Alligators and Snakes in Jax or St. Augustine (2009, activity)

[HParr]

Originally Posted by nj2fla

It's FLA, you WILL encounter gators and snakes, either you'll become conditioned to coexisting with these critters or you'll be miserable. Like others have stated, just be aware and you should be fine. Millions of people live in FLA and 99.9% of the people here never have had an encounter with these critters go bad. Here's another issue for you to get spooked about, watch out for the poisonous spiders and other crawling critters too!

Thanks for the info. Lately I feel like live in a miniature Jurassic Park with all of the little lizards and frogs. They are actually starting to look cute! Oh but the gigantic Palmetto Bugs make me want to throw up! They look like monster **** roaches! They give me the creeps so badly, if one were to touch me I'd die!!! How do such gigantic creatures get in the house?! OMG they are gross!!! When I get all the way moved into my new house I've got to find a deterrent for them and snakes! I don't ever want to see either of those again!

[riveree]

Originally Posted by HParr

Thanks for the info. Lately I feel like live in a miniature Jurassic Park with all of the little lizards and frogs. They are actually starting to look cute! Oh but the gigantic Palmetto Bugs make me want to throw up! They look like monster **** roaches! They give me the creeps so badly, if one were to touch me I'd die!!! How do such gigantic creatures get in the house?! OMG they are gross!!! When I get all the way moved into my new house I've got to find a deterrent for them and snakes! I don't ever want to see either of those again!

The snakes actually eat the bugs, so I leave the snakes alone. Unless it is a poisonous snake that needs to be removed from your yard, snakes are a good thing.

The Palmettos can slip through the tiniest crack . And if you leave your doors open, they'll walk right in, so it's best to keep everything shut. Once you move into the house, you shouldn't have much of a problem with them, but if a house is vacant for a while, they can show up.

If you find a permanent deterrent for them, you'll be a millionaire , we'd all love to see them gone!

[ERIC N]

Originally Posted by nj2fla

I think the saying goes something like this, red and yellow you're a dead fellow...

I grew up in Florida, but left in the mid 70's. When I was a kid we all memorized, "Red on Yellow, Kill a fellow. Red on Black Nice to Jack." Amazing that it has stayed with me for 30+ years.

[nitelite511]

Thinking of moving to Jacksonville and have two cocker spaniel dogs. If you put up a more than 4 1/2 foot fence around your yard ( thinking small spaced metal ) will they be safe? Also if you have a pool is it better to have it enclosed or out in the yard?

[paul313]

Nice discussion, I didn't even realize we had coral snakes in south carolina until someone posted the link above. It is my understanding they are quite rare (good thing) here.

Thanks for all the links. The gator thing I needed kinda just for reference as we don't have them in the upstate area.

P

[joninclay]

Originally Posted by nitelite511

Thinking of moving to Jacksonville and have two cocker spaniel dogs. If you put up a more than 4 1/2 foot fence around your yard ( thinking small spaced metal ) will they be safe? Also if you have a pool is it better to have it enclosed or out in the yard?

Fences will keep gators out. Snakes can still get through if there are spaces, such as an rod iron fence or chain link fence. Still, it's not like your yard will be crawling with snakes or anything.

If you have a pool, just make sure that it is in an enclosure, such as a screened-in porch, or that if it is an outdoor pool, it needs to be in a fenced yard. A 4.5' fence is more than tall enough to keep gators out. If I had the resources and real estate, I'd prefer a pool in a screened-in porch, but that's just my $0.02 worth.

[Blondie621]

Always follow the simple rule, when moving to Florida never buy near lakes or ponds!

[Blondie621]

Originally Posted by HParr

Thanks for the info. Lately I feel like live in a miniature Jurassic Park with all of the little lizards and frogs. They are actually starting to look cute! Oh but the gigantic Palmetto Bugs make me want to throw up! They look like monster **** roaches! They give me the creeps so badly, if one were to touch me I'd die!!! How do such gigantic creatures get in the house?! OMG they are gross!!! When I get all the way moved into my new house I've got to find a deterrent for them and snakes! I don't ever want to see either of those again!

Have the Terminex guy spray around the foundation and windows of your home.

[joninclay]

Originally Posted by ERIC N

I grew up in Florida, but left in the mid 70's. When I was a kid we all memorized, "Red on Yellow, Kill a fellow. Red on Black Nice to Jack." Amazing that it has stayed with me for 30+ years.

I saw a coral snake last week out at a local park. The pictures are attached, though the quality isn't fantastic since it was taken with my cell phone camera.

[Allen Shadd]

It has been suggested that people need to wear noise-producing devices such as little bells on their shoes or clothing to alert but not startle the alligators unexpectedly.
A further suggestion is the carrying of pepper
spray in case of an encounter with an alligator.

It is also a good idea to watch for fresh signs of alligator activity.
People should learn to recognize the difference between small young alligator and large adult alligator droppings.
Young alligator droppings are smaller and contain fish bones and possibly bird feathers.

Adult alligator droppings have little bells in them and smell like pepper spray.