The Florida Department of Agriculture is asking residents to take care, reports CBS News.
– This is not science fiction. This is real, they write in a press release according to the website.
CALLED: The authorities have made this wanted poster to make people shout when they see the giga snails. Photo: Facsimile
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Lays 1200 eggs a year
African giant snails, which can be as big as a football and spread meningitisis considered the most destructive species in the world.
The giant snail is listed as one of the 100 worst species spreading worldwide.
The monster snails usually live in the wild in Africa and can lay up to 1200 eggs a year, and have no natural enemies.
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– We need your help
Local newspaper Pensacola News Journal writes that the snail was first discovered on June 23 in the city of New Port Richey, located north of Tampa.
Since then, thousands of snails have appeared in South Florida.
The authorities are now on their knees asking the citizens for help to get rid of them.
– We need help from you, the Ministry of Agriculture writes in one press release, and adds: “See ’em, report’ em”.
TO BE EXTINCED: The authorities in Florida have created a separate phone number you can call if you see the giant snails. Photo: Facsimile
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Carries parasite and eats house
Adam Putnam heads the Florida Department of Agriculture. He says this to CBS News:
– Even though it sounds strange and funny, it is a threat to public health, the environment and agriculture.
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African giant snails eat most of the plants, and therefore live a good life in people’s gardens.
In addition, snails destroy houses and buildings when they acquire calcium to build their huge shells. They eat, among other things, stucco and plaster, the authorities say.
Video originally published on dagbladet.no/dbtv.no on 14.06.2015 THE SNAIL SUGAR: Kjell Erik Berg and his son Lars Martin Berg tested a snail sucker this week. They have long had problems with killer snails in the garden, and no means have worked. In a quarter of an hour they caught about 40 snails. Video: Lars Martin Berg
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May have fatal outcome
Not least, the snail family is known to be carriers of the parasite Angiostrongylus cantonensis, which is also called rat lungworm.
Rat lungworm can, according to the U.S. Department of Communications Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) give both humans and other animals a form of meningitis.
In Miami, people have already been diagnosed with this form of meningitis, reports CBS News.
Meningitis is according to Lommelegen an acute and dangerous infection that can be fatal.
BEAUTY TREATMENT ?: Alia Fares (27) with an African giant snail on her face in Amman in Jordan, where it is claimed that the snails increase collagen production in the skin. Photo: Muhammad Hamed / Reuters
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Specially trained dogs
The Florida Department of Agriculture has established a separate telephone line where residents can report the discovery of giant snails.
According to the authorities ABC Action News also acquired two specially trained dogs, called Bear and Sierra, which sniff their way to the snails.
– Snails are good for hiding. Dogs are good at finding things, says Bryan Benson of the Florida Department of Agriculture to the website.
Search crews have been sent out several times at night to find the snails, which are most active when it is dark.
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Smuggled in
Adam Puntam says that the authorities believe that the giga snails are smuggled into the United States to be used in religious rituals, among other things.
– The Santerian religion is very interested in the juice of the snails, he explains.
Santería is according to Large Norwegian encyclopedia an eligion from Cuba with elements from the Yoruba religion, Catholicism and spiritualism.
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Wins the match
Putnam is sure that the fight against the giant snails is going well.
– We find fewer snails daily than we have done before, and we even have days where we do not find any. The numbers’ numbers indicate that we are winning this match, he tells CBS News.
Does not thrive in Norway
Fortunately, there is no reason to fear that the kilo-heavy monster snails will sneak into Norway.
It thrives only in tropical areas.
Researcher at Bioforsk plant health at the University of Ås has previously said this to Dagbladet:
– I do not want to think that it will be a threat to Norway. From what I know, it must have temperatures above ten degrees. But: It could be a problem if it gets into greenhouses, she said.
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