Locals in a US town have been left on high alert almost two years after rat-sized killer snails were found there.
The African land snails were discovered in New Port Richey, Pasco County, Florida, and can transmit the dangerous lungworm parasite leading to meningitis in humans.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) first raised the alarm about the presence of the pests in 2022 and by the next day, the area was under quarantine, with residents banned from transporting any plants, soil, debris, yard waste, compost, or building materials out of the affected zone.
Two years on, three areas still remain in quarantine including Broward, Lee and Pasco counties, reports The Daily Star.
The FDACS said: “The giant African land snail is one of the most damaging snails in the world and consumes at least 500 different types of plants.”
The invasive snails can wreak havoc on local agriculture and natural habitats as well as pose a threat to tropical and subtropical ecosystems. The massive snails breed at super quick speed, potentially laying up to 1,200 eggs annually. The snails can multiply at rapid rates due to possessing both male and female reproductive organs. They can survive for up to nine years.
The US Agriculture Department has been using a pesticide known as metaldehyde to curb the invasion.
The quarantine method aims to stop the snails from moving into more areas and the FCACS has had to obtain warrants to gain access to some homes where owners have refused to allow them to use chemical treatments.
The giant African land snail is designated a plant pest under Florida law and may not be lawfully possessed in Florida.
It’s not the first time the snail – which is as large as a human hand – has had to be targeted by authorities as it has been eradicated in Florida previously. The first detection was in 1969 and it was eradicated in 1975.
The most recent eradication of this pest was in 2021 after it was detected in 2011 in Miami-Dade County.
Earlier this year the RSPCA was looking for new homes in the UK for ten of the giant snails.
The Mid Norfolk and North Suffolk branch, received the giant African land snails as part of a group of 20 after their previous owner became overwhelmed by their growing numbers.
