingy mollusks, no plants, yard waste, debris, compost or building materials can be moved out. If more snails are found, the population may be changed or grow.

In a state where the wildlife routinely makes headlines, the return of the snails was a surprise and a sign of how bad the situation is. During an especially rainy spring a few years ago, the pest control company in Palm Beach County received a lot of calls about Bufo toads, which are poisonous and can kill dogs.

Bill Kern is an associate professor at the University of Florida who specializes in nuisance wildlife management. African land snails prefer dense vegetation.

He said that they will be happy in areas that are irrigated.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services says giant African land snails are one of the most destructive pests on the planet. They eat a lot of plants and use stucco as a source of calcium. They lay thousands of eggs over their lifetimes, hiding in damp places during the day and feeding at night. Some snails can grow up to eight inches in length.

If people eat unwashed lettuce or other produce that the carrier snail has slid across, they can carry a rat lungworm that can cause diseases in humans.

The agriculture department said to not handle SNAILS without wearing gloves.

It can be very costly to deal with invaders that are destructive. The West Indian drywood termite is the most expensive pest in Florida.

The state began treating the area with a snail bait that contains metaldehyde, a pesticide approved for use in vegetable and ornamental crops, fruit trees and other plants that disrupt the giant African land snails.

According to the agriculture department, a rescue dog trained to detect giant African land snails has been surveying the area. When they smell a snail, they sit.

In 1975, Florida eradicated the snails after they were first found in the state in 1969. After an eradication effort in which more than 168,000 snails were collected, the giant African land snail has not been found in Miami-Dade County in the last two years.

The flesh of the snails in Miami-Dade County is grayish brown, whereas the flesh in Pasco County is white.

State officials think that the population of snails may have started from a pet snail. The creamy white flesh is the most desirable trait for the illegal pet trade, according to the public information director for the agriculture department. African land snails are not allowed to enter the US without a permit.

That is just a guess. Dr. Kern said that they probably wouldn't know how the county came to be.