Giant African Land Snail Eradication Program

Program Update

February 26, 2019

Giant African Land Snail

Listed as one of the top 100 invasive species in the world

➢ Major landscape/agricultural pest

➢ Public health threat

➢ Feeds on stucco to buildshell

➢ Reproduces rapidly

➢ No natural enemies

1

Global Invasive Species Database (2019). Downloaded from

http://www.iucngisd.org/gisd/100_worst.php on February 4, 2019

1

Pose significant risk to sustainability of natural resources and

agricultural products

▪ Quarantine/trade implications▪ Restrict movement of commodities

▪ Economic impact▪ Millions of dollars in crop damage

and/or export restrictions

▪ Environmental impact▪ No known natural predator in Florida

Invasive Agricultural Pest

EYW

Port of Key West

Port of Miami

Port

Everglades

MIA

FLL

PBI

MLB

MCO

SFB

DBIA

JAX

TLH

ECP

TPA

PIF

GRQ

RSW

Port of

Palm Beach

Port of

Ft Pierce

Port of

Manatee

Port of

St. Petersburg

Port of

Jacksonville

Port of

Fernandina

Port of

St. Joe

Port of Panama City

Port of Pensacola

Florida Satellite Image

www.mapwise.com

• Consume more than 500 species of plants.

▪ Can grow up to 8 inches in length.

• Adult GALS can lay more than 2,600 eggs annually1

Biology

1 Dickens L.K., Capinera J.L., & Smith T.R. (2018). Laboratory assessment of growth and reproduction of Lissachatina fulica (Gastropoda: Achatinidae). Journal of Molluscan Studies, 84(1), 46-53

• 3 GALS specimens were discovered in 1966 in a residential neighborhood in NW Miami

▪ They were released by the grandmother of a young child who brought them from Hawaii as pets

History in Florida

• 7 years of control actions (including use of arsenic-based metaldehyde products, now banned by the EPA) resulted in more than 18,000 GALS collected

• The eradication effort spanned 10 years at a cost of $1 million dollars (1960)

History in Florida

How current infestation was discovered

• September 2011 - Homeowner asked Department plant inspector to help identify snails she was finding all over her yard. Giant African land snail positively identified in Miami

• FDACS and USDA immediately mobilized an emergency response program to determine the extent of the infestation and begin control activities

Current Eradication Effort

Cumulative Stats:

32 cores (31 in Miami-

Dade and 1 in Broward)

719 positive properties

168,434 snails collected to date

3,032 properties in all cores and grids

Program Status

Current Snapshot:10 active cores (9 in

Miami-Dade and 1 in Broward)

218 positive propertiesNo live snails collected since December 2017976 properties in all cores and grids

Program Status

2018 Highlights

OUTREACH• 30 Calls to the DPI helpline• 5 major, 20 minor outreach

events attended• More than 6,000 pieces of

literature distributed to elementary schools near core areas.

OPERATIONS• More than 2,000 non-core

surveys conducted• Picayune Strand State Forest

Survey• Visit by Dr. Marcus Ramdwar,

University of Trinidad & Tobago

2018 Highlights

Picayune Strand State Forest Survey• 1 shell found by FFS personnel• 3 survey operations• 20 personnel• 146 sites surveyed• No live GALS (or additional

shells) detected

Press ConferencesCommunity Cultural ForumInternational TV ProgramsSocial MediaRadio/TV advertisingPresentations at Community Events

Public Outreach

Public Outreach

• Giant African land snails carry Angiostrongylus cantonensis (rat lungworm) – the adult form of the parasite is found in rats

• Infected rats pass larvae in their feces

• Snails and slugs get infected by ingesting the larvae

• Humans and animals get infected by ingesting raw or undercooked snails

• Can cause eosinophilic meningitis in humans

• Specimens collected in most cores have tested positive for RLW

• No reported cases of humans or animals contracting the disease from the Florida GALS program

GALS program partners withFDOH on public education

Rat Lungworm Parasite

• Program office established in Miami

• 25 full-time FDACS employees assigned to the program

Field Operations

• ‘Boots on Ground’ control approach

➢ Survey

➢ Hand collect snails

➢ Treat properties with EPA-approved molluscicide (Metaldehyde)

➢ Collect and dispose of debris

Frequency of control activities on the 3,000+ properties in the treatment area depends on their designated color

alert level, based on the last live GALS found

Program Methodology

Debris removal is critical to eliminating snail habitat for easier collection and insecticide efficacy

More than 3.6 million pounds removed program-wide

Program Methodology

• Lab Work

➢ Daily collection reports

➢ Snails sorting and measuring

➢ Snail destruction by freezing

➢ Reproductionstudies

➢ Mortality determination

Program Methodology

K-9 Bear and Larry

K-9 Sierra and Omar

Night Team Spray Team

Specialized Teams

K-9 Bear and Larry

K-9 Sierra and Omar

Debris Team Detector Dog

Specialized Teams

K-9 Melon and Denise

• Two dog teams trained and placed into service on the GALS program in June 2014

• Dogs can differentiate between target and non-target snails

• Dogs sit when they alert on a GALS

• If a dog finds a live GALS on a property, the survey is terminated and human survey teams take over the search

Detector Dogs to the Rescue

September

2011

September

2012

September

2013

September

2014

September

2015

September

2016

September

2017

September

2018

ACTIVE CORES 5 18 22 28 29 27 22 12

DECOMMISSIONED

CORES- - - - - 4 10 20

ACTIVE POSITIVE

PROPERTIES104 384 598 663 669 686 704 422

DECOMMISSIONED

POSITIVE

PROPERTIES

- - - - - - 15 295

CORE SURVEYS 12,840 53,664 76,914 109,767 138,598 165,073 188,595 209,657

NON-CORE SURVEYS - - - - 7,296 17,190 26,480 35,343

TREATMENTS - 21,936 45,623 73,807 85,549 91,086 96,470 101,675

GALS COLLECTED 9,630 73,796 121,011 137,343 147,474 152,488 168,265 168,429

DEBRIS COLLECTED - - 539,800 1,130,160 1,568,280 2,720,840 3,399,500 3,798,060

STAFF 35 44 53 45 44 29 32 27

Program Snapshot

Color Alert Plan

For positive, adjoining, & adjacent properties after last live GALS detected:

• Seventeen months of surveys with a minimum of twenty-six treatments

• Nineteen months of survey with no treatments

• Minimum of one detector dog survey

• Minimum of one night survey

Establishes a process whereby core areas that meet the below criteria can be eligible for decommission and associated quarantine zones lifted.

Decommission Plan

• 22 cores decommissioned to date:

➢ 2016: 9 Cores => 572 properties

➢ 2017: 6 Cores => 235 properties

➢ 2018: 7 Cores => 1,282 properties

• 13 Quarantine zones lifted to date

Decommission to Date

• 32 Cores

• 28 Quarantine Zones in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties

• Average 3,600 live snails collected a month (2012)

Where we were . . .

• Halfway through Year 7 of eradication program

• 22 Cores decommissioned

• No live snails detected since 12/19/17

Snail

count

down

Mortality rate up

Where we are . . .

• Incorporate new tools and methods as they become available (activators, traps, etc.)

• Identify other areas in FL where the snail may remain undetected

• Continue outreach to the public – they are one of the keys to eradication

• Continue decommission of current active cores, until eradication is declared

Program thanks residents who first reportedGALS in Core 1 for their cooperation throughoutthe 7 years of program operations in that area

Where we want to be . . .

Be on the look out!

Thank You!