Giant Snails in Florida

Cork boy 55

For a variety of reasons Florida appears to suffer from a wide variety and disproportional number of alien species invasion.

latest one

South Florida is battling a growing infestation of the giant African land snail.

The snail is considered one of the most destructive invasive species, feeding voraciously on more than 500 plant species.

They can also eat through plaster walls, which provides the calcium content they need for their shells.

Experts recently gathered at a science meeting in Gainesville to seek the best way of eradicating the snails.

According to Denise Feiber, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, more than 1,000 of the snails are being caught each week in Miami-Dade county and 117,000 in total since the first snail was spotted by a homeowner in September 2011.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22155219

(2011)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7HmyNugZdA

Cork boy 55

One problem is they get so big that people keep them as pets and then they escape or are released. The shells of these snails often grow to a length of 18 centimetres (7.1 in) with a diameter of 9 centimetres (3.5 in). , and live up to 10 years
The species is native to Africa, but it has been widely introduced to other parts of the world through the pet trade, as a food resource, and by accidental introduction.

Have fun with your snail!??!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8H7Byesg0L0

Adam Khor

Cork boy 55 wrote: »

One problem is they get so big that people keep them as pets and then they escape or are released. The shells of these snails often grow to a length of 18 centimetres (7.1 in) with a diameter of 9 centimetres (3.5 in). , and live up to 10 years
The species is native to Africa, but it has been widely introduced to other parts of the world through the pet trade, as a food resource, and by accidental introduction.

Have fun with your snail!??!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8H7Byesg0L0

I remember reading something about these guys being hosts of a dangerous parasite as well... :eek:

Cork boy 55

Adam Khor wrote: »

I remember reading something about these guys being hosts of a dangerous parasite as well... :eek:

They can carry a worm that can cause a form of meningitis.
All though no such cases have yet been identified in the US.