The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) will be conducting inspections in the city of Coral Gables for Giant African Land Snails (GALS) starting the week of Jan. 22 in its continued effort to maintain public awareness of the presence of these pests in Miami-Dade County.
The program may continue through the summer depending on weather conditions and accessibility to backyards. FDACS Specialists will knock on the front door and announce their presence prior to entering into the yard. They will wear a department ID badge which must be presented to the property owner or resident upon request.
More than seven years after the discovery of Giant African Land Snails in South Florida, FDACS has made significant progress in the road to eradicating this destructive pest. Since GALS were first detected in SW Miami in September 2011, the GALS Eradication Program has collected more than 168,000 snails in 31 core areas of Miami-Dade County, and one in Broward County.
The program remains vigilant and solicits the public’s assistance through continued public outreach.
Through a systematic, risk-based plan of inspection and treatment, the program has decreased the live population of GALS by more than 95 percent. In fact, no live snail has been detected since December 2017. These efforts led FDACS, in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), to develop a plan to decommission core areas where no live snail has been detected in more than 36 months. To date, FDACS has decommissioned 22 sites in Miami-Dade County.
However, the program remains vigilant and solicits the public’s assistance through continued public outreach in areas throughout the State, where snails have not been detected.
If you suspect you have seen the Giant African Land Snail, do not touch it. Immediately report it by calling the department’s toll-free helpline at 1-888-397-1517 or via email at dpihelpline@freshfromflorida.com.
