3 Davie properties infested by giant African land snails

Agriculture officials believe snails brought in by people who practice Santeria-type religion

DAVIE, Fla. – The search for giant African land snails continued Thursday as an army of agriculture inspectors descended on Davie.

"We are going out a mile in all directions in order to find out how far these snails have travelled," said Mark Fagan of the Department of Agriculture. "So we brought in extra people from two other divisions."

Teams scoured the brush and landscaping, looking in shaded moist areas for the invasive species, which are eating the native plant life.

But what worries residents the most is the slugs' slime which carries parasites that can give humans an incurable type of meningitis.

"We now have three confirmed positive properties adjacent to each other," said Fagan.

Officials said the infestation in Broward County is more difficult to deal with than the core areas in Miami-Dade County.

"These properties are averaging anywhere from 3 to 6 acres," said Fagan.

Officials said they think the snails came into the country and South Florida by someone who brought them from Africa. They said it is most likely people who practice a Santeria-type religion, which cook up these slimy slugs into a soup.

Andrew Dilong is an electrician who first alerted the Agriculture Department about the snail infestation in Broward County.

"They used to have bus stop signs that say if you see these please report them," said Dilong.

Thursday afternoon crews began spreading a Mollusk-a-cide to kill the snails on all three properties, but it will still take several weeks for them to finish their survey. Officials are hoping the snails are limited to Davie and are continuing to ask the public for help in reporting them.

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