Giant African snails are making farmers lives a misery in a village in southern India by chomping through their crops.
Farmers in Azhiyoor, a village on the coast of Kerala state, have formed "African snail killing squads" to protect their papaya and other crops.
Scientists say the African snail is one of the most dreaded crop-raiders in the world.
"They pose a great threat to the village and people are worried," P. Sredharan, a village council official in Azhiyoor, 425 kilometers (265 miles) north of Kerala state capital Thiruvananthapuram, said Wednesday.
The farmers are using salt to destroy the snails whose scientific name is Achatina fulica and which can grow up to eight inches (20 centimenters) long.
"We start our (killing) mission in the evening as the snails come out only at night," said villager Chilliyil Sudheesh.
Kerala agriculture officer K.P. Sushama said the villagers first reported the presence of the snails in 2002 but they only became a problem this year.
Officials say the snail was first reported in India's northeast in 1847 but that this is the first recent report of problems.
