A large cross-section of local vegetation is now in danger, following the introduction of the Giant African Snail to Trinidad.
The snail, which can grow a shell up to 20 centimetres in length and 12 centimetres in diameter, is a prolific pest that routinely devastates the landscape in its native region.
Citizens are now being advised to report any giant snail immediately and to desist from touching the pest without the use of protective covering, such as gloves, since the snail is also a known host of the rat lungworm, which causes eosinophilic meningitis in human beings.
The rat lungworm (anigiostrongylus cantonensis) has been reported in Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Puerto Rico.
In a statement, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Health said that the species was discovered late last year at Alyce Glen, Petit Valley.
Since then, the Ministry of Agriculture’s Research Division has led an ongoing eradication programme in that area.
However, the species has spread to other communities in Diego Martin-Blue Range and Goodwood Park.
How the snail got into the country was not made clear but, according to agriculturist Wendy Lee Yuen, it would not have been brought in on legally imported fruits and vegetables.
Plant matter being brought into the country on a permit must meet quarantine standards, including being washed free of soil.
The giant snails-either as a hatchlings or as eggs-were likely brought in on a plant smuggled into the country by a private homeowner, who did not take the necessary precautions.
Lee Yuen asked citizens not to smuggle plant matter into the country.
’Get a permit, it’s free,’ Lee Yuen said in a telephone interview yesterday.
Lee Yuen said that while the pest has been found in any crops, farmers across the country are on the alert.
’I’ve also been told that it was discovered in Arima,’ she said.
’The whole country should be on the alert. This pest can be worse than the mealybug.’
The Giant African Snail can be identified by its large, shiny shell, which bears reddish brown to brown and cream to yellow vertical stripes.
The snail is nocturnal, but may become active at dawn and dusk if conditions are very wet.
Snail eggs are small, yellowish and semi-transparent and are encased in a blob of slime.
Sightings of the snail can be reported to the Ministry of Agriculture at 646-6284.
