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       September 19, 2011

　

(CNN Student News) -- September 19, 2011 Snail Invasion AZUZ: There`s an invasion underway right now in South Florida. Giant African land snails: they once took a decade to get removed from the area. Now they`re back. They`re among the most damaging snails in the world, and they could also cause health problems for people. Maggie Newland of WFOR reports on just how giant a problem these giant snails are becoming. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MAGGIE NEWLAND, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): Snails are known for being slow. But agriculture experts are working fast to stop these snails from spreading across South Florida. DR. PAUL SKELLEY: We believe we have caught this just in the nick of time. NEWLAND (voice-over): An invasion of slimy stripe-shelled pests that, at least, by snail standards, live up to their name, giant African land snails. JASON KESSER, SNAIL WITNESS: I think they are beautiful, but they`re - - they`ve populated at an incredible rate. I mean, exponential is an understatement. NEWLAND (voice-over): Jason Kesser saw one for the first time in his mother`s house in Miami. KESSER: I thought it was like a dream or something. It was like a mythic creature that walked -- it was about that big. NEWLAND (voice-over): At the time, he didn`t realize the snails were dangerous. But as soon as the Florida Department of Agriculture learned there were giant African snails in Miami, it joined with the USDA to launch an emergency response, searching houses around Southwest 33rd Court for the snails. They`ve already found about a thousand. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible) ,we just found shaking out some foliage and looking in the leaf litter. NEWLAND (voice-over): The snails quickly destroy vegetation. They`ll eat stucco off a house. And just one snail can lay 1,200 eggs a year. SKELLEY: They can actually be so numerous it becomes traffic hazards. I`ve heard of the shells puncturing tires. NEWLAND (voice-over): And the snails can carry a parasite that causes meningitis, which is why Jason Kesser is thankful he didn`t decide to get rid of the snails himself. (END VIDEO CLIP)