Giant African Snails Take Over Southern Florida
A giant snail species is invading a residential neighborhood in southwestern Florida and has both residents and local officials concerned over the impact the snails will have.
The giant African land snail or Achatina fulica is native to East Africa and can grow up to eight inches in length.
"This is a big snail, a very big snail," said Suzi Distelberg, a district inspector for the Florida Department of Agriculture. "We've been told that they like to eat the stucco off the sides of the houses because it contains calcium, and the calcium helps to build their shells."
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The US and Florida departments of agriculture already have 34 agents in the area to try and eradicate the snail population.
Officials have been focusing on the one square mile area in a neighborhood where the snails were first discovered. They have just stared their investigation and have already collected over 1,000 snails.
The US Fish & Wildlife Service also has begun an investigation as to how the mollusks arrived in the Miami-Dade county area.
Officials stated that the snails can live up to nine years. The snails contain both male and female reproductive organs and can lay up to 1,200 eggs a year.
"We have gone back to some of these positive properties and cleaned up every one of these snails we have seen," Denise Feiber, Public Information Director for Florida's Division of Plant Industry, said. "We come back a few days later and we're collecting more and more."
The snails also pose a great danger to Florida's agriculture. They can consume 500 different plant species affecting Florida's second largest industry.
But the snails can also pose a harm to humans as well. The snails leave behind a residue that contains a parasite that can cause meningitis.
This is not the first time that the snails have been introduced to the area. Reports state that back in the 1960's there was an outbreak of these snails which took over a decade to remove at a cost of about $1 million, according to the Miami Herald.
