Florida's Battle Against Giant Snails Gets Federal Boost

The Sunshine State is getting some help from the federal government in its ongoing effort to eradicate giant snails from the landscape.

Assistance comes in the form of an announced $7.3 million funding package for Florida through the federal Farm Bill. Some of the cash has been earmarked for tackling the invasive Giant African Land Snail species. GALS, as they’re called for short, have been chomping their way through South Florida since 2011 with officials from the Florida Department of Agriculture working around the clock to keep the invasion from spreading north.

“They eat 500 different plants, including everything we grow in Florida as a source of food,” Mark Fagan of the agriculture department told Fusion. “In addition to that, they’re a human and animal threat, because they carry a parasitic nematode that could cause meningitis.”

The creatures can grow up to 8 inches in length and have also been known to eat through building material. In an effort to learn how to combat them better, the state has captured more than 100,000 of the creatures for study. It’s also enlisted the use of special snail-sniffing detector dogs to help find the creatures where they roam.

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Part of that $7.3 million from the USDA will go toward mitigating the snail population with some of it earmarked for the dog detection program, the state announced in a media release. The rest of the money will help the state combat other pests and diseases that plague Florida crops.

“From citrus greening to giant African land snails and many others, pests and diseases are major threats to Florida agriculture,” Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam said in a statement. “This funding will help prevent the spread of pests and diseases throughout the state and help keep Florida’s $120 billion agriculture industry going strong.”

The state’s stance on GALS has been pretty aggressive to date with a hot line set up so South Florida residents can report any sightings. That number is 1-888-397-1517. In addition, it’s dedicated a section of its website to helping people learn more about the creatures and why getting rid of them is so important. Fifth-graders in Miami-Dade County are even invited to become “junior detectives” to help state agriculture officials locate snails.

While GALS have not yet moved beyond Miami-Dade and Broward counties, the state’s level of concern remains high. The department of agriculture recently put up billboards warning of the pests in the Orlando area and spokesman Rod Hemphill wrote on the agency’s Facebook page that “it is important to watch for this dangerous invasive pest everywhere.” He called them one of the “world’s worst invasives.”

For more information about GALS, visit the Florida Department of Agriculture online.

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