Snail Invasion Poses Health Risks

It may be the fastest invasion of a slow-moving creature but people in Miami-Dade County are taking care not to mess with the new snail in town.

The east African land snail is making a home in south Florida and causing all sorts of problems. They reproduce at an exponential rate and grow fast. They slime everything they touch, destroy most plants and even eat the stucco off homes to build up their shells.

But the biggest worry for public officials is the health problems the snails pose. They come fully loaded with worms that can pass to humans by just making skin contact with the slow-moving invaders. The worms can get into the brain and cause a type of meningitis that currently has no cure.

So if you are in the south Florida area, steer clear of giant land snails and if you must touch one, use rubber gloves to protect yourself from a serious illness.

Officials are trying to figure out what will best get rid of the invasive pest.

Richard Gaskalla, director of plant industry at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services says, “It’s us against the snails.”

Here’s what you should know about these snails.

They grow to 10 inches long and four inches wide and are considered one of the most damaging land snails in the world. They eat at least 500 species of plants, lay about 1,200 eggs a year, and can carry a strain of non-fatal meningitis. They are prolific breeders and contain both female and male reproductive organs. And the little house-eating buggers can live as long as nine years.

The outbreak started on September 16, when two sisters waved down a fruit fly inspector conducting a routine check in their neighborhood. They told him that the snails were everywhere. Since local and national agriculture inspectors were alerted ten days ago they have removed over 1,000 snails from a one-square-mile area of Coral Gables.

Some older residents remember the last time there was a giant snail invasion in Miami. It was 1966. After a boy brought three snails back from a trip to Hawaii, his grandmother released them in her garden. It took ten years and $1 million to eradicate the slimy pest and is the only known giant African snail eradication program on record.

Because they are so destructive, the snails are allowed into the U.S. only with special permits and for scientific research.