Florida is the unfortunate host of many invasive animals, including lionfish and Burmese Pythons. But officials announced last week that they had eliminated an especially slimy invader: the giant African land snail.
It's worth noting that giant African land snails (Lissachatina Fulica) have already infested Florida, making this the second extermination attempt to eradicate these pests. According to The Miami Herald, this time the effort took 10 years and cost $24million.
Trevor Smith, Director of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Division of Plant Industry said that the giant African snail is still exterminated in one location on Earth. This was stated at a news conference Wednesday, Oct. 6. It's right there, and we've done that twice."
According to The South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Nikki Fried, Florida Agriculture Commissioner, said that "This truly is a thrilling day for our state"
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What is the reason for all this elation? Giant African land snails can grow up to 8 inches (20.3 cm) in length. If they don't get enough calcium from the soil, they start eating stucco instead. They are a danger to homes and the agriculture industry in Florida, where they eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. They leave behind a trail of stinky, stringy poop after they have destroyed their homes.
Gizmodo reported that giant snails can cause meningitis in pets and people. If they eat rat feces or a snail can pick up Angiostrongylus cantonensis, a parasite. The parasite can then spread to the brain and spinal cord by eating snail meat. Although the parasite can be treated with antibiotics it is still possible to accidentally swallow large snail flesh.
In 1966, three snails were brought by a child from Hawaii to South Florida. They are also invasive in that area. According to the National Invasive Species Information Center, the snails were originally imported to be pets. However, they could have also clung onto cargo from Africa. According to reports, the grandmother of the child released the three snails into her yard. Once released, they multiplied quickly and soon number in the thousands.
Although the state had stopped the invasion in 1975, a new wave swarming with these snails appeared in 2011. According to the Sun-Sentinel, Smith stated that it is not clear where these new snails originated. According to the Tampa Bay Times, however, a state investigation has revealed that dozens of snails were brought into Florida by a religious cult in Nigeria in 2010 for healing rituals. Fried stated that the snails could have been unintentionally imported on cargo ships or planes.
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According to the Herald, the monstrous snails were first discovered in Douglas Park, near Coral Gables in Florida in 2011. They quickly spread to other parts of Miami-Dade County, and Broward County to the north. Researchers with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the state of Florida studied the biology of the snails over the past decade to devise strategies to eradicate them. They also kept track of reports of outbreaks in the state.
The Herald reported that the team has killed 168,000 snails since the beginning of the eradication campaign.
They are most active at night and during rainy weather. The snails blend well with Florida foliage and will hide under 6-8 inches (15-20 cm) of soil. This makes them difficult to spot. According to the Herald, two Labrador retrievers were hired by the state to help find the pests. They trained for six months at the USDA and learned to spot the huge mollusks.
A giant African land snail was last seen in Florida in 2017. This means that the species is now considered extinct in Florida. We are hopeful that it will remain this way.
Learn more about the massive snail infestation in South Florida Sun-Sentinel & Miami Herald.
Original publication on Live Science
