Snail Invasion: Florida Captures Over 1,000 Giant Snails

Florida -- Authorities have caught over 1,000 giant African land snails amid the efforts against the threat of the invasive snails.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) confirmed the presence of giant African land snails in the New Port Richey area of Pasco County on June 23, the agency noted in a press release Thursday.

Giant African land snails (GALS) are considered to be "highly invasive agricultural pests," the agency noted, adding that they may also pose health risks to humans as they may carry a parasite that can cause meningitis.

The species has been eradicated in Florida twice before, once in 1975 after a detection in 1969, and the other in 2021, some 10 years after the detection in 2011. According to the Tampa Bay Times, the more recent efforts to eradicate the species cost a whopping $23 million.

Amid the current efforts, the snails have been found in 29 properties. Authorities have so far caught 900 of them alive and about 150 that were dead as of Thursday, with the biggest one being a snail that's about 4.5 inches, the outlet noted.

So far, rat lungworm hasn't been detected in the caught snails, Dr. Greg Hodges, assistant director of the agency’s Division of Plant Industry (DPI), said in a media briefing with reporters Thursday.

Hodges also described the difference in the coloration of the snails being caught, with the current ones having "very light, cream-colored body" with dark brown shells while the populations in previous detections had "dark gray to brown bodies" instead.

The light colored snails, Hodges noted, are actually quite common in the European pet trade "and has been intercepted here in Florida, previously, in the illegal pet trade."

As the FDACS has previously noted, it is illegal to "import or posses" the snails in the U.S. without a permit.

"With our personnel, expertise, and proven eradication methodologies, we are confident in our ability to obtain eradication once again," Hodges said, as per the press release. "This effort will require a cooperative effort by FDACS, the USDA, UF/IFAS, the City of New Port Richey, Pasco County, and most importantly, the homeowners."

In fact, the agency encourages anyone who spots what they believe to be a giant African land snail to call the DPI Hotline at 1-888-397-1517. They should not try to touch or capture it themselves as the snails "should not be handled without proper protection and sanitation," the agency cautioned.

"Let me assure you, we will eradicate these snails. We have done it twice before, and we will do it again–it is not a question of if, but when," Florida Agriculture Commisioner Nikki Fried, said in the briefing. "Together, let's locate, communicate, and eradicate, so Florida can again be GALS free."