UF/IFAS Okeechobee County Extension Service

458 Highway 98 North

Okeechobee, FL 34972-2578

Phone: (863) 763-6469

E- mail: indianco@ufl.edu 

May 19, 2004

Feature Article - for release the week of May 23, 2004

Dan Culbert - Extension Horticulture Agent

We had a very interesting visitor in our office last week, Lisa Payne from the USDA’s Animal and Plant Inspection Service Plant Protection and Quarantine Office. She alerted us to a recent news story out of Wisconsin. Seems that some exotic pet operations imported a snail that is capable of chewing up over 500 different kinds of plants. Additionally, this critter can be host for a human parasite that causes a form of meningitis, and can live for 9 years in captivity.

Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you - one of these full-sized "slime-ers" is capable of growing to a length of eight inches (yes, 8") long. And - guess who spent a million dollars from 1966 to 1975 cleaning up a population of 3 that grew to 18,000?  Today’s column will introduce you to the Giant African Land Snail ("GALS"), and encourage you to turn them in to the "snail police" if you see one as your child’s next science project or served up with butter as escargot.

Last November, inspectors conducted a search that led to the closure of a home-based snail farm . Last month, another news story reported that five of these fist-sized critters were donated to a Wisconsin Elementary school. After the teachers learned their classroom pets were illegal, they turned them over to the USDA. Over 100 snails have been recently confiscated from exotic pet stores and dealers in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, and Ohio. Snail smugglers could receive fines of up to $1000 per violation.

Scientists consider the giant African land snail, Achatina fulica, to be one of the most damaging land snails in the world. It is known to eat many tropical plants and most varieties of beans, peas, cucumbers, and melons.  Believed to be originally from East Africa, GALS has established itself throughout the Indo-Pacific Basin and in Hawaii. It has also been introduced to Caribbean islands (Martinique, Guadeloupe, Saint Lucia and Barbados).

These mollusks are prolific reproducers. They bend the rules of biology because individual snails have the ability to produce both eggs and sperm. Once mated, they can lay up to 400 pea-sized eggs (see photo at left) per clutch, and can set down three clutches per year. Even though this is a tropical creature, it can hibernate through northern winters. Want to guess what this creature could do in Florida?

In 1966, a Miami, FL, boy smuggled three giant African snails into south Florida upon returning from a trip to Hawaii. His grandmother eventually released the snails into her garden. Seven years later, more than 18,000 snails had been found along with scores of eggs. Several rounds of quarantines, picking posses, and the use of chemical snail baits finally rid the state of these pests. The state eradication program in Florida took 10 years and cost $1 million. New eradication efforts may impact native tree snails, some of which are endangered. This is why our state is very interested in preventing their re-introduction.

They also may carry a parasite that can effect people’s health. These snails can carry microscopic nematode worms (Angiostrongylus cantonensis and potentially another species, A. costaricensis ) which are known to cause a form of meningitis.  Handling these snails with bare hands or contacting the slime they leave on vegetation is not advised.

Some folks have suggested that these critters could be the basis for a very profitable enterprise: escargot farming.  To ensure that escargot meat is safe to eat, it needs to be completely cooked.   High heat will give escargot the consistency of tire rubber - making it a bit chewy to be floating in butter.

Information suggests that one or more species of giant African snails are being sold in pet stores or traded by exotic animal dealers. It’s likely that these snails were imported illegally. Officials and our office are asking the public's assistance in identifying these snails no matter where they are in the US. If the snails were to be released, it is likely that Floridians would have to come up with much more than the one million "clams" that we did in the 1960s. GALS has proven that it can cause serious damage to both the landscape and nature.

We’ve placed photos and links to other GALS and snail references on our county Extension webpage. Consumers who own or may have seen a GALS are asked to please immediately report it to the FDACS toll-free helpline at 888-397-1517. Alternately, you may contact USDA inspector Lisa Payne in Sebring at  863-655-1720.

If you need additional information on the Giant African Land Snail, call or stop by our office at 458 Hwy 98 North, in Okeechobee.  Master Gardeners are available to answer questions about your Florida Yards, and you can visit our webpage at http://okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu. Our phone number is (863)763-6469, and you can email us at okeechobee@ifas.ufl.edu.

Note: GALS photos taken by USDA/APHIS photographer David G. Robinson. 

Culbert, Daniel. Snails in the Florida Yard. Vero Beach: Press Journal, August 27, 2000.

Deisler, Jane E. Tree Snails of Florida. FDACS DPI Circular 246 and Feature Creatures Bulletin EENY-148. Gainesville: UF/IFAS. August, 2000. http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/misc/gastro/tree_snails.htm

Feiber, Denise. "Bronson Warns Floridians to keep watch for giant African land snails." Tallahassee: FDACS, May 12, 2004. http://doacs.state.fl.us/press/05122004.html

Ivey, Sterling FDACS Identifies Giant African Land Snails in Miami-Dade County. Tallahassee:  FDACS Press Release, September 15, 2011.  http://www.freshfromflorida.com/press/2011/09152011.html 

Pest Alert: Giant African Lands Snails. USDA APHIS Pest Detection and Management webpage http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/ep/gas.htm 

Safeguarding, Intervention, and Trade Compliance Officers Confiscate Giant African Snails in Wisconsin. USDA APHIS Pest Alert: Washington: APHIS 81-35-008 , May 2004. http://www.aphis.usda.gov/oa/pubs/pa_phgals.pdf

Simberloff, Daniel. Impacts of Introduced Species in the United States - The case of the Giant Snail. CONESQUENCES: Volume 2, Number 2. University Center MI: Saginaw Valley State University, 1996 http://www.gcrio.org/CONSEQUENCES/vol2no2/article2.html

The Florida Cooperative Extension Service - Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer authorized to provide research, educational information, and other services to individuals and institutions that function without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap, or national origin. Florida Cooperative Extension Service / IFAS /University of Florida. Millie Ferrer-Chancey, Interim Dean.  Last update: 10/17/2011 .  This page is maintained by Dan Culbert