Everything's bigger in Texas.
Posted on 05/08/2013 6:25:41 AM PDT by Red Badger
Residents of a Houston neighborhood are being warned to stay away from giant African land snails after a woman found one in her garden and snapped a photo of it.
The snails, researchers warn, are potentially dangerous to touch, in part because they can carry meningitis. Scientists have warned anyone who comes in contact with them to wash their hands thoroughly.
"They also carry a parasitic disease that can cause a lot of harm to humans and sometimes even death," Autumn Smith-Herron, director of the Institute for the Study of Invasive Species at Sam Houston State University, told NBC Houston affiliate KPRC.
A woman gardening in the Briar Forest neighborhood of Houston found the snail and notified workers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center who deal with invasive plants. It is the first reported sighting of the mollusk in Texas, and no one seems to know how it got there.
The giant snails can lay 100 eggs per month, and though only one has been found, it is believed more are in the area.
Jack Fendrick, who lives near where the slimy giant was discovered, said he will do his part to warn of the potentially deadly snails.
"I think most kids especially would look at a big snail and want to touch it," he said. "That's scary."
Everything's bigger in Texas.
Don’t need no guns, just a pit and some sharp stakes......ammo is too expensive nowadays........
The hogs unscrewed the lightbulb. They are really smart........
“Deadly Giant Snail...”
I guess that was one 1950’s big bug movie that didn’t get made. Probably because it was too laughably difficult to make a giant snail seem menacing. Even one as big as a house.
For a really hokey movie monster, there’s “The Giant Claw”. They ran low on funds so the special effects budget got slashed and the scary bird-like monster ended up being a goofy looking puppet sewn together by a French puppeteer. Pictures at the link.
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=the+giant+claw+puppet&FORM=HDRSC2
Very large version of second pic:About the same speed as a "Fast & Furious" Investigation.
Lightbulb just burnt out, hogs didn’t know where the ladder was anyway.
“... just don’t forget to raise the window”.
I have to ask, Swampy... is this just good advice or advice from a personal experience? LOL!!!!!
Shouldn’t we try to exterminate them?
Whoever designed that prop obviously did not know anything about snail anatomy........
The French know what to do with snails. It looks like one snail would make enough escargot for a crowd!
Personally, I welcome our new snail overlords.........
You mean...."THE CRAW!"??????........
If you should see one, “shelter in place”, call SWAT. When the authorities arrive, mistake you for a snail and blow you away you won’t have to fear getting meningitis.
I did ruin a screen once.
It got away? How fast is this snail?
One answer to the problem of this “infestation” might just be to eat them...
Like other “foods” that require special handling (chicken, pork, etc), apparently these snails can be eaten, and are considered a delicacy in some regions of the world...
A quick look online revealed several recipes including one for “Peppered Snail”...
While not a huge fan of the gastropod in general, I have enjoyed escargot on occasion...Just wondering how these Giant African Snails in garlic butter would go down?
You know pigs have a sense of humor......They were probably hiding in the dark waiting for you to come home!........
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