[eviltigger26]

I've been looking at houses in Southwest Florida (Port Charlotte / North Port) and some of them are next to a freshwater canal. Can anyone tell me some of the plusses or minuses? I'm just curious about stagnant water, bugs/mosquitos, smells, flooding, fishing, kayaking, etc... Thanks!

[SoFLGal]

You can add alligators to the list as well. Some people like to look at them and think they are pretty. If you have kids or dogs I would not recommend living on a canal. As you listed in your post, the mosquitoes can get worse around the canals. If usually depends on how much circulation the water has. Some of the waterways are better than others, the Coco Plum Waterway is the largest in North Port. Most of the other waterways are not very wide and get pretty low in the wintertime.

Several of the waterways you can take a kayak or small fishing boat down. I'm sure you already know that any of the canals east of US 41 do not go out to the gulf.

[jdber94]

Historically fresh water canal lots have been better investments then standard interior lots within the City of North Port. Personally I like the idea of an additional buffer 50'+ between your property and your neighbors to the rear. I have heard of some people catching a variety of small fish in the canals that hold water throughout the year. Non-motorized boats are allowed. Flooding is NOT an issue on these canals.

[Northporter]

I don't live on a canal, but I do live on a three acre lot in what is called the Estates area, and have small water retention pond in front of my house. It goes up and down with the water table.

I don't worry much about mosquitoes, but we do have fire ants that love to bite if you go barefoot. I use fire ant killer several times a year. We also
have had a few spiders in our screened lanai, and now and then armadillos dig in the yard. i also have wild turkeys and a wild hog on my three acres, plus a variety of birds.

I have a friend who lives on a canal and has caught some very large fish. But his canal is full year around, not just in the summer when rain pours down every afternoon.

Lots of our canals get pretty dry in the winter.