It’s Back, the Monster Land Snail

A giant African land snail has been spotted in the New Port Richey area of Pasco County in Florida.

The snail (Lissachatina fulica) will feed on more than 500 types of plants but nothing will feed on it, nothing in Florida anyway. The invader was first spotted here in 1969 and has since been “eradicated” twice – in 1975 and again last year – but life finds a way.

On top of its scourge on agriculture, the African snail also hosts a parasite, the rat lungworm, which causes meningitis in humans. And when the snail feels like it’s not getting enough calcium in its diet, it will munch on plaster and stucco. Even architecture isn’t safe.

The freakout over one snail might be because of the pest’s fecundity: a single snail can lay 1,200 eggs in a year. That’s more than the average Burmese python. Unfortunately they don't seem to eat each other.

So, the state’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has launched another eradication program. They’ve quarantined a section of New Port Richey and began baiting the area with the pesticide metaldehyde, which, according to the agency “works by disrupting the mucus production ability of snails and slugs. This reduces their digestion and mobility and makes them susceptible to dehydration. Snails and slugs that have eaten metaldehyde often seek hiding places, become inactive and begin to die within days.”

People with pets should take care, as the pesticide can be harmful to cats and dogs. Metaldehyde was recently banned in the UK. 

Photo credit: Kerry Sheridan / AFP via Getty Images