I would like to know how to live with Florida wildlife (Winter Springs: health, houses)

[ccbay]

My Dh, and two daughters 10 & 8 are moving to Winter Springs in June. I'm originally from NY. My family appreciates and loves wildlife we like to hike, explore and swim, but we don't know much about the gators, sharks, snakes or fire ants. I don't want to instill fear into the kids, my husband knows about wildlife up North when we go camping, but not about down here. These are creatures I know little about and want to understand how to live with them and not be afraid of them.

We love to swim in the ocean. Do I really need to fear sharks? What if I go to the Gulf is that better for the kids?

Gators - are my cats no longer to be outdoor cats? The parks and lakes - can we picnic and canoe or are things like that just not done because of gators and fire ants, etc.

I already warned my kids to not kick up leaves, pick up larger rocks, etc. because there could be dangerous snakes. I plan to print color pictures of some friendly and what to stay away from.

Thanks for any advice or input

[Fnix]

It doesnt matter which side of Florida you are on, there will be Sharks. Best to swim with other people and stay away from jetties, piers, and people fishing.

You can picnic and canoe with the Gators. Keep your distance and they will keep theirs. More times then not they will jsut swim away and be scared.

And I do advise not to pick anything up like rocks and logs. And if you need to, use your foot to move it.

[Moo Du Kwan]

There are three species of venomous snakes in the state……Coral, Cottonmouth, Rattler (3 species) and the copperhead.
Never heard of any issues with any of them in the city. Like ALL snakes, they do their best to avoid contact with humans. And their best is pretty darned good.

Sharks? Yeah…Ouchie. More encounters on the Atlantic side, though. Swim on the Gulf side. It’s much prettier anyway!

Gators? Yup, they’re here. But unless you take your cats to swim in lakes out in the boonies, they will more’n likely stay off the menu.

No clue about fire ants.

All and all, you’re not building a house in the ‘Glades, so you’ll be fine.

M
D
K

[Moo Du Kwan]

Sorry...Meant to say FOUR species! (Not including the sub-species)

[Jezer]

Waterford Press produce open out illustrated guides to various species, and you may find one or more specific to your locale.

[FLhereIcome]

We lived in Brevard County for a number of years after having grown up in PA so I had the same concerns as you. This was our experience.

Gators - never saw one other than at the zoo
Sharks - never saw one (went to the beach each weekend)
Snakes - saw 1 in 13 years, I don't know what kind it was but our black lab got ahold
of it in the yard and killed it.
Fire ants - OUCH! They're pretty easy to find, look for a mound of sand, especially
in undisturbed areas of your yard or walking trails. They're easy to get rid
of with fire ant spray.

Three things that were more worriesome/troublesome for us than those listed above were spiders, mud daubers, and sandspurs.

Spiders - banana, recluse and black widows. We had quite a few banana spiders in our
yard (mostly in the trees). They would build huge webs across our patio at
night. Their venom is not that potent, but their bite can cause a welt that could last
24-48 hrs.

I saw a brown recluse once, never saw a black widow. We never left our shoes
outside (didn't want those climbing in) and always taught our girls to move objects
with their foot that had a shoe on it, never to use their bare feet or hands.

Mud daubers. They look like a hornet on steroids. They dig into the sand where
they build their nest. Apparently they don't sting, but they do like to come at you.
Easy to get rid of, spray the nest at night with hornet spray.

Sandspurs - they really hurt. They have little "hooks" on the end of them and if you
get one in your foot, you'll know it. The only way we found to control them was to keep the grass cut and watered regularly.

[ccbay]

Thanks all.
FlhereIcome - thank you too. I never heard of those other things. Thanks for letting me know.

[Pink flamingo]

palmetto roaches anyone?

[Magnulus]

Canoes are OK. Don't swim in Florida lakes unless there are signs saying it is OK. Florida has parasites in the water like amoebas and every year lots of people in Florida die from them. The amoebas live in warm, muddy water at the bottom and walking or swimming can stir them up. They go up your nose and then eat your brain. If caught early it is treatable, but since it has symptoms similar to the flu, most people don't catch it in time and they die.

Alligators are a risk if you live close to a lake. Don't play in lakes where an alligator is known to be there, or there isn't a lifeguard. Alligators are potentially in every body of water in Florida, including drainage ponds. In general alligators are shy, and only get teritorial during mating season in the summer. They will eat small children, pets, and even adults if they get hungry enough, though they prefer to eat smaller things. Don't approach lakes at night, either. A couple years ago in South Florida a student was eaten by an alligator. On reconstructing the event, she was out jogging and decided to go to a drainage canal to cool off and was attacked and killed by an alligator.

Poisonous snakes are rare to find near houses. If you are near water you mind find Cotton Mouths and these are aggressive. Coral Snakes are perhaps the most deadly snake in Florida, but I've only seen one once in my life, in a neighbors yard. Most snakes you will see are harmless. When hiking just wear tall leather boots and long pants, stay away from too much brush, and you'll probably be OK.-

Please don't let your cats go outdoors. If you live near a lake the odds the cat will be attacked by an alligator are higher, but there are many things down here that can hurt a cat. They'll be healthier in the long run if they live indoors.

Shark attacks are very rare, rarer than alligator attacks, but I'd say the Gulf coast is worse for shark attacks because Bull sharks hang out there in greater numbers and the water is cloudier (Bull sharks have very poor eyesight and they use biting to find things to eat). You will also find Bull sharks in freshwater rivers and estuaries in Florida, such as the St. John's.

[Alphaman]

Your cat is more likely to be killed by a motorist then a gator. And like the other poster said i would not swim in the lakes especially during the hot weather amoeba will kill you.

You can however swim in rock springs or wekiva springs as the water hovers around 70 year round and amoeba seem no problem there.

Fire ants are everywhere and if you are allergic to bees they can be dangerous, most of the time if you do not disturb the mound you are OK, you can buy fire ant bait to sprinkle around your yard to kill them off.

Snakes you will see sometimes, more if you live in a wooded area most of the time they are black racers or eastern indigo and these are non venomous. There are venomous snakes here and another poster mentioned them so watch for them.

I have seen black widows plenty of times around my home they are black with a red hour glass shape under the abdomen also brown widows they also have the hour glass. Brown recluse are not native to the area but do live in small communities around the state the are brownish tan with what appears to be a purple fiddle on its back. if you get bitten seek medical attention.

The most common pest I see and hear people complain about is the large american cockroaches some people call them palmettos but in reality they are the american cockroach, palmettos look different and mostly live in the grass and don`t come in your house.