Sarasota Florida mosquitoes, love bugs, insects etc. (Orlando, Palmetto: sale, rent)

[atassm]

I would like real strait answer on the Sarasota Florida on mosquitoes, love bugs, insects etc. I live in San Diego, CA and thinking in moving & retire to The Sarasota Florida area. I hate insects, bugs mosquitoes etc. I just can’t imagine living my life spraying repellent onmy legs, arms; head to protect me from bugs & mosquitoes. In San Diego we don’t have anything like that. I take a very long walks about five miles daily in the morning and in the evening. I heard in Florida you can’t do that unless you spray yourself to avoid being biting. I like a response from people who lives in south west of Florida who experiences all of this insects bugs etc. Please give me your opinion about it. I can’t just pack and move to Florida and then hate it because of bugs. Your frankness is greatly appreciated. I also noticed that lots of homes on sale have Pons around them. Is this going to cause more problems? Should I avoid buying a home with pones or water close to it?

[Oobie119]

We are from Chicago and have spent many summer camping there.. from MY experience, mosquitos are few here in Sarasota. I don't use bug spray on a regular basis and rarely get bitten. I only use bug spray where I work, as I work in the middle of farm country. I walk in my neighborhood, but not on wooded trails. My biggest gripe is Palmetto bugs, a form of cockroach, ugly as sin, but harmless. They are attracted to water, not dirt or food, and live in palm trees. I have seen them the size of my index finger. Oh, did I mention they fly?. However, pest control is recommended regardless of where you live, and this keeps them under control.
The next biggest nuisance would be ants, small teeny tiny ones (ghost or sugar ants) that again, are harmless and can be easily rid of. Fire ants are also around, but once you get to know what their hills look like, its not a problem. Again, pest control is recommended and will solve any problems. As far as love bugs, they can be bothersome when they are in season, but they only last about 2 weeks, and show up twice a year. They fly aimlessly at your head, and should be cleaned off your car asap.
Now, spiders are around too. This is where educating yourself is important. Spiders don't bother me too much, but when they are nearly the size of size of my palm, UGH! Many of them are common and only a few are dangerous (widow, brown recluse). Unless you purchase near a wooded area, the bigger ones wont be around.
EVERYONE here has pest control, they come in every few months and spray the perimeter of your house, and check for problems. Most of the bugs here are harmless, just a nuisance IMO. I HATE bugs, and honestly, my biggest problem is the unidentified ones.. I call them UFI (Unidentified Flying Insects)..they are just plain ugly, and unfamiliar to me.
Living near a pond creek could probably be a problem if the water is stagnant or dried up. In the case of a pond or water, Id be more worried about alligators : ) Overall, from a family of people who really dislikes bugs of any kind, its tolerable. Once you get to know what they are, and that they are harmless it's fine. The weather is absolutely worth any bug I may encounter.. Hope you make the move, its so beautiful here : )

[SoFLGal]

Mosquitoes breed in stagnate water. So, if you have a pond with no movement-then yes that would be an issue. As well as ditches or buckets of water with standing water.

My husband runs five miles in the morning and five miles in the evening. He rarely complains of any bugs. If you would have mosquitoes it would most likely be in the summer time after many heavy rains. Sarasota county have airplanes that fly over frequently and spray for mosquitoes and that keeps them at bay for the most part.

If you go hiking around in the woods after a rain in heavy rain then you might find some. Since I'm a native SW Floridan I don't have any other area to give a comparison to but for the most part, I don't notice them.

Why don't you take a few trips here or rent for a while to see if you like the area?

[angelfish]

I live here and rarely ever put on repellant (though if I do it is the avon skin so soft, don't like the chemicals in the others) I do that if I am running on Legacy Trail, for the 4th of July at the beach, or if kayaking at sundown. That's about it, I think there are less mosquitos here then a hot summer in NY!

[gypsychic]

I am a native Floridian. Florida is a semi-tropical state, with humid weather, and will have bugs because of this.

That said, the nearer you live to the coast, the fewer problems you will have with mosquitoes, they don't like the breezes and salty air. If you live inland, near marshes, rivers, woods, etc., mosquitoes will be a big problem. Also, you cannot have any standing water, even a little bit. I NEVER use any repellants, nor do I need to.

Frankly, where we live bugs are almost a non-issue. But if you plan to move here you will occasionally have to deal with SOME bugs. But it's probably not as big a deal as you are imagining.

Hope this helps!

[jnanner]

only been here a week and haven't seen any mosquitos but DS9 had a big bite over his eyebrow that looked like a mosquito bite last night. i hate mosquitos. where i moved from the fear was west nile virus and they would spray the whole town which was even scarier to me!! now, i hear the skeeters to the south (key west) carry dengue fever and the skeeters to the north (Hillsborough county) carry eastern equine encephalitis virus.

we had a giant spider in the garage and no one knew what to do with it. you can't whack something that big with a shoe!! we had some of those tiny ants in a window and bathroom. Saw a few other ugly bugs but it hasn't been too bad (yet??)

when the serious heebie jeebies start freaking me out - gators, snakes, deadly skeeters, killer spiders...etc... i just remind myself that everyone's Gramma lives in FL and manages! So - i just need to gramma-up and deal with it!! lol (doesn't help that it's Shark Week the same week i move here though!! lol)

[gettinoutofjersey]

the bugs, animals and reptiles are small stuff compared to the hassles and crappy quality of life you left in the northeast, i know they certainly are for me.

we have mosquitos around here that can get pretty hungry. not as bad as previous years but it we go out at dusk or on the shady side of the house we get bit. but we have alot of foliage

[Picshooter]

I had a friend (we worked for the same company) who relocated from Canada to Temecula (San Diego). We met in Orlando on business.It was his first visit to the South. He was curious why everyone had pool cages.He quickly understood all he needed to know about Florida's insects. He ended up moving here, bugs and all.

Personally, I would prefer retirement living in S.D.if we could afford it, but we can't. But in all fairness it's been a few years since I have visited.

[foggytoad]

Originally Posted by Picshooter

I had a friend (we worked for the same company) who relocated from Canada to Temecula (San Diego). We met in Orlando on business.It was his first visit to the South. He was curious why everyone had pool cages.He quickly understood all he needed to know about Florida's insects. He ended up moving here, bugs and all.

Personally, I would prefer retirement living in S.D.if we could afford it, but we can't. But in all fairness it's been a few years since I have visited.

I didn't read the first sentence you wrote carefully so when I got to the bottom, I kept asking myself why anyone would ever want to retire in South Dakota (S.D.) and why they couldn't afford it!?!?

[Picshooter]

Too funny. I should not have been so lazy and typed out San Diego.I used to travel there on business, and have many wonderful memories.

Originally Posted by foggytoad

I didn't read the first sentence you wrote carefully so when I got to the bottom, I kept asking myself why anyone would ever want to retire in South Dakota (S.D.) and why they couldn't afford it!?!?