State wildlife officials are working to eradicate the Giant African Land Snail. And lawmakers learned something new Thursday—just how they get the job done.
Agency representatives are making the rounds this week, explaining annual budget requests before legislative committees. Derek Buchanan from the Agriculture department asked House lawmakers for funding to address citrus greening, laurel wilt—which attacks avocados, and eradication of the Giant African Land Snail. Rep. Kristin Jacobs (D-Coconut Creek) asked what eradication looks like.
“There’s a lot of debris removal from the areas where these things would stay and hide,” Buchanan begins. “There’s also chemical treatments—I think it’s literally called sluggo, or that was one of the treatments we’ve use in the past. So we put out bait stations to attract the snails and kill them, we also have detector dogs who go out and hunt these snails down.”
Buchanan says 21 of the 29 hot spots for the pest have been snail-free for over a year. The department wants access to about $2 million for the program.
