WEBVTT - Why Are Giant Land Snails Invading Florida Again?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Vogue Bomb Here. They say that

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<v Speaker 1>everything is bigger in Texas, but that doesn't hold true

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<v Speaker 1>when it comes to snails. And that's not necessarily a

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<v Speaker 1>good thing. And that's because Florida has seen an invasion

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<v Speaker 1>once again of the notorious giant African land snail and

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<v Speaker 1>the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services confirmed the

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<v Speaker 1>presence of the giant African land snails on June two

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<v Speaker 1>in Pascoe County after a master gardener first reported seeing one.

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<v Speaker 1>Six days later, the department quarantined to the area to

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<v Speaker 1>try to contain and treat these invasive snails. The quarantine

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<v Speaker 1>means it's against the law to remove plants, yard waiste, debris,

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<v Speaker 1>compost or building materials from this area without permission. The

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<v Speaker 1>quarantine extends from a radius of about half a mile

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<v Speaker 1>from the identified snail population and may change grow if

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<v Speaker 1>more snails are found. A public information director from the

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<v Speaker 1>department told CNN that these snails likely originated from the

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<v Speaker 1>illegal pet trade. But why are these snails such a problem.

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<v Speaker 1>It turns out they're one of the most invasive pests

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<v Speaker 1>on the planet. You can think of snails as a

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<v Speaker 1>sort of biological cleanup crew. They'll eat just about any

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<v Speaker 1>plant matter and anything that's dead too. This species will

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<v Speaker 1>eat at least five hundred different types of plants, so

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<v Speaker 1>they're potentially devastating to Florida's agriculture and natural areas, but

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<v Speaker 1>they can also be harmful to humans. They can carry

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<v Speaker 1>a parasite known as rat lung worm that's known to

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<v Speaker 1>cause meningitis. Humans can get infected with rat lungworm if

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<v Speaker 1>they eat raw or undercooked snails infected with the parasite,

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<v Speaker 1>and people can also get sick after eating contaminated produce

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<v Speaker 1>such as lettuce. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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<v Speaker 1>says it doesn't know whether the giant African land snails

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<v Speaker 1>in the United States are infected with rat lung worm,

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<v Speaker 1>but it warns people should not handle the snails without

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<v Speaker 1>wearing gloves. It also advises people thoroughly wash fresh produce

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<v Speaker 1>to prevent infection. The snails are illegal to own, import,

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<v Speaker 1>or sell in Florida without a permit for these reasons

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<v Speaker 1>and that name. They're not known as giant snails for nothing.

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<v Speaker 1>These massive mollusks dwarf all others in Florida and anywhere

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<v Speaker 1>else on Earth. Their shells are cone shaped, usually light

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<v Speaker 1>to dark brown in color, with golden stripes that run

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<v Speaker 1>the length. They can grow up to eight inches or

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<v Speaker 1>twenty centimeters long. Compare that to other typical Florida snails,

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<v Speaker 1>which average about one to one and a half inches

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<v Speaker 1>in length. That's about two and a half to four centimeters.

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<v Speaker 1>Researchers believe that the giant African land snail is originally

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<v Speaker 1>from East Africa, though it's now found in the Ivory

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<v Speaker 1>Coast and Morocco and throughout the Indo Pacific basin the Caribbean, Brazil,

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<v Speaker 1>and northernmost Argentina. It was first detected in Havana, Cuba,

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<v Speaker 1>and has rapidly spread across the island ever since. A

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<v Speaker 1>population was discovered in Costa Rica in one as well.

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<v Speaker 1>These snails can survive in many environments, though they do

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<v Speaker 1>require calcium because that's how they grow those shells. They

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<v Speaker 1>thrive in locations rich with limestone, moral and even concrete

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<v Speaker 1>and cement. They live on average between three and five years,

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<v Speaker 1>but can live as long as nine years, and in

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<v Speaker 1>that time they reproduce fast adult snails of these species

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<v Speaker 1>have both male and female sexual organs. They still need

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<v Speaker 1>to mate to produce eggs, but any given snail can

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<v Speaker 1>impregnate any other given snail, or a pair can mutually

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<v Speaker 1>impregnate each other, and once they do, one snail can

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<v Speaker 1>produce between four hundred and a thousand eggs a year.

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<v Speaker 1>The snails bury the eggs in cool soil, and when

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<v Speaker 1>they hatch, juvenile snails eat their eggshells and then burrow

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<v Speaker 1>underground for up to two weeks. If can get bad

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<v Speaker 1>for adult snails, they can bury themselves in soil and

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<v Speaker 1>stay dormant for up to a year. This isn't the

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<v Speaker 1>first time Florida has seen an influx of giant African

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<v Speaker 1>land snails. The pests were first detected in nineteen sixty

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<v Speaker 1>nine and eradicated in nineteen seventy five. The most recent

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<v Speaker 1>eradication took eleven years from one during which the Florida

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<v Speaker 1>Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services worked with the U.

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<v Speaker 1>S d A and canine detector dogs to find and

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<v Speaker 1>remove one hundred and sixty eight thousand, five hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>thirty eight snails from thirty two areas in Broward and

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<v Speaker 1>Miami Dade Counties. Now the work has begun in Pascoe County.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode is based on the article Giant African land

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<v Speaker 1>snails invade South Florida again on House to Forks dot com,

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<v Speaker 1>written by Sarah Glime. Brain Stuff is production of by

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<v Speaker 1>Heart Radio in partnership with how Stuffworks dot Com, and

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<v Speaker 1>it's produced by Tyler Klang and Ramsey Yew. Before more

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