WATCH: The giant, rat-sized snails devouring South Florida

The giant African land snail can grow to 8 inches long, eat through plaster, and puncture your car tire

Giant African Land Snail
(Image credit: Andrew Derksen, Florida Cooperative Agriculture Pest Survey Program)

South Florida is under attack, and the non-native species threatening to wreak havoc seems innocent enough: It's not the giant Burmese pythons that made a home in the Everglades in 2000, nor a ravenous, land-walking fish like the Asian carp that have been eating through waterways farther up north.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.