Pest Factsheet: Giant African snail
Published: Tue, 26 Mar 2013, 14:19Last updated: Mon, 11 May 2015, 16:46
The giant African snail (Achatina fulica) is one of the world’s most destructive pests of fruit and vegetables. Growing up to 30 centimetres long and weighing up to a kilogram, it is known to eat around 500 species of plants including cocoa, papaya, peanut, rubber trees and most varieties of beans, peas, cucumbers and melons. This species has also been recorded as eating fallen fruit, garbage, human and animal excrement even other giant African snails. Giant African snails are regarded as a delicacy in many countries and deliberate introductions to new areas are probably responsible for the pest’s spread to Indian and Pacific Ocean islands.
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Resource provide by:- NPPO of Australia
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