isles of collier and kayaking

[Tripower455]

Originally Posted by Who Dat

Ditto what Tripower has said. I've been here my entire life and spent a most of it up to my rear in water of some sort. I still have all of my limbs and have never been bitten by any of these things (less the mosquitoes).

I definitely worry more about the skeeters than gators.

Driving here among all the different styles that come from all over the world concerns me about 10,000 times more.

A-freakin-men!

[KeeCee]

Thank you all, for your 'seasoned' responses I'm more daring (or stupid) than my hubby who is insisting we're being sold a bill of good and he'll never paddle down there, but I figure, if it were a safety concern, we'd be reading stories in the newspaper about kayakers/paddleboarders being gobbled up, and I've never heard of that happening. (now the pythons, on the other hand... have to admit that one freaks me out)
We've been visiting my parents in that area for the past 20 years and never noticed any mosquitos, so it's a surprise to hear that this is a concern. Maybe it's just a summer problem?

[FLBirdwatcher]

Well, the python was actually in the bushes and not in the water. It is a rare sighting, but it does happen. There was one found in the Marco area a few months ago as well. It was right on the dock by a restaurant. They scare me too.

As far as kayakers, I haven't heard of any critters attacking. Like another poster said, most alligators are scared of people.

Skeeters come out in the summer months.

[Kayakphotos]

A lot of it depends on your perspective. I took my son backpack camping here when he was six at the primitive camp site on the six mile trail in collier Seminole state park. A lot of my friends at work were surprised that I wasn't scared to do that with all the wildlife and nobody around.

I would describe most of these people as city people. I grew up in the Midwest where young kids drove four wheelers around unsupervised and were out deer hunting at 10 or 11 years old...

[Tominftl]

Iam worried about those snakes...

[Tripower455]

The drive to wherever you go to recreate is far more perilous than any wildlife you'll encounter while kayaking, camping, biking, fishinghiking etc.

We've been tent camping around SWFL for nearly 30 years. Never had the slightest bit of an issue with wildlife, unless you count mosquitoes and the time a raccoon got into our cooler one night and ate like a king.

We've dealt with a few aggressive water moccasins while freshwater fishing out in the "blocks", but even that's pretty rare.

Southern rattlers are very skittish and will typically only strike when cornered. I've never had one get aggressive towards me, they've always beat it or just stayed put when I've encountered them. A long time ago, I accidentally picked one up, thinking it was a fire hose (long story) and I think the snake was more surprised than I was. It was cold and he was sluggish, but I nearly had to change my shorts after I tossed the 4 footer as far as I could.

Pygmy rattlers can be pretty aggressive, but the only place I've ever seen them is in my backyard when I lived on the golf course in Golden Gate City. I killed 3 of them in the bushes behind my lanai in the 5 years I lived there.

I haven't run into any pythons, and not sorry about that!

In over 16 years living in the estates, I've seen and killed only one poisonous snake (water moccasin) on my property. I am a "live and let live" kinda guy, but moccasins can ruin your (or your kids/dogs etc.) day.