A region was quarantined due to the third snail invasion in Florida, USA.
Florida’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) announced that an area in Pasco County has been quarantined, where the African land snail infestation, first detected in 1969, was seen again.
In the information made on the FDACS website, it was stated that the people in the New Port Richey region were warned about the seriousness of the situation, where the African snail, which is thought to be smuggled into the USA to be fed as a pet, was first seen due to the risk of carrying meningitis.
While the area covered by the quarantine zone is shown with a map on the website, citizens are asked not to touch the snail without gloves and call the FDACS helpline.
It was stated that the snail species, some of which can grow up to 20 cm, can lay close to 2,500 eggs a year, can feed on more than 500 different plants, and eat the paint and plaster of the houses to meet their calcium needs.
It has been reported that it may take several years for the snails, which are spread over a certain area for now, to be completely collected.
The process of clearing the invasive African land snail, which was first seen in Florida in 1969, continued until 1975. The fight against the harmful snail, which was seen again in 2011, lasted until 2021. (AA)