Florida has an enormous snail problem on its hands

A voracious feeder, the giant African snail, can destroy wild flora. It also spreads a rare form of meningitis. Photo: AFP

Florida plant detectives are on the trail of a slippery foe, an invasive African land snail that is wily, potentially infectious and can grow as big as a tennis shoe.

In the four years since giant African snails were discovered in Miami, they have slowly but surely spread to new territory, alarming residents in the southern suburbs and the neighbouring county of Broward.