Alligators everywhere! Please tell me you're kidding! (Tampa, Wesley Chapel: environment, real estate)

[Huckleberry3911948]

gator included? i would scratch that off dream house list.

[traveler73]

I'd worry more about the Palmetto bugs that will get into your house. You'll know one when you see it, just look for the giant roaches that fly. Have fun with that!

[scorp200]

Assume they're there and don't walk a small dog next to the water - my friend nearly lost her rat terrier that way. (fortunately she grabbed him and ran and the gator had to look elsewhere for food).

Having said that, living near some fresh water is wonderful because of all of the gorgeous birds that will hang out around it. I'd never swim in it, though.

[rusty78]

Originally Posted by sbjbart

My husband and I are thinking of moving from Colorado to Tampa. We have been browsing MLS websites and find ourselves drawn to homes with caged pools that back to ponds or lakes. They look so serene and peaceful. The homes we have selected to look at are in suburban neighborhoods not out in the country. I have been reading on this site that alligators are everywhere there is water. How much of a problem are they really? Why do people spend 300k to 500K to live on water lots if they will be living with alligators? Is it just ignorance and then your stuck with a house you can't sell? Do the alligators break through the pool cages and enter pools or even worse houses? Should I reconsider buying a waterfront home. I can't afford to buy on the ocean. Do you have to pay someone to remove alligators that come onto your property. Are the alligators afraid of people or do they attack? I would freak out if I ever found an alligator in my yard. If I buy a house with water in my yard, is an alligator visit common, possible but unlikely, or just to be expected. Please help me assess my risk.

I have looked into buying a house on the water for the last several years, as far up as North Carolina.....what several real estate agents told me, in the carolina's, is that anywhere you have water....you have a chance of having a gator...of course the warmer the climate...the better your chances...but what you should be more concerned anout is the salt water crocks...they are more aggressive....and at least one made it up to Fort Lauderdale....

[CarolS]

Originally Posted by traveler73

I'd worry more about the Palmetto bugs that will get into your house. You'll know one when you see it, just look for the giant roaches that fly. Have fun with that!

OK I have seen them! They wear armor! Ughh, I hate them

[Tarastomsgirl]

Please realize they can also live in Brackish water. Sometimes they can be found in back waterways leading out to the beach.. We used to go knee boarding in the backwaterways but were warned by fish and game of gators in the water. We had a hurricane one year and lived on a canal and after the hurricane came out to find a big momma bathing on our deck (screen blown away) and one of her babies got stuck in the pool.. We used the skimmer to get it out and didn't go outside till she left. They're gonna be pretty much in any canal, lake etc with the snakes and snapping turtles.. Those wil do more damage than the gators.

[Trabbz]

Originally Posted by Tarastomsgirl

Please realize they can also live in Brackish water. Sometimes they can be found in back waterways leading out to the beach.. We used to go knee boarding in the backwaterways but were warned by fish and game of gators in the water. We had a hurricane one year and lived on a canal and after the hurricane came out to find a big momma bathing on our deck (screen blown away) and one of her babies got stuck in the pool.. We used the skimmer to get it out and didn't go outside till she left. They're gonna be pretty much in any canal, lake etc with the snakes and snapping turtles.. Those wil do more damage than the gators.

I forgot to mention brackish. I live in a condo almost completely surrounded by a brackish lake and I wonder if there are gators in there all the time. I just don't hang out by the shore.

[Tarastomsgirl]

Originally Posted by Trabbz

I forgot to mention brackish. I live in a condo almost completely surrounded by a brackish lake and I wonder if there are gators in there all the time. I just don't hang out by the shore.

Yeah I never hung out by the lakes ponds etc and I certainly NEVER walked my little dog by them.. A lot of the reports you see of dogs being eaten are from Northerners coming down, not even thinking and taking a stroll by the shore , the gators can be totally submerged in the water and literally just shoot out grab the dog and take em under and you'll sit there with an empty leash wondering what just happen. They're quicker than all hell, best to just stay away..

All this alligator reminds me of when I was a kid (in the 80's) we would drive from Naples to Miami on old alligator alley or 41 and the water would come up to the road and you'd see the seminal indians jumping in the water and swiming in it not even thinking and I'd see the woman washing the clothes in the water, but one year there was a story of a young girl washing the clothes and a gator came up and took off both of her arms. I dunno if she lived or not but they'll eat just about anything

[robertpolyglot]

I don't give a damn if alligators attacks are rare. The fact that I couldn't get near or in fresh water bothers me. And, if they think dogs are snacks, which they do, even less for me. Stay where it's nice and paved...and use the Gulf/Ocean, where you will look for fins instead.

This all brings up the May 2006 occurrence. You know, there was that girl in the Western suburbs of Miami taking her nightly jog that decided to get near, or slightly into, a canal to cool off. She didn't make it. The "visual" one gets is straight out of a scary movie or a National Geographic video.

[sbjbart]

Thank you to all who answered my post. I guess I will have to think seriously about how important a water view is to me. Does anyone know where you can buy a home on wooded natural terrain lots that would still be close to shopping. That would be my second choice for the kind of environment I'd like to live in. We have 300k to 400K budgeted for a house. Thanks for taking the time to help me out.