Giant African land snails are back in Florida, spurring intensive efforts to destroy the invasive mollusks before they spread and wreak agricultural and environmental destruction.
After one of the large brown snails was spotted earlier this month north of Miami, the state has declared a quarantine and treatment area over a few square miles in the Broward County city of Miramar. The quarantine joins two others already underway in the state: one in Lee County, which is home to Fort Myers, and one in Pasco County, north of Tampa.
“The giant African land snail is one of the most damaging snails in the world, consuming at least 500 different types of plants,” the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services declared this week. “These snails could be devastating to Florida agriculture and natural areas as they cause extensive damage to tropical and subtropical environments.”
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