This giant snail has left Florida in quarantine for months

Florida is under attack by the Giant African land snail. The spotting of the specimen has sparked a race against time to eradicate it.

The species is native to East Africa and can be around 5 to 8 inches in size. It has been a headache for the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services since the 60s.

The Global Invasive Species Database includes it among the 100 worst invasive species in the world. It is known to cause severe damage to crops around the world.

The last spotting of the species was in June, in Miramar, in Broward County, according to The Guardian, which adds to two sightings in Lee County and Pasco County since last December.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services launched an immediate protocol to prevent the species from extending to other areas of the state.

The most significant measure are quarantines surrounding the sighting areas and launching warnings for the residents of the zone.

Image: Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

Until further notice, residents are prohibited from touching any snail they spot. Also, they are advised not to touch the ground, plants, rubble, or construction materials.

According to The Guardian, the quarantine might last months since it involves 26 rounds of fumigation every 14 days. The last two times the snail invaded, in 1966 and 2011, it took around a decade to declare it eradicated.

According to the Department of Agriculture declarations collected by NPR, the snails could be devastating for local agriculture: it consumes "at least 500 different types of plants," the institution explained.

"They cause extensive damage to tropical and subtropical environments," the department continued. According to NPR, it has also been known to attach to houses and eat the plaster walls.

One of the reasons the snail can be so destructive is its reproductive capacity. According to an official fact sheet, it can lay up to 500 eggs at a time.

It is also very easy for them to reproduce since they do not require mating: Giant African land snails contain both male and female reproductive organs.

These creatures also pose a considerable risk to human health, as they carry a rat parasite that can cause a rare type of meningitis.

The species has been eradicated two times before but keeps repairing. It is a mystery how they arrived. According to NPR, officials suspect they were brought in as pets, which is illegal.

Another hypothesis is that the snails were smuggled in to eat. They are considered a delicacy in West Africa and have been confiscated in airports.

In any case, the Giant African land snails appear to be a problem that will last many years, as it did before.