ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - "South Florida is fighting a growing infestation of one of the world's most destructive invasive species: the giant
African land snail, which can grow as big as a rat and gnaw through stucco and plaster.
More than 1,000 of the mollusks are being caught each week in Miami-Dade and 117,000 in total since the first snail was spotted by a homeowner in
September 2011, said Denise Feiber, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Residents will soon likely begin encountering them more often, crunching them underfoot as the snails emerge from underground hibernation at the start
of the state's rainy season in just seven weeks, Feiber said.
The snails attack "over 500 known species of plants ... pretty much anything that's in their path and green," Feiber said.
In some Caribbean countries, such as Barbados, which are overrun with the creatures, the snails' shells blow out tires on the highway and turn into
hurling projectiles from lawnmower blades, while their slime and excrement coat walls and pavement.
"It becomes a slick mess," Feiber said.
A typical snail can produce about 1,200 eggs a year and the creatures are a particular pest in homes because of their fondness for stucco, devoured
for the calcium content they need for their shells.
The snails also carry a parasitic rat lungworm that can cause illness in humans, including a form of meningitis, Feiber said, although no such cases
have yet been identified in the United States.
EXOTIC INVASION
The snails' saga is something of a sequel to the Florida horror show of exotic species invasions, including the well-known infestation of giant
Burmese pythons, which became established in the Everglades in 2000. There is a long list of destructive non-native species that thrive in the state's
moist, subtropical climate.
Experts gathered last week in Gainesville, Florida, for a Giant African Land Snail Science Symposium, to seek the best ways to eradicate the mollusks,
including use of a stronger bait approved recently by the federal government.
Feiber said investigators were trying to trace the snail infestation source. One possibility being examined is a Miami Santeria group, a religion with
West African and Caribbean roots, which was found in 2010 to be using the large snails in its rituals, she said. But many exotic species come into the
United States unintentionally in freight or tourists' baggage.
"If you got a ham sandwich in Jamaica or the Dominican Republic, or an orange, and you didn't eat it all and you bring it back into the States and
then you discard it, at some point, things can emerge from those products," Feiber said.
Authorities are expanding a series of announcements on buses, billboards and in movie theaters urging the public to be on the lookout.
The last known Florida invasion of the giant mollusks occurred in 1966, when a boy returning to Miami from a vacation in Hawaii brought back three of
them, possibly in his jacket pockets. His grandmother eventually released the snails into her garden where the population grew in seven years to
17,000 snails. The state spent $1 million and 10 years eradicating them.
Feiber said many people unfamiliar with the danger viewed the snails as cute pets.
"They're huge, they move around, they look like they're looking at you ... communicating with you, and people enjoy them for that," Feiber said. "But
they don't realize the devastation they can create if they are released into the environment where they don't have any natural enemies and they
thrive."
(Editing by David Adams and Peter Cooney)woody with a view - 4-14-2013 at 02:46 PM
caracol, anyone?chuckie - 4-14-2013 at 03:02 PM
Woody? What is the "real' name for the Caracol? My wife has googled the world and cant find anything that looks like a "Caracol"EnsenadaDr - 4-14-2013 at 03:09 PM
You know, I had to laugh. I was talking to this American lady that appeared to be a little slow, and she said, "You know, Florida has its problems."
And I said, "What do you mean, problems?" She replied, "the sinkholes". I never laughed so hard, and I said, "Yes they are certainly problems!!"
Caracol, anyone?
EnsenadaDr - 4-14-2013 at 03:10 PM
I googled caracol under spanish translation. and it comes right up, snail.
Quote:
Originally posted by chuckieWoody? What is the "real' name for the Caracol? My wife has googled the world and cant find anything that looks
like a "Caracol"
woody with a view - 4-14-2013 at 03:13 PM
don't know. they are the white and i think they are called "turbin" or similar. they are the volcano shaped shells that wash up on the beach on the
Pac Side.
[Edited on 4-14-2013 by woody with a view]DianaT - 4-14-2013 at 03:21 PM
I thought they were conch? Maybe?watizname - 4-15-2013 at 09:05 AM
"if you got a ham sandwich or an orange-----at some point things can emerge from those products."----------WTF----------Don't think I'll be eating an
orange or sandwich or ANYTHING from Jamaica or the Dominican Republic for like -------Forever.David K - 4-15-2013 at 09:45 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by chuckie
Woody? What is the "real' name for the Caracol? My wife has googled the world and cant find anything that looks like a "Caracol"
As Woody mentioned, but spelled this way... look up Turban Shell. This is the source of the Caracol sea snail used in cooking.
You see tons of them on the beach north of Laguna Manuela.
"Different snail species are traded as escargots. Basically many of them belong among the family of Helicid snails (Helicidae) and among those
especially to the Roman snail's relatives (Helix and related genera). On the other hand also the Achatinidae family of giant African land snails is
important as edible snails. In Europe and North America, the main part of edible snails consists of Helicid snails. Achatinid snails, in contrary, are
mainly consumed on the African continent. Piecemeal or in conserves, they may also be found in the European and American cultural area."On the
other hand also the Achatinidae family of giant African land snails is important as edible snails.
[Edited on 4-15-2013 by neilm81301]Cypress - 4-15-2013 at 12:30 PM
Bring 'em on! They ought to be down right tasty, fried to a golden brown. Yummy! Esgargot!!!DavidE - 4-15-2013 at 01:05 PM
Another export opportunity to France. If not the Far East will foam at the mouth over a treat like that.
Just a pinch of salt, and ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww!
slimy invasion by giant snails
durrelllrobert - 4-15-2013 at 05:47 PM
They may not be all over Baja but there are a few on the BNOT board.Bob H - 4-16-2013 at 03:17 PM
Here is a youtube on the Giant African Snails.... wow...
