Swimming and Alligators (Orlando, Windermere: house, to live, dangerous)

[arizonaguy12]

Okay, here's probably a stupid one for you locals. We are looking in Windermere, Butler Chain of Lakes etc....We have small kids and grew up on the Great Lakes, swim without a care....SO my question is, can kids swim in that lake? Wakeboard sure, but can they swim for shore? Jump off the dock? Im guessing not. Thanks.

[tinytrump]

i am all against lake swimming because of the heat.. I rem many parks would close the swimming as bacteria grows really fast. There will be arguments against it, but my recollections say dangerous.

[brinkofsunshine]

No, not really. Gators nest close to shore. As the above poster stated, amoeba in the water when it's warm are basically a guaranteed death if they get inside you. Cottonmouth snakes swim and tend to live by lakes, they are extremely venomous.

Stick to pools, natural springs (cold water isn't great for gators and amoeba), and the ocean.

[arizonaguy12]

Wow, no fun, thanks for the info!

[Rabflmom]

Originally Posted by arizonaguy12

Wow, no fun, thanks for the info!

Even water skiing and wake boarding can be a problem when it comes to the amoeba. Use a dorky looking nose plug and keep water out of mouth, etc.
There have only been 32 documented cases off the amoeba, but all died. One of the first was our friend's son back in about 1983. She had even called the county to see if the lake was safe and they had actually checked it the day before. If the air temps get to 90 stay out of lakes, pond, and even rivers. Do not stir up the bottom. Safer in salt water or pools.

[Eric1026]

Not sure about the amoeba thing but so many people swim in lakes in Florida year round and rarely encounter an alligator or snake. They tend to stay away from any human activity and in general are scared of the noises watercraft and lots of kids make. We have swam in our parents lake house with hundreds of kids for the last 30 years. I guess just make sure you pick the right lakes (example Lake Istokpoga about 2 hours south of Orlando is an alligator lake and no one would ever swim there).

[arizonaguy12]

Thanks all! Wow that Amoeba thing is scary for sure, will take caution.

[WellShoneMoon]

But back to the original question, about alligators: I've always been told that in Florida, the safest thing to do is to assume that any body of water larger than a puddle has at least one alligator in it. This includes water hazards on golf courses. Please don't let your kids or pets play near the shore of a lake, large or small.

Stick to swimming pools or the ocean. (But then there was the time my son swam in the ocean and got stung by a jellyfish and the other time my husband swam in the ocean and suffered a horrible attack of sea lice! )

[Rabflmom]

Originally Posted by WellShoneMoon

But back to the original question, about alligators: I've always been told that in Florida, the safest thing to do is to assume that any body of water larger than a puddle has at least one alligator in it. This includes water hazards on golf courses. Please don't let your kids or pets play near the shore of a lake, large or small.

Stick to swimming pools or the ocean. (But then there was the time my son swam in the ocean and got stung by a jellyfish and the other time my husband swam in the ocean and suffered a horrible attack of sea lice! )

If the pool is not screened and you live near a lake etc, check the pool before jumping in too. They have been known to use our pools, too.

They check the pools at Disney Water Parks before opening to guests every morning for snakes and gators. Even th magic Kingdom has had them in the water right next to the Splash Mountain ride while people were riding it.

[OrlFlaUsa]

I grew up on Lake Brantley and never had a problem despite knowing for sure there were gators there.

Like others here, I was more worried about an ameoba, or moccasin.