MIAMI, Fla. – Parts of southern Florida are fighting an invasion of giant African land snails.
Their population is exploding in Miami neighborhoods.
The snails can eat the stucco off of houses and leave a big mess behind, but they also carry a deadly worm species.
"It will mature inside a human body and it ends up taking residence in the brain,”said Dr. Vincent Conte with the Miami-Dade Health Dept. “It causes a nasty form of meningitis, which unfortunately right now there is no treatment for.”
Federal and state wildlife officials are working to determine the most effective way to kill the snails.
