Florida city under quarantine after deadly giant African snail detected

nypost ^ | 6/20/2023 | katherine donleavy

[bitt]

hey’re not escargot-ing anywhere.

State officials placed part of a Florida city under quarantine Tuesday as they race to eradicate the invasive, parasite-carrying invasive giant African snail.

The 3.5-mile section of Miramar in Broward County — located just 11 miles west of Hollywood — will be covered in a metaldehyde-based molluscicide to exterminate the insects after a giant African snail was found in the area earlier this month.

Residents will be able to move out of the treatment area freely but are prevented from moving any plant-based supplies that could harbor the mammoth mollusk’s eggs.

“Under the quarantine, it is unlawful to move a giant African land snail or a regulated article, including, but not limited to, plants, plant parts, plants in soil, soil, yard waste, debris, compost or building materials, within, through or from the defined quarantine area without a compliance agreement,” the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services announced.

[bitt]

p

[crusty old prospector]

Sounds charming. Why not carpet bomb the area with salt?

[ETCM]

will be covered in a metaldehyde-based molluscicide to exterminate the insects

Katherine Donleavy, expert biologist...

[stars & stripes forever]

[Political Junkie Too]

-PJ

[stars & stripes forever]

The insects could be parasites.

[Kartographer]

The insects could be parasites.

So giant African snail votes Democratic?

[deport]

Damn, Where do these things come from? How did they
make it here? Are they deadly or harmful to humans/
animals, etc.?

[GSWarrior]

Snails. It’s what’s for dinner.

[Right Brother]

[dfwgator]

As if we didn’t have enough to worry about with Murder Hornets.

[gundog]

Walk for your lives!!

[Political Junkie Too]

Which one leaves a trail when it moves?

-PJ

[stars & stripes forever]

The Giant African Snail (Lissachatina fulica or GAS) was first found in southern Florida in the 1960s, and it took 10 years and $1 million to eradicate it. It was reintroduced in 2011, and eradication efforts were completed in Broward and Miami Dade counties in Florida in 2021. State and Federal officials are responding to a new introduction of the invasive snails—this time in Pasco County, Florida. The giant African snails detected in New Port Richey, Florida are unrelated to the population of giant African snails eradicated from Broward and Miami Dade counties last year.

This pest remains a threat in Florida, Hawaii and the Caribbean. GAS is one of the most damaging snails in the world because it consumes at least 500 types of plants and can cause structural damage to plaster and stucco structures.

This snail can also carry a parasitic nematode that can lead to meningitis in humans. One of the most damaging snails in the world. GAS reproduces quickly, producing about 1,200 eggs in a single year.

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/resources/pests-diseases/hungry-pests/the-threat/giant-african-snail/giant-african-snail

[Drew68]

Damn, Where do these things come from? How did they make it here?

Florida, unfortunately, is a hotbed of illegal exotic animal imports which are then released into the wild and thrive in Florida's climate.

[blackdog]

As a beekeeper, the challenge of keeping your bees free of other parasitic or destructive insects, without killing your bees at the same time is brutal. And fwiw to the people who say we're all gonna die because bees are dying, the honeybee is an invasive species brought to the America's by European settlers.

just try to kill the bug inside the trachea of your bees and not kill the bee? Or the Veroa mite (tick on bee), and not kill the bee?

[ETCM]

The parasite is a nematode, Angiostrongylus cantonensis. AKA Rat Lungworm.

[gundog]

Brought in in agricultural products, probably. I think I saw one in ‘82 on Homestead AFB. Thought it was pretty cool. Never saw another.

They’re a vector for a potentially lethal parasite.

[stars & stripes forever]