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MIAMI — It started with snakes from Burma, slithering through the Everglades in such numbers that the state actually sponsored an unsuccessful snake hunt to get rid of them.
Now, it's giant African land snails, slowly sliming their way all over the Miami-Dade area. And soon, they'll be even more of them.
The snails are being caught by the thousands each week, according to a report from Reuters, and there are more on the way as the mollusks emerge from the ground after the start of the rainy season.
The snails eat ... a lot. According to Denise Feiber, a spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, they'll dive right into "pretty much anything that's in their path and green."
Not only that, but Florida's homes could also possibly be at risk because the snails will eat the walls right off. Stucco, a popular coating for building exteriors, contains large amounts of calcium, something the snails need for their hard, gigantic shells.
They can also cause meningitis. The snails carry Angiostrongylus cantonensis, a parasitic lungworm found in rat feces that can infect humans, and is in fact the most common cause of this particular type of meningitis.
Giant African land snails can reproduce at alarming rates, compounding the potential problem. Each snail is hermaphroditic and can produce 1,200 eggs every year. So even a single snail can lead to a serious, long-term problem.
Related:
Invasive snails found in Utah fish hatchery
Fish hatcheries in Utah are going to see some changes after one tested positive for New Zealand mud snails, which is on the invasive species list.In 1966, a young boy brought three snails back from a Hawaiian vacation. Those eventually led to 17,000 snails, which cost over $1 million (a much larger sum in the 60s) and 10 years to clean up.
A recent conference in Gainsville suggested the use of much more powerful bait for the animals, but really there is neither a clear solution for the invasion or a clear answer as to how it started in the first place.
Several theories exist; The animals are popular among pet owners because of their large size, attractive shell and seemingly communicative personality.
There are less savory theories as well, like being brought in through compromised human food sources.
"If you got a ham sandwich in Jamaica or the Dominican Republic, or an orange, and you didn't eat it all and you bring it back into the states and then you discard it, at some point, things can emerge from those products," Feiber told Reuters.
There's even a possible religious source. Practitioners of the Santeria religion were known to have used the snails in certain ceremonies in 2010.
Regardless, Floridians and the state government are preparing to be slimed. An advertising campaign is underway with billboards and theater ads aimed at warning of the snail's danger and how to combat it.
