An extremely invasive species, a giant African snail was spotted on June 23, in Pasco County, located north of the city of Tampa, Florida. A quarantine of the area was immediately ordered by the authorities in order to eradicate this scourge.
A specimen of a giant African snail was found on June 23 by a gardener in the Port Richey area, north of Tampa, Florida (United States).
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), which confirmed the presence of the invasive and voracious gastropod, quarantined part of the town of New Port Richey in Pasco County. A chemical eradication of this pest was immediately undertaken by treating the soil. The FDACS predicts that eradicating this population of giant African land snails using a pesticide would take three years to be effective.
Do you live in Pasco County? Have you seen an abnormally large snail roaming around? It could be a giant African land snail (GALS)! Learn more about GALS at our @FDACSDPI resource page: https://t.co/IU9OqKEqnU pic.twitter.com/yET0F2VwCH
—Florida Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer Services (@FDACS) July 3, 2022
Native to Africa, this giant snail is one of the worst invasive species on the planet, which has conquered other continents such as Asia or America. In the United States, it is illegal to import it and prohibited to possess it without a permit.
Herbivorous, this gastropod can feed on at least 500 different types of plants, which poses a threat to natural areas and agriculture. This animal also represents a serious risk for human health because it can carry a parasite, a small worm, responsible for meningitis in humans. This is why the FDACS has asked residents of the quarantine zone not to touch these snails without gloves.
this giant is 20 cm long and 18 cm in diameter
These gastropods can live up to 9 years and, once adults, can reach the size of 20 cm long and 18 cm in diameter. Hermaphrodites, they can produce up to 2,500 eggs per year, which makes their population difficult to eradicate. Additionally, they hibernate underground, making them difficult to spot.
In the quarantine zone, the inhabitants are prohibited from moving the invasive animal but also all related objects such as plants, garden waste, compost or earth outside the delimited perimeter, without an authorization from the FDACS.
According to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the giant African snail has been eradicated twice in Florida. The first invasion of this pest dates back to 1969 and it took almost ten years to overcome it, in 1975.
The most recent eradication was in 2021, following a 2011 detection in Miami-Dade County. Florida had spent nearly $23 million to eradicate the gluttonous gastropod.
The last living specimen in Florida was collected in December 2017 from Miami Dade County.
