If you see this snail, don't touch it.
They’ve been found on 29 properties, officials said. About 900 have been collected alive, while nearly 150 were dead. Agriculture officials said the main place they’ve found the snails so far is around Massachusetts Avenue in New Port Richey.
They warn residents not to move the giant snails or any plants, soil, compost and yard waste from the zone without a compliance agreement from the agriculture department. The largest snail found so far in Pasco was 4.5 inches. A single giant African land snail can lay more than 2,500 eggs in a year, according to the state.
Most troubling, the snails can carry rat lungworm, which is known to cause meningitis. So far, rat lungworm has not been found in any of the captured snails, said Greg Hodges, assistant director of the state agriculture department’s Division of Plant Industry.