Saru Posted April 15, 2013 #1 Share Posted April 15, 2013 Large numbers of hungry Giant African Land Snails have descended upon Florida in their thousands. A growing infestation of dangerous giant snails is threatening to damage buildings and spread illness through southern Florida, experts fear. Giant African Land Snails are being caught at a rate of 1,000 a week in the Miami-Dade county area around the city of Miami with numbers said to be increasing. Read more... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ancient astronaut Posted April 15, 2013 #2 Share Posted April 15, 2013 A snail the size of a rabbit that likes to eat plaster, learn something new everyday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junior Chubb Posted April 15, 2013 #3 Share Posted April 15, 2013 (edited) At least it's a 'Giant Invasion' you could run away from... Edited April 15, 2013 by Junior Chubb 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonshadow60 Posted April 15, 2013 #4 Share Posted April 15, 2013 Oh, Lord. Please don't let those things come too far north. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oscar77 Posted April 15, 2013 #5 Share Posted April 15, 2013 size of a rabbit?? Maybe a very small dwarf rabbit,About 18cm long shell is pretty much fully grown. They are becoming a quite popular pet in the UK but wouldn't survive for long outdoors here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commander CMG Posted April 15, 2013 #6 Share Posted April 15, 2013 Poor Florida.. There soon going to have no indiginous species of their own left. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highdesert50 Posted April 15, 2013 #7 Share Posted April 15, 2013 Now, if they could get the invasive snails to only devour the invasive kudzu, the vine overrunning the southern US, then the invasion of the invasives might be inverted. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Euphorbia Posted April 15, 2013 #8 Share Posted April 15, 2013 Funny how the article calls them "animals". Glad they're not in California. I have a thousand exotic plants in my backyard. An infestation could cost me thousands of dollars in plants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paperdyer Posted April 15, 2013 #9 Share Posted April 15, 2013 Holy escargot Batman! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paperdyer Posted April 15, 2013 #10 Share Posted April 15, 2013 Now, if they could get the invasive snails to only devour the invasive kudzu, the vine overrunning the southern US, then the invasion of the invasives might be inverted. I read somewhere a few years ago that kudzu is helping to replace the ozone layer, something we need. I do agree that it's a PITA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRYSiiSx2 Posted April 15, 2013 #11 Share Posted April 15, 2013 Les Stroud and Bear Grylls will be happy as hell! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKoene Posted April 15, 2013 #12 Share Posted April 15, 2013 Salt, lots of salt, that'll do the trick. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingAngel Posted April 15, 2013 #13 Share Posted April 15, 2013 They eat our crops and lands??? Let's eat them to compensate our loss of food!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starseed hybrid 1111 Posted April 15, 2013 #14 Share Posted April 15, 2013 that's pretty awesome people not the whole danger to the buildings,plant life or humans all alike and evenly but what i mean is giant snails damn that's huge and pretty amazing as well.i did not know that some could grow that big up to a rabbit.nature always excites me in many ways and life.whether this is natural occurrence its still cool.just pour salt over them lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DieChecker Posted April 15, 2013 #15 Share Posted April 15, 2013 size of a rabbit?? Maybe a very small dwarf rabbit,About 18cm long shell is pretty much fully grown. They are becoming a quite popular pet in the UK but wouldn't survive for long outdoors here. There you go!! Let's catch them and ship them over to the UK to sell as pets... Wonder what will happen when they reach Lousiana and those French Cajuns start getting their hands on them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lava_Lady Posted April 15, 2013 #16 Share Posted April 15, 2013 Florida is getting smacked left and right with invasive species. They should just wipe everything out and start over again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little_dreamer Posted April 15, 2013 #17 Share Posted April 15, 2013 I wonder if any part of them is edible by humans or animals. I've never eaten snail though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mysticwerewolf Posted April 15, 2013 #18 Share Posted April 15, 2013 I have had escargot once, it was as tough and chewy as an old chunk of tire and didn't taste much better . At least as far as I am concerned. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaphod222 Posted April 16, 2013 #19 Share Posted April 16, 2013 Why don´t they just eat them? Sounds like a real big escargot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatofeo Posted April 16, 2013 #20 Share Posted April 16, 2013 Good escargot is wonderful. The snails are removed from their shells and sautéed with butter, garlic and salt. Then you add more garlic. A minute passes, more garlic. Ten seconds later, add more garlic. Then add garlic, and ... a touch of garlic. Then more garlic. Or so it seems ... But escargot is very good. I love it. I wondered why these snails couldn't be eaten like escargot. It may be that they are unpalatable. I cooked a Banana Slug years ago while camping on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state. Horrible. Even with plenty of garlic and butter. Found out later that Banana Slugs eat rotten wood, and other things I probably don't want to recall. Blech. But hey, deep fry these GALS, serve with ketchup or mustard at a county fair. People will eat anything at a county fair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaphod222 Posted April 16, 2013 #21 Share Posted April 16, 2013 Good escargot is wonderful. The snails are removed from their shells and sautéed with butter, garlic and salt. Then you add more garlic. A minute passes, more garlic. Ten seconds later, add more garlic. Then add garlic, and ... a touch of garlic. Then more garlic. Or so it seems ... But escargot is very good. I love it. I wondered why these snails couldn't be eaten like escargot. It may be that they are unpalatable. I cooked a Banana Slug years ago while camping on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state. Horrible. Even with plenty of garlic and butter. Found out later that Banana Slugs eat rotten wood, and other things I probably don't want to recall. Blech. But hey, deep fry these GALS, serve with ketchup or mustard at a county fair. People will eat anything at a county fair. It seems these things eat green plants, so it should not be so bad. And think of a rabbit-sized escargot. Wow! I say call the French embassy immediately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DieChecker Posted April 16, 2013 #22 Share Posted April 16, 2013 Probably if people captured these snails and fed them tasty vegies and Then ate them, they would taste a lot better. Like the difference between a domesticated duck and a wide duck. Wild duck tastes like water weeds. It seems these things eat green plants, so it should not be so bad. And think of a rabbit-sized escargot. Wow! I say call the French embassy immediately. We could become an Exporting nation again!!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pallidin Posted April 16, 2013 #23 Share Posted April 16, 2013 We could become an Exporting nation again!!!! Oh God, wouldn't THAT be nice. I'm so sick of the US being primarily an import nation. CONGRESS... LISTEN UP. WE ARE TELLING YOU SOMETHING REALLY IMPORTANT. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundew Posted April 16, 2013 #24 Share Posted April 16, 2013 A snail the size of a rabbit that likes to eat plaster, learn something new everyday. I think the size is exaggerated, maybe the size of rat, doubtful the size of a rabbit. They sell the shells of these African snails in gift shops, I have never seen one of these shells that would not fit in you hand, and they sell gigantic marine gastropod species in these shops. Florida had these once before (in the 70s I think), and they managed to eradicate them. They have probably been smuggled back in as "pets" and escaped. This invasion is rather ironic for Florida because in Hawaii where they are also established, they use a predatory snail from Florida which eats them. Found the empty shells of both species lying side by side on Molokai a few years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundew Posted April 16, 2013 #25 Share Posted April 16, 2013 Good escargot is wonderful. The snails are removed from their shells and sautéed with butter, garlic and salt. Then you add more garlic. A minute passes, more garlic. Ten seconds later, add more garlic. Then add garlic, and ... a touch of garlic. Then more garlic. Or so it seems ... But escargot is very good. I love it. I wondered why these snails couldn't be eaten like escargot. It may be that they are unpalatable. I cooked a Banana Slug years ago while camping on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state. Horrible. Even with plenty of garlic and butter. Found out later that Banana Slugs eat rotten wood, and other things I probably don't want to recall. Blech. But hey, deep fry these GALS, serve with ketchup or mustard at a county fair. People will eat anything at a county fair. Not sure you would want to eat a snail that has been dining on plaster! Escargot is ok, but for good snails, try fresh conch! Mmmmmm! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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