Florida Declares War on Nine-Inch Snails That Eat Houses and Spread Brain Worms
Since September, a 300-acre zone in Hialeah, Florida, has been under quarantine as scientists hunt giant African land snails—eight-inch mollusks with tiny teeth that spread rat-lungworm. Florida has battled three infestations since 1969, spending millions; one took a decade to eradicate. Inspectors patrol, set bait, poison soil, and distribute mug shots. An area is clean only after three years of monitoring. Paul Skelley of the agriculture department says the problem seems limited to one city block, but the response is full-bore.
We are serious about this snail in Florida. When you find these cancers, you don't want to let them fester. You need to cut them out.
- chasil
- 3RTB297
I know people don't want to hear it, but when cooked correctly, wild-caught African land snails are actually delicious. They do take some work to scrub the foot pad, and you want to cook them for a long time to both soften them up, and obviously to ensure there's no parasites left. But in a Ghanaian spinach soup - amazing.
I say wild caught, because farmed snails are fed wilted lettuce, and taste like wilted, rotten lettuce.
- tambeb
Gift link:
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/2026/10/giant-african-sn...
- wilbo
The article only briefly mentions the horrors of rat lungworm, but if you live in a warm, tropical climate where this is prevalent (Hawaii, increasingly Florida) you really want to avoid it.
Apparently there is some evidence that people born in regions where it is more prevalent have some natural resistance.
The main way to get it is accidentally ingesting an infected slug on raw produce, like leafy greens.
Here's a podcast on this parasite, what's known about it and how to avoid it: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-daniel-and-kellys-extraor...
- zem
I remember when those snails invaded bombay in the 80s. saw one or two, and then they were suddenly everywhere. it was amazing how fast it happened.