New York City has rats; Florida has snails.
An invasive species called the giant African land snail has been steadily taking over South Florida's Miami-Dade County ever since one was spotted by a resident in September 2011.
The start of Florida's rainy season in a few weeks means that more will soon be coming out.
The snail can grow to be the size of the rat, and is particularly annoying because it eats all kinds of plants, as well as building materials like plaster and stucco. It can also carry a parasite that leads to meningitis in humans.
The state battled a similar invasion in the 1960s, but the species was thought to have been eliminated.
The giant African snail is one of the largest snails in the world.
Snails are typically only a few inches long, but this one can grow up to 8 inches long and 4 inches wide, or to about the size of a rat.
The Florida Department of Agriculture considers the giant snail to be one of the most damaging snails in the world for several reasons.
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