This is why I do not work in FL

[michaelskis]

This week I am way to busy to post, but I had to share this...

Click Here

 

[Repo Man]

Yikes!! The gator is one thing, but the culvert full of snakes would have me outta there so fast!

Don't let PETA get ahold of that picture of the gator with the duct tape on its mouth.

 

[sisterceleste]

so what is the problem here???? This is Florida. I live 1/8 of a mile from the lake that they use to put all the dangerous alligators in....guess what...it now has the 2nd highest gator pop in the state. They show up on my cul-de-sac and my husband thinks its fun to try to run over them but so far they have all gotten away.

 

[Big Easy King]

Let's see that magician, David Blaine, work his way out of that pile of snakes! 8-! :-D

 

[Trail Nazi]

so what is the problem here???? This is Florida. I live 1/8 of a mile from the lake that they use to put all the dangerous alligators in....guess what...it now has the 2nd highest gator pop in the state. They show up on my cul-de-sac and my husband thinks its fun to try to run over them but so far they have all gotten away.

I thought Lake Jesup had the most gators in the country...??

 

[tsc]

wow... but up here we have some developers that seem like those critters...

 

[nerudite]

Wow... that's a lot of snakes! We used to have a lot of rattlers in our neighbourhood when I was growing up (Santa Monica mountains in L.A.). They are usually pretty easy to avoid, and you just kind of get used to the signals. I used to hear them all the time in the bushes as I would walk down our sidewalk. I would think most of the construction guys are well-equipped for the snakes: most of the safety wear (thick jeans/pants, boots, etc.) are as good for deterring snakes as it is for other hazards on the job. Not that I would ever want to see 80-something of those bad boys in a culvert. Bleh.

 

[Zoning Goddess]

Didn't ya'll see the story from Florida last week where a woman was riding thru some woods in the back of a pickup with her legs dangling out the back? The truck ran over a gator which then grabbed the woman's leg and severely injured her lower leg.

We do have to be careful near water (especially with pets and small children), or when working outside near lakes, rivers, etc. If there's water, there's gators.

By the way, there are lots of gators in other southeastern states, too!

 

[Seabishop]

Its like you people live on another planet. :-c Its quite a tradeoff - no cold weather, but dinosaur-like creatures hiding in the water to bite your legs off. (Not to mention bad hurricanes, extreme heat, and the "Town Next Door")

 

[Dragon]

By the way, there are lots of gators in other southeastern states, too!

I was on my way to visit a friend once, about 3 years ago, and I had to stop at a gas station to use a pay phone in a fairly busy commercial area. It was fairly dark, at the edge of the gas station were the phone was. As I was on the phone I noticed a happy little alligator sitting about 10 feet from me. It was just lying there with its mouth open…watching me 8-! . He was only about 4 feet long, but big enough to make me want to keep my distance. He was not intimidated by me, nor by the projectiles I threw at him B-) :-D .

 

[otterpop]

Gators and rattlesnakes. Scary, perhaps. But also an opportunity for a tasty treat. Alligator sauce piquante and fried rattlesnake. Mmmmmm.

 

[michaelskis]

This is what happened two days later when the gators friends fround out where the contractor lived.

click here

 

[Chet]

Dont forget the Palmetto Bugs.

*and why cant you people just call them raoches like the rest of us!

 

[plannerkat]

Dont forget the Palmetto Bugs.

*and why cant you people just call them raoches like the rest of us!

Because unlike mere roaches, palmetto bugs FLY!!!

 

[Trail Nazi]

Because unlike mere roaches, palmetto bugs FLY!!!

It is still a roach to me. Horrid creatures that they are.

 

[Zoning Goddess]

Roaches and alligators are prehistoric creatures that have managed to adapt and survive much longer than they should have

Kinda like most of the Yankees that move down here... ;-)

 

[JNA]

Me very bad :-#
Just how many
A. poodles
B. kittens
C. 'canes or 'noles
did that Gator have to eat to get that big ?

 

[Visionary Diva]

he is a big boy

It takes some courage to work in Florida but it isn't because of the four legged critters!

 

[Planderella]

Because unlike mere roaches, palmetto bugs FLY!!!

The roaches in N.O. are DEFINITELY airborne! 8-!

 

[sisterceleste]

I thought Lake Jesup had the most gators in the country...??

Lake Okeechobee is bigger and supposely has more gators

 

[sisterceleste]

Its like you people live on another planet. :-c Its quite a tradeoff - no cold weather, but dinosaur-like creatures hiding in the water to bite your legs off. (Not to mention bad hurricanes, extreme heat, and the "Town Next Door")

One thing about Florida, is that people don't swim in the lakes anymore. Besides gators and snapping turtles and water moccasins, the lakes are pretty polluted. People do swim in the wonderful springs here. They are 78 degrees year round and the noise of lots of people keeps the critters away.
I forgot to tell you all that we had a Florida bear roaming my subdivision a couple of years ago. Got a picture of him on my front porch eating cat food. It was evenutally moved by Fish and Game back to the swamp about 20 miles from here.

 

[B'lieve]

Those rattlers may have been hibernating--although I don't know if the rattlers in that part of Florida bother to hibernate, like they do in most of the rest of the country. That, or the workers just interrupted breeding season :-D (which in most areas occurs shortly after the snakes wake up from hibernation, before they scatter for the summer.)

Is that second gator pic for real?

 

[sisterceleste]

Is that second gator pic for real?

I'm sure it is. I've seen pictures of gators climbing chain link fences to get at a dog.

 

[Zoning Goddess]

Don't forget that when a gator wants a dog, it usually gets the dog. You have to be a true idiot to walk your dog anywhere near a pond/lake/river in Florida. Even very large dogs get snatched regularly.

 

[Dan]

You have to be a true idiot to walk your dog anywhere near a pond/lake/river in Florida. Even very large dogs get snatched regularly.

At the dog park in Winter Park where I used to take Bailey and Guinness, which had a good-sized dog beach, the big fear wasn't gators. We kept close watch for water moccasins. On the occasion that one was spotted, you heard tens of panicked dog owners frantically calling their dogs in from the lake.

When I was house-hunting during my Orlando years, I told my realtor "No lakefront property! I don't want my dogs to be dinner for a gator!"

 

[Richmond Jake]

OMG, is this what I have to look forward to?

 

[Dan]

OMG, is this what I have to look forward to?

Pharoh or Argentine ants, too. Bigger pain in the butt than fire ants, because they're incredibly difficult to get rid of. You have to use a special liquid bait, and it'll take about a month or so before the queen dies and the colony is finally finished off.

For fire ants, I just used good 'ol gasoline and a couple of matches. Stalinesque purges and regular application of Andro will keep their presence to a minimum.

I forgot the name of the bugs that ate all the St. Augustine grass in my backyard. Replaced the lawn in the back with native trees and shrubs interspersed by wood chips.

How do you keep bugs down in the house, you ask? Simple ... don't kill the lizards that also sneak in.

 

[Zoning Goddess]

How do you keep bugs down in the house, you ask? Simple ... don't kill the lizards that also sneak in.

The big brown/gray spiders will also take care of roaches, if you can stand to let the spiders run loose in your house. I know of one family that named theirs.

 

[plannerkat]

The big brown/gray spiders will also take care of roaches, if you can stand to let the spiders run loose in your house. I know of one family that named theirs.

Cats are also helpful. I haven't seen one live roach in my house since we got the cats. That's quite a feat considering that I live in an 80 year old wood house! I almost feel sorry for the bugs after the sadistic kitties get finished "playing" with them!

 

[PlannerByDay]

YUCK, bugs are everywhere in the South. That is one of the many reasons I'm a northerner.

 

[H]

Lake Okeechobee is bigger and supposely has more gators

oh, everyone in FL tells you that their lake has the most gators, either per capita or total or whatever. All I have to say is pass me me some more of those gator tail nuggets mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.........

 

[Zoning Goddess]

Cats are also helpful. I haven't seen one live roach in my house since we got the cats. That's quite a feat considering that I live in an 80 year old wood house! I almost feel sorry for the bugs after the sadistic kitties get finished "playing" with them!

My cats will alert me to any roaming roaches. But when I smoosh the bug, the cats glare at me, like I've taken away a toy.

 

[B'lieve]

I'm sure it is. I've seen pictures of gators climbing chain link fences to get at a dog.

D@@@mmnn.

The big brown/gray spiders will also take care of roaches, if you can stand to let the spiders run loose in your house. I know of one family that named theirs.

When it comes to bug control, spiders are definitely your friends. Just leave a few out-of-the-way corners undusted.

 

[Rem]

What is this water moccasin of which you speak?

OK - Googled a link. http://www.wf.net/~snake/moccasin.htm

 

[Zoning Goddess]

(Sigh)
It is obvious that the goddesses have the cajones of this forum...
Gators, moccasins, bugs, yawn...

 

[Dan]

What is this water moccasin of which you speak?

Like big, long Sydney Funnel Web Spiders, Wollongong Shrieking Roaches or Adelaide Slow Painful Death Beetles..

 

[Rem]

Like big, long Sydney Funnel Web Spiders, Wollongong Shrieking Roaches or Adelaide Slow Painful Death Beetles..

I cannot lie - we do have an over-abundance of poisonous, bitey critters.

 

[Richmond Jake]

(Sigh)
It is obvious that the goddesses have the cajones of this forum...

eewwwwwww...I saw that in a bad porn movie once. :-D

 

[plannerkat]

(Sigh)
It is obvious that the goddesses have the cajones of this forum...
Gators, moccasins, bugs, yawn...

Yep, anytime northerners brag about "hardy New England stock" I pull my 5th generation Floridian card. My family lived in this state in the days before a/c and pest control...now that's tough! Actually, tough is my great-great aunt who wrestled alligators on Lake Okeechobee in the 1930s (my grandmother has the pictures to prove it). Bottom line, as scary as some of our native critters are, those of us from these parts are taught at a very early age how to avoid getting stung/bit/eaten by them: stay out of murky water, don't walk your dog next to the lake, and only swim in cold springs, oceans and swimming pools.

 

[statler]

Thank god for Snopes.

 

[sisterceleste]

What is this water moccasin of which you speak?

OK - Googled a link. http://www.wf.net/~snake/moccasin.htm

It a very fat black agressive snake found on land and in water. They are actually common in the entire SE part of the US

 

[Trail Nazi]

Yep, anytime northerners brag about "hardy New England stock" I pull my 5th generation Floridian card. My family lived in this state in the days before a/c and pest control...now that's tough! ...Bottom line, as scary as some of our native critters are, those of us from these parts are taught at a very early age how to avoid getting stung/bit/eaten by them: stay out of murky water, don't walk your dog next to the lake, and only swim in cold springs, oceans and swimming pools.

No kidding about learning how to avoid those creatures. Now that I am living in an area that the snakes actually hibernate, I feel so free while walking, not having to look down at each step in the woods.

REM - If you go kayaking or canoeing in fresh water areas in Florida and there is any sort of tree canopy overhead, one must watch for falling snakes such as water moccasins. They have been known to drop down on people.

OT - It is so nice to see other several generation Floridians. It really upset me not to have my child born in Florida.

 

[Zoning Goddess]

Yep, anytime northerners brag about "hardy New England stock" I pull my 5th generation Floridian card.

Me, too, the family is originally from Sarasota, my dad was 4th generation.

REM, the water moccasin is also known as the cottonmouth, for obvious reasons, when it opens its mouth to strike, the inside of its mouth is white-ish and puffy.

 

[sisterceleste]

Me, too, the family is originally from Sarasota, my dad was 4th generation.

Hey, my grandmother was born in Dunellon in 1903. How's that...plus my kids are native Floridians. o

 

[H]

Well, to all you natives on here, let me say that on behalf of me and all the other migrants here that I apologize for what we have done to your beautiful state. Although my parents went to UF and lived in FLA for most of the 60’s and early 70’s and my grandparents moved to Naples in the 60’s and lived there until they passed in the 90’s, and both my brothers, a few cousins, and some aunts and uncles live here now, none of us were born here.

As some may know, my family is from Atlanta and trust me I can relate to changing places with all that has happened back around my home.

Who was it that said, “The only thing we can count on is change”? That is a good quote. :-D

 

[Budgie]

I don't work in Florida, because I don't live there.

 

[GRID]

Being down in Florida, sometimes it just hits me funny that these giant, prehistoric lizards still have their domains and "rule" the swamps down here (even the ones next door to suburbia). To me, that is fascinating!

 

[Zoning Goddess]

Well, to all you natives on here, let me say that on behalf of me and all the other migrants here that I apologize for what we have done to your beautiful state. Although my parents went to UF and lived in FLA for most of the late 60’s and early 70’s and my grandparents moved to Naples in the 60’s and lived there until they passed in the 90’s, and both my brothers, a few cousins, and some aunts and uncles live here now, none of us where born here.

As many know, I am an Atlantian by linage and trust me I can relate to changing places with all that has happened back around my home.

Who was it that said, “The only thing we can count on is change”? That is a good quote.

Hey, being from Atlanta makes you Southern which is just what we native Floridians are. Anyway, my mom is a Yankee so I may be a native but it only goes back on one side.

 

[H]

Hey, being from Atlanta makes you Southern which is just what we native Floridians are. Anyway, my mom is a Yankee so I may be a native but it only goes back on one side.

Thanks for the welcoming words. I love the state of FLA and am glad to call it home.

PS. I ate the best gator tail yet this weekend in a little bar called the Wild Turkey Tavern on Highway 27 just south of Avon Park. mmmmmmmmmmm,mmmmmm If any of you all drive by... STOP there! yum.

 

[ebeech121]

Roaches and alligators are prehistoric creatures that have managed to adapt and survive much longer than they should have

Kinda like most of the Yankees that move down here... ;-)

Hey now!!! I'm highly offended!!! You're supposed to be a "true" Southerner, but you didn't even spell "y'all" right! (It's a contraction between "you" and "all")

Didn't ya'll see the story from Florida last week where a woman...