BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. – Parts of Broward County are under quarantine after the return of the invasive African land snail.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services ordered parts of Broward County to quarantine Tuesday after the snails were found in the Miramar area.
The snails pose a serious health risk to humans by carrying the parasite rat lungworm, known to cause meningitis in humans.
Officials said as treatment begins, the FDACS will continue to use the same treatment methodology for this pest, which is a metaldehyde-based molluscicide (snail bait) and is approved for residential use.
According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture news release, the African land snail is one of the most damaging snails in the world because it consumes at least 500 types of plants and produces about 1,200 eggs in a single year.
It’s been eradicated twice in Florida within the past 50 years.
Local 10 News spoke with Moreen Hamilton who lives in the ‘Escar-no-go zone.’
“The only thing I saw here is just the iguanas,” she said.
Hamilton lives on Southwest 24th Court in Miramar where the Florida Department of Agriculture has been busy over the past few days.
“They brought a piece of paper stating that if we had ever seen any of those snails, we could just call them,” she said.
Local 10 News also spoke with Dr. William Kern, an entomologist with the University of Florida.
“With any invasive species, if you find it early, you may be able to control it or eliminate it,” he said.
The snails were detected in the area, earlier this month.
“The primary danger is that they’re voracious plant eaters, so they can do an awful lot of damage to both landscapes and to agriculture,” said Kern. “If the snails crawl on uncooked vegetables, you can have a problem with it getting a human infection.”
Its why Kern says state inspectors are going yard-to-yard, within the quarantine zone.
“They literally just look and when they find them, they gather them up, bag them up to be disposed of, and they will treat those yards with the bait,” he said.
Officials say there’s no way to know how many African land snails are out there, but residents that live in the quarantined are hoping to never encounter them.
According to officials, it’s illegal to move plants, plant parts, yard waste, soil and building materials within and out of the defined quarantine zone without a signed compliance agreement.
Owners of a veggie or fruit garden are being urged to wash them thoroughly before eating and of course, if you see these giant African land snails, call state officials.
Click here to view the quarantine and treatment areas.
Inspectors, snail hunters and snail canines are expected to continue searching for the snails throughout Broward County for the next few weeks.
All publicly available information on giant African land snails and the current quarantine can be found at FDACS.gov/GALS.