Within the quarantined zone, officials started using a snail bait that contains metaldehyde, a pesticide approved for use in vegetable and ornamental crops on fruit trees and other plants. Since the snails have no natural predators, eradicating them is challenging. Unlike the COVID-19 quarantine, this one prohibits residents from moving plants, soil, debris, building materials, compost, or yard waste outside the designated zone. ![]() In hopes of containing them, state officials placed a portion of Pasco County in the New Port Richey area under quarantine last week. (Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services) Mollusk Detector Dog, Mellon, searching for giant African land snails. Bill Kern, an associate professor at the University of Florida who specializes in nuisance wildlife management, told The New York Times. While the GALS can survive in many different environments, the snail typically likes more humid areas with dense vegetation, Dr. Until last week, the GALS had been detected only in Miami-Dade County, which is close to the Florida Everglades and is an ecosystem that provides the snail species with ample vegetation. Just days later, the FDACS confirmed the discovery of the snail in the New Port Richey area of Pasco County on June 23. In late June, just north of Tampa, a gardener in Pasco County spotted a giant African land snail, which was the first time it had been detected outside of South Florida. ![]() The news comes just days after an enormous python was pulled from the brush of the Florida Everglades last month.Īccording to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), the giant African snail, commonly referred to as GALS by invasive-species aficionados, is native to East Africa and can grow to 8 inches in length, which is roughly the size of an adult hand. As if there weren't enough creepy crawlers lurking through Florida, the giant African land snail returned to the Sunshine State's ecosystem last week after being eradicated in 2021.
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