Snakes, Gators, Etc.. (Tampa, Largo, Lutz: 2009, homes, transfer to)

[purplepandan]

Originally Posted by annaegel

Lizards are everywhere. They do end up inside, but they are not a pest and they are harmless.

Next time you get a Lizard in your bathtub reach in to grab him and see how harmless they are when they are backed into a corner!!
Where I live, Largo, the biggest and CONSTANT fear for our pets, are the Coyotes that we are INFESTED with!

[goi_cuon]

Originally Posted by jo98502

Maybe this is a dumb question... but are there really snakes and alligators and disgusting things all over the place in Florida???

Just wondering, I'm considering taking a job out that way and am curious. I just read a post where someones neighbor found an 8ft snake in their pool, despite the fact that it had a screened in enclosure surrounding it.

I don't think I could survive the heart attack that would ensue after a discovery such as that!?

Are these creepy animals common even in the city, burbs around Tampa?

Personally I wouldn't consider moving anywhere where I considered the normal, native creatures "disgusting things."

[algia]

We have pest control once a month and haven't seen any bugs and spiders! we have a pond behind us and I think there may be alligators there, I however drove over a black snake on Dale Mabry/Lutz Lake Fern Rd and it freaked the crap out of me! (I didn't kill him/her) as I was starring in my rear view mirror to see where he/she went because I had that feeling as he/she was crawling on me! the snake was crossing Dale Mabry as I was driving north towards SR54.

I have seen alligators LIVE for the first time in Tampa/Lutz! go figure! (in 8 years, and we lived in Fort Lauderdale/Miami and Orlando and all I saw there were Palmetto Bugs and love bugs)

But it's not like they are traffic participants, once in a blue moon one crosses the street! they are more afraid of us than we are of them...kinda like the Indians many years ago!!!! LOLOL

Of course I can't say the same about mosquitoes...(as I am their food) but then again, where there's water, there's mosquitoes, if they find life on another planet I am sure mosquitoes will be there too!!!! (they'll be our welcoming committee!) LOLOL

Now of course you have the idiots who think having a Python as a pet is a "Good Idea"!!!! a little girl got killed by one a few weeks ago............so, you draw your own conclusion for That!

But no, if you expect to come here and see bugs walk with you at the store, park, mall etc...you won't see that.....for everything else there's pest and animal control.

[jo98502]

Originally Posted by algia

We have pest control once a month and haven't seen any bugs and spiders! we have a pond behind us and I think there may be alligators there, I however drove over a black snake on Dale Mabry/Lutz Lake Fern Rd and it freaked the crap out of me! (I didn't kill him/her) as I was starring in my rear view mirror to see where he/she went because I had that feeling as he/she was crawling on me! the snake was crossing Dale Mabry as I was driving north towards SR54.

I have seen alligators LIVE for the first time in Tampa/Lutz! go figure! (in 8 years, and we lived in Fort Lauderdale/Miami and Orlando and all I saw there were Palmetto Bugs and love bugs)

But it's not like they are traffic participants, once in a blue moon one crosses the street! they are more afraid of us than we are of them...kinda like the Indians many years ago!!!! LOLOL

Of course I can't say the same about mosquitoes...(as I am their food) but then again, where there's water, there's mosquitoes, if they find life on another planet I am sure mosquitoes will be there too!!!! (they'll be our welcoming committee!) LOLOL

Now of course you have the idiots who think having a Python as a pet is a "Good Idea"!!!! a little girl got killed by one a few weeks ago............so, you draw your own conclusion for That!

But no, if you expect to come here and see bugs walk with you at the store, park, mall etc...you won't see that.....for everything else there's pest and animal control.

This sounds totally reasonable. It's the people who say they've found snakes in their houses and things like that that have got me all worried!

I heard about that little girl who was killed, so sad. Crazy that anyone would keep a snake as a pet?! Asking for trouble, sometimes you get it.

[jo98502]

Originally Posted by goi_cuon

Personally I wouldn't consider moving anywhere where I considered the normal, native creatures "disgusting things."

As someone who's bounced around the US her whole life, I feel like there's disgusting things in every corner... like in the NW it's the hippies!

Lighten up!

[algia]

Yeah, but it's not like 1 in every 5 people has found a snake in their house, the state would declare emergency if that happened! these are isolated incidents generally someone had to leave a door/window open as these critters don't have tools! (or know how to use them) LOL

If you live in Nevada are you having a scorpion in your bed every night? no...same here! once in a while someone leaves a door open, or a squirrel pokes a hole in your screen enclosure and there you go, if you don't fix it then you'll have to deal with wild life........we ARE on their land! and they can't talk to tell us to take a hike! LOL

I am not sure which ones are more disgusting, the black roaches up north or the palmetto bugs!!!??

[classicanne]

Originally Posted by jo98502

Maybe this is a dumb question... but are there really snakes and alligators and disgusting things all over the place in Florida???
...are these creepy animals common even in the city, burbs around Tampa?

Yep. We see snakes frequently in our Valrico neighborhood. A neighbor recently found a rattlesnake in his garage. My neighbor two doors down likes to garden; she reached for a potted plant a few years back and was bitten by a coral snake that was coiled behind it. She survived, but spent some time in intensive care. When we lived at an apartment complex in Brandon several years ago, I was walking across the grass to my car and stepped on what I thought was a hose. I thought, "they shouldn't have left that hose there"; imagine my surprise when I turned and looked and the "hose" slithered away!

Add fire ants, wasps, hornets, Africanized bees, gators (there was one in the pond of the same apartment complex I mentioned earlier), mosquitoes (the state bird) and flying beetles, and you've about got it.

I've been stuck in Florida a long time, but fortunately my personal circumstances will now allow me to leave (yay!). Next spring I'm moving to the Pacific Northwest, and next spring can't come fast enough for me!

However, to be fair, there are many who love it here and just consider the hazards part of life and something to use common sense about. It's a very individual thing. I'm not leaving because of the "creepy animals", but because of the hot weather and the conservative mindset, although it's nice to leave the "creepies" behind also.

[SunsetBeachFL]

Just gotta do the ex-husband "tribute" here... he is there and definitely a SNAKE. Beware and be very afraid. Just sayin', there's a lot more to be afraid of than gators (yum, gator tail) and snakes (mostly non-poisonous).

So, the most important thing is to keep your "man-picker" in place! Or, woman-picker, whatever the case may be.

[algia]

You will see more of these critters in areas that have been developed in the middle of nowhere such as Valrico, Ruskin, Appollo Beach and North in Land O Lakes....if you live in South Tampa I hardy think you ever see a snake!!!!! They are in these remote areas thanks to greedy builders....this is why you guys have to put up them........if the greedy builders decided to improve around down town and keep people in a TOWN/CITY limits none of us would ever see any wild life! It IS because we are on their territory that you see them !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jo98502]

Originally Posted by algia

You will see more of these critters in areas that have been developed in the middle of nowhere such as Valrico, Ruskin, Appollo Beach and North in Land O Lakes....if you live in South Tampa I hardy think you ever see a snake!!!!! They are in these remote areas thanks to greedy builders....this is why you guys have to put up them........if the greedy builders decided to improve around down town and keep people in a TOWN/CITY limits none of us would ever see any wild life! It IS because we are on their territory that you see them !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What about the area of NW of Tampa around New Port Richey? Is this a nice area? I ask, cause the nice, new and affordable homes seem to be in that area North of Tampa that you mentioned as being recently wilderness. So, being snake and creepy thing phobic I guess I will now try to avoid that area! Was thinking Land o Lakes & Lutz seemed affordable and nice homes for the money...

The NW area looks a bit more affordable than S. Tampa... so just wondering if it's a nice area.

Thnx.