African Snail

Check out what the wife saw behind me as I was sitting in my director’s chair, reading and minding my own business – it’s a small Giant African Snail, called “homeka” in Hawaiian.

There are a couple of stories of how African snails (Achatina fulica) came to Hawaii. One says that they arrived in 1936, probably in mail sacks or in/on baggage from Japan. Another is that they were brought to Hawaii to serve as a source for escargot in 1936.

I’ve heard of people collecting the shells.

In any event, they’re all over the place, munching on tender green leaves, which gives the wife the shudders (remember, she’s the one who kills slugs with salt). Did you know that the African snail carries rat lungworm? And that rat lungworm can cause eosinophilic meningitis?

Yep. So I did what any smart guy would do. I smashed it and left it on the ground for the ants to find.

(Hope they don’t get eosinophilic meningitis!)