Hawaii Snails (agricultural, yard, car)

[Marx Factor]

The native snails never get to more than 3/4" long, and you will never see them outside of the native forests a long way from anywhere people live (and even there they're very rare). So don't worry about killing natives. The giant African snails have been here since the early 1900's or maybe 1800's, so they've had plenty of time to get everywhere. If you're into eating snails, cooking them thoroughly kills potential rat lungworm parasites, though of course just handling them can be dangerous if you later accidentally swallow some that were in the slime. People used to eat them raw but that stopped when the parasite got here.

[whtviper1]

Snapped this big guy this morning. Was over 6 inches long.

[hotzcatz]

Yup, that's an African tree snail. Cook thoroughly and add garlic? That is a big one!

Do you think it's the same one that you saw before? I have no idea if snails are territorial or if they just wander around. Sometimes toads will establish a home for themselves and stay in an area for awhile, but they seem to move on after awhile. Maybe snails do the same thing?

Hey, you could put a mark on the shell and see if it's the same one next time you see it. Name him "Speedy" or something and scratch it on his shell? That wouldn't hurt him, would it? Or if it's a female, you could name her "Shelly"? A sharpie marker would probably be an easier way to put a mark on him. If it was up on the rim near where his body comes out, you'd be able to see it longer. Once the shell revolved to where it's touching the body, the marks might wear off and they'd be harder to see.

It's not an endangered or indigenous species, so if you don't like it, it's a pest, if you like them, I suppose they could be pets.

[McFrostyJ]

We saw lots of big snails while in Ka'anapali Maui!

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by McFrostyJ

We saw lots of big snails while in Ka'anapali Maui!

Attachment 138180

Oh, NOOOOOO! You're not supposed to handle them!

CDC - Blogs - Public Health Matters Blog – Snails, Slugs, and Semi-slugs: A Parasitic Disease in Paradise

[McFrostyJ]

Originally Posted by OpenD

Oh, NOOOOOO! You're not supposed to handle them!

Now you tell me! Where were you about 3 weeks ago?






We were jogging on the beach trail just north of Ka'anapali and there were a bunch of these guys squished on the trail. My wife being a kind sole, decided to help this one get to safety. I had read something about the feral cats in Maui having some sort of disease and I had to tell her MANY times to not pet them. Unfortuantely, I didn't know about the giant slugs. She seems to make animal friends almost everywhere she goes. Her favorite thing we did on this trip was going to the Surfing Goat Dairy.




As you can see, she sometimes gets a little too friendly with them.

[OpenD]

Goats is fine, but snails are dangerout. Matter of fact, you have to be careful with local lettuce because if it has any snail slime on it you can catch leptospirosis from it. And it's a nasty disease.

You don't want to pet the mongooses either. Just sayin'.

[lost_traveler1]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

I'd love to know how those things got to Kailua - Kailua is not by any port - and it isn't like they jump like frogs and obviously this bad boy isn't going very far very fast.

Google "arrest for importing African snail"

Maybe a neighbor brought them in and some got loose.

[Arktikos]

Originally Posted by OpenD

Goats is fine, but snails are dangerout. Matter of fact, you have to be careful with local lettuce because if it has any snail slime on it you can catch leptospirosis from it. .

Actually, it's rat lung disease that you can catch from slugs/snails.

I've been seeing a lot more of these giant African snails this year, and kill them every time.

[American Heart]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

I'm going to snap a photo next time - stomping on it isn't terribly appealing if it happens to be the Hawaiian variety - and this thing was huge, nearly as big as my hand. Never had seen anything like it and didn't know they existed here. I encountered snails in the bay area and after it rained you couldn't help but step on them in the dark and hear the crunch crunch crunch - but those were small - this sucker was huge.

There are some tomato plants in the front of the house - maybe that is what it was after.

Hey man, what year is your White Dodge Viper? Just curious.