Giant Snails Invade Florida 245
Edgewood_Dirk writes "First spotted in 2011, Giant African Land Snails have migrated to Florida, and are causing massive agricultural and social problems in the state. Hugely destructive to crops, the creatures themselves are dangerous, in that they are able to gnaw through stucco and plastics, will eat almost any organic material, their shells are hard enough to pop tires on the freeway and become shrapnel when run over by lawnmowers. Over a thousand are caught each week in Miami-Dade County and their numbers are only growing as more come out of hibernation. They also carry a form of rat lungworm which can cause meningitis in humans, although no human cases have been reported yet."
Pythons (Score:5, Funny)
I'm hoping we can get the pythons to eat the snails.
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I'm hoping we can get the pythons to eat the snails.
Good idea! We could then get the tourists to eat the pythons! The foot chain - revised!
Either way, we win (Score:2)
Good idea! We could then get the tourists to eat the pythons!
Or the pythons to eat the tourists; either way, we win!
Maybe we can get VisitFlorida.com [visitflorida.com] to promote braised Burmese Python with African Snail under glass au jus as a local delicacy. I mean, it worked for oysters. . . .
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How about people eat them? They're fabulous dipped in some garlic butter.
"They also carry a form of rat lungworm which can cause meningitis in humans"
Be my guest. Personally, I think snails are disgusting.
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Not to mention pesticides people put down to control them. This is a problem with a lot of wild foods. A plant that is perfectly safe when harvested from a remote mountainside is something you'd want to give a pass if it came from the side of a highway.
Even where a pesticide is safe for use on human crops, if a specific product is not formulated for that use it may contain impurities (e.g. dioxins) that make *that formulation* unsafe for use on anything a human would eat.
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>Be my guest. Personally, I think snails are disgusting.
Overcome your food phobia. Snails taste delicious.
Garlic and butter are the traditional cooking medium but I had them cooked in a bacon gravy at Morel's restaurant in Vegas and they were superb.
Re:Pythons (Score:4, Funny)
>Be my guest. Personally, I think snails are disgusting.
Overcome your food phobia. Snails taste delicious.
And, according to some Asian cultures, so do kittens and puppies.
Prepared correctly, I'm sure just about anything can be tasty.
Sincerely yours,
Captain B.J. Smethwick [wikipedia.org] in a white wine sauce with shallots, mushrooms and garlic.
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That's why you cook them. (Score:5, Interesting)
And pork can carry trichinosis and many other parastes and diseases dangerous to humans. As can beef, chicken, fish, and pretty much any other animal, though the risk tends to reduce as their biochemistry gets progressively more divergent from our own. That's why they tell you to cook meat thoroughly, *especially* things like pork that can carry a lot of infections that can migrate to humans. Also one of the (several) reasons bushmeat is frowned on - almost anything that can survive in a monkey or ape will be right at home in a human.
Plants are generally safe to eat raw simply because they are *so* biologically different that almost nothing that infects them is likely to be able to jump to humans, so the risks tend to be restricted to poisons produced by either the plant or its parasites, and cooking doesn't help with many of those.
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HEY, YA'LL, WATCH THIS! (Score:3)
erm, then again, maybe not...
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not even the french would attempt to eat that. what makes you think a snake would?
What are YOU talking about? The French would not only eat that, they would tell you it is a delicacy while snickering under their breath!
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Go, go, escargo-dzilla?
Yea...
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Their shells aren't that hard, they crush about as easily as any other snail it seems - as you'll find out the first time you take a step in an infested area without looking down.
I imagine it's possible to puncture a tire with their shells in the same way that you could puncture a tire with a thin piece of glass.
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Africans like to eat them. That's a problem in the UK - they import them and sell them at markets. Though it's a bonus for people who like to keep them as pets and feel happy about "liberating" one or two.
what eats them? (Score:2)
time to import some predators
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Re:what eats them? (Score:4, Interesting)
The Wikipedia article (first link) explains that they have no natural predators, ...
It wouldn't be surprising if the Everglade kite learns to eat them. This is a local subspecies listed as "endangered", and its favorite food is Florida's largest native snail, the apple snail. If so, this may help the kite survive.
Re:what eats them? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:what eats them? (Score:5, Funny)
The French?
But what will we do when the French start to run amuck?!
Why, then we get Germans!
Re:what eats them? (Score:4, Insightful)
It will be entertaining to watch, too. [twitter.com]
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Re:what eats them? (Score:5, Funny)
Russian winters.
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Russian winters eat everybody, Germans, French even Swedes [wikipedia.org]. About the only ones able to hack it are Finns and the Russians themselves.
Hence the first rule of warfare: never invade Russia (The Art of Warfare, Sun Tzu, revised edition).
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Re:what eats them? (Score:5, Funny)
Hence the first rule of warfare: never invade Russia (The Art of Warfare, Sun Tzu, revised edition).
I thought the first rule of warfare is: "never get involved in a land war in Asia"
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or Koreans. Hey... we can make Kim Jong-un a peace offering!
Re:what eats them? (Score:5, Interesting)
According to Wikipedia [wikipedia.org] *people* eat them:
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It is a pity that they carry some pretty unpleasant parasites. Generally not lethal; but classic Journal-of-Tropical-Medicine-ghastly-worms-are-burrowing-through-my-internal-organs stuff.
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Do those worms' larva or eggs survive cooking, though? I think all it takes is making sure you cook them well and that's it. I love snails.
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My understanding is that the primary risk isn't from eating them(though I'd certainly be careful during prep, and if some horrid little cyst is just fine after being boiled I definitely didn't advise it); but the fact that they serve as a natural reservoir for the parasites and more or less continually shed them into the environment.
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Re:what eats them? (Score:4, Funny)
According to an article:
The hermit crab is one of the most dangerous predators to the Achatina fulica and has been known to use the shell as its home. The coconut crab also views the Achatina fulica as a delicacy. The domesticated duck along with a vast variety of other bird species forage on Giant African Snails. Other mammals such as the wild pig prey on Achatina fulica.
Ducks... the US needs lots and lots of ducks.
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Ok, but why a duck [wikipedia.org]?
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Relevant: All of the predators listed are tasty and edible.
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Coconut crabs! The giant ones that are 3 ft in diameter. Lets import those!!!
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Have you eaten duck? I wouldn't describe it as delicious.... They make better decorations than food.
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Yes, they are wonderful roasted and fried.
The eggs are pretty decent too.
Go have some peking duck and get back to me.
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I actually greatly like the taste of duck. I just hate having to deal with the bones.
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Wow, speak for yourself. Many people (myself included) consider duck an amazing delicacy (if occasional, since they are just a *bit* fatty). Cantonese roast duck, Peking duck, duck a l'orange, duck confit, duck liver pate... not to mention duck fat french fries! Ok, now I'm hungry.
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Yes I have, and cooked properly they are are fabulous. It's just that they're a bit finicky to cook, and tend to be very greasy and/or dry if you don't do it right - i.e. if you cook them as if they were chicken, turkey, or pretty much any other common meat animal.
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They float, too.
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How are you going to get a gorilla to eat a snail?
Re:what eats them? (Score:4, Interesting)
I hear people do in Africa but that's about it. An African guy I used to work with said that when they're cooked the smell is horrific.
They're really terrible creatures, when crushed they release eggs, their poop is profuse and a lot like epoxy glue, and of course they're quite gross themselves. Any two can reproduce together, they can easily overrun an area.
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their poop is profuse and a lot like epoxy glue
Run a farm, pack it in tubes, sell, profit? :) And it's "all natural" of course. Because we all know that natural things are teh bestest n' green n' all.
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I seriously think it could compete with commercial glues as-is, but as the article points out, their poop is loaded with parasites and it does still smell like poop.
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We need a refinery for, it then :) At least it will smell like poop, not like petrochemicals.
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bring me a giant tub of garlic butter and a sautee pan and I'll show you.
The plus side... (Score:4, Funny)
Giant snail racing. Hell yes.
He's gaining on me! (Score:5, Funny)
Am I the only person that pictured an elderly retiree running from a giant snail in a slow motion chase after reading the title of the article?
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Re:He's gaining on me! (Score:5, Funny)
I was picturing a 1950s-era monster movie poster or trailer, myself.
"Coming this fall to a theater near YOU! They're terrible... they're horrible... they're GASTROPODS!"
"Oh no! The snails have just taken Fort Lauderdale! Hurry! We've only got a few months to evacuate before they eventually get to Miami! The airport will be moderately more busy!"
"Giant snails are invading Florida! Where did they come from? What do they want? How many more will eventually perish in the lethargic onslaught, given enough time? Find out this fall in... DAY OF THE SNAIL!"
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Sounds like a double bill for The Monster That Challenged The World [wikipedia.org]
Salt the roads? (Score:5, Interesting)
It sounds like it's time to salt the roads in Florida.
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This may be perhaps the most overlooked post of the week.
How to get rid of them? (Score:2)
On the bright side they are invading very slowly. (Score:5, Funny)
Top general Erwin Gastropod calls it Schildkrötenkrieg
Re:On the bright side they are invading very slowl (Score:5, Funny)
Your German is perfect! Both in your grammar, and the quality of your joke.
eat your oranges! (Score:2)
"If you got a ham sandwich in Jamaica or the Dominican Republic, or an orange, and you didn't eat it all and you bring it back into the States and then you discard it, at some point, things can emerge from those products," Feiber said.
Remember kids, finish your oranges just in case there are baby snails in there. Don't discard, digest!
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"If you got a ham sandwich in Jamaica or the Dominican Republic, or an orange, and you didn't eat it all and you bring it back into the States and then you discard it, at some point, things can emerge from those products," Feiber said.
This public service message brought to you by the Pork Council and American Fruit Growers Association.
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For example, though flowers from africa represent a small portion of
Rename Time (Score:5, Funny)
Whoever named these things might have missed one of this species' abilities.
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I don't think they did it on their own :)
The wrong word in that sentence is "migrated"
Species naming rules: (Score:2)
Examples: California Candor, Dwarf Alberta Spruce, American Redwood, Canadian Maple
African killer bees, African land snails, West Nile virus, Madras eye, Burmese python
Mega Python vs Ultra Snail (Score:5, Insightful)
Whew! Long time no post!
Re:Mega Python vs Ultra Snail (Score:4, Funny)
50 foot pythons in the sewers of New York might take care of the rat problem
Might take care of congestion on the subway lines as well...
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Re:Mega Python vs Ultra Snail (Score:5, Funny)
50 foot pythons in the sewers of New York might take care of the rat problem
Might take care of congestion on the subway lines as well...
You don't know New Yorkers very well, do you? The pythons would have to fight for a spot on a rush hour subway car, and I'm not sure the odds favor the snake.
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I was for that approach long before any snails arrived on the scene.
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"Giant Snails" you say? (Score:2)
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Ohhhh.... nooooooo..... (Score:4, Funny)
beer is the answer (Score:2)
A little bowl of flat beer in the garden works well on the normal variety of snails and slugs. So to handle these monster snails just set up a few troughs of imperial stout.
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Really, you want these things to get drunk and surly after all the destruction they can do sober?.
Got garlic? (Score:2)
Look let us not be bigoted and prejudiced. (Score:3)
Can't fight what you don't understand (Score:5, Funny)
Before you can do anything, you need to become acquainted with some basics about the land snails.
Conveniently, someone provided an excellent summary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTV23B5gBsQ [youtube.com]
They eat plastic? (Score:3)
.
Re:Points at Giant Snails (Score:5, Funny)
Could things be any better, here in the Sunshine state?
They eat stucco.
In just 24 short months, it is possible that South Florida returns to its native habitat.
BONUS: With the new, snail-driven housing scarcity introduced to an otherwise depressed real estate bubble, rewards are again possible for developers and speculators!
Now, mind that sinkhole. We've got a Colombian cocaine submarine to rendezvous with.
Re:Points at Giant Snails (Score:5, Funny)
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They've got teeny black bears, 300lb for the males and only 200 for the females on average. Compare that to Ursus americanus cinnamomum found in the yellowstone area where cubs can get to 165lbs. There's also only ~3,000 total for the state (up from ~300 in the 1970's). I'd be MUCH more worried about a crash caused by these snails blowing a tire than I would be of getting attacked by a Florida black bear.
Re:Points at Giant Snails (Score:4, Funny)
Ah. This is obviously some strange usage of the word "teeny" that I hadn't previously been aware of.
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BONUS: With the new, snail-driven housing scarcity introduced to an otherwise depressed real estate bubble, rewards are again possible for developers and speculators!
Extra bonus: cheap meat.
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Yeah, my first thought was "Do they go well with lots of garlic and butter??"
Re:Points at Giant Snails (Score:4, Insightful)
Yes, and they come with a very tasteful dash of rat lungworm to finish the meal.
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Pantsu
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They would, but they're having a difficult time getting a required photo ID.
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You're kidding, they are all about gay mariage ! hermaphrodites you know !!!
Re:News Articles are Identical (Score:4, Insightful)
Reuters is a news aggregate service like the AP. It's word for word because Fox, like most other news outlets, purchases the information from Reuters. Don't let your liberal bias against Fox get in the way of your retarded narrative though. I mean why let a potential flame against "the enemy" go to waste.
Fuck I'm tired of you people.
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Actually, I was bashing mainstream media as a whole, not just Fox. I /mentioned/ FoxNews because it was one of the two articles used in the summary. If it had been MSNBC I would have dropped their name as well.
I mean, I did suggest people see how /all/ the news articles on Google are word-for-word identical to the Reuters feed. My comment was intended as an indictment of news media as a whole and a warning about how Slashdot should be careful not to fall into the same trap.
Regardless, that is /still/ no exc
Re:And yet people worry about GMO crops (Score:4, Insightful)
It always amazes me that people worry so much about moving one or two genes around in plants in a thought out and carefully controlled manner yet they hardly worry about the introduction of whole functional genomes (i.e. invasive species) into ecosystems. Given the clear and deleterious impacts of introduced species (as opposed to those for GMOs which are debatable at best) you would think there would be large organizations of anti-introduced genome activists.
Why would you expect activists on an issue where there is virtually no counterpressure?
Accidental introductions still happen, reasonably frequently, and individual 'wildcat' introductions (usually of something that somebody thinks will be tasty and/or amusing to hunt/fish) do happen as well; but essentially nobody in anything resembling an authoritative role will even suggest a deliberate introduction in anything but the most cautious terms(and usually then only in an effort to control a prior introduction that got out of hand).
The sheer difficulty of the task, and the near-impossibility of eradicating established populations, works against the effort; but there is no activism because being against introduced species is already policy(and downright uncontroversial policy, at that).
GMOs, by contrast, have much more... effective... friends and allies, which provides their opponents with some incentive to try to push back.
Regardless of how good or bad their cause is, people rarely get worked up about things that are already going the way they want.
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I think it has been now sufficiently demonstrated that the larger the lack of understanding of something, the more activism it generates. People who have no clue about basic high-school level genetics, thermodynamics and nuclear physics make for very good activists. The more clueless they are, the more vocal.
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I really wonder what kind of an agricultural disaster could emerge from a presumably safe for human consumption ham sandwich or an orange... Isn't this just government propaganda from an agency that frankly said doesn't know what to do with itself anymore?
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Yes but in Australia the things that will kill you tend to hide. In Africa it's mostly apparent where the death is coming from.