View Full Version : alligators in villa lakes
I searched fo rthis before I decided to post, but didn't see anythign directly on this point. I have rented a villa on a lake for Christmas week in December (have never stayed on a lake before). In an email this week, the owner told me there is a gator in the lake; that he did not see it on his recent stay in the villa but that two different sets of rentors there in the last month have seen it. My daughter is terrifed of gators and has specifically voiced fear that there might be gators around the lake, and for this reason did not want to stay on a lake. Now it has become reality. I know the pool is surrounded by screening. But do these gators in the community lakes come out of the water and walk around the perimeter of the lake, or worse yet, do they walk up by the houses? How do you deal w/this? The owner said he is going to send a letter to the homeowners assn. asking about this because he also hopes something could be done, but he says he thinks the gators are protected wildlife and can't be moved from the communities. I'm afriad my daughter is going to be terrified and not want to swim in the pool or get out of the car if she sees this gator.
For those of you whose villas are on the lake or who have rented on a lake, how do you deal w/this?
Cruella DeVilla
08-07-2004, 00:32
Our realator told us there were gators in most of the lakes, I asked when we looked at buying a villa on a community on a lake. Bought our villa where there is no lake on our community just conservation land so gawd knows what lives in there!.
As long as they are not fed they stay away. They do not care about biting the hand that feeds!:(
There are many gator about in Fl as they roam wild. there is one in the lake on our community, but our realtor asured us they are more fightened of us than we are of them.
I dont think you should have anything to worry about they will keep themselves to themselves.
We saw them in the lakes, I think you will find them all over to be honest
floridadreamvilla.co.uk
08-07-2004, 01:11
We have them in the lake behind the 7 bed and they are nothing at all to worry about. The nearest they get is to sit just out of the water for a snooze in the mornings if it's sunny enough and will not come near the pool screens. They are only small (I am told the County gator man comes and takes the ones that grow too big away to a more remote spot) and will not bother you as they do not associate humans with food.
All of our guests have enjoyed watching them from a distance and the safety of the pool area. You will find they spend 99% of their time in the lake and you will not see them. When they do come out they tend to stay well away from people anyway.
huckleberry house
08-07-2004, 01:21
There are gators all over Florida and you could see them anywhere as they roam from place to place . I have never succeeded in seeing one in the wild yet, and not for want of trying either. They are very frightened of humans, far more than we are of them, and will steer well clear of anyone who comes anywhere near.
The locals are not in the slightest bit scared of them as they have grown up with them and know full well that the threat they pose is miniscule, the Lake at Thousand Oaks that my home backs was used for swimming by the locals before they built the houses and when I had my plot surveryed the surveyor quite happily waded into the water to mark the boundaries. When I exclaimed there may be Gators they laughed at me and told me they will have gone long ago once they heard our voices if there had been any around at all.
As long as you stay clear of them they will avoid you as well, and not that you are likely to do this, but never ever feed them.The chances of then wanting to walk up to your villa must be a million to one and I would just delight in the chance to see such wildlife for yourself as they should be seen.
Lesley
chrizzy100
08-07-2004, 01:35
On the subject of things that bite......I'd not worry that much about gators.......but spider killing spray is a good buy.....
Nostromo
08-07-2004, 01:59
What if someone mistook a lake for a large (and rather unusually designed) swimming pool? The resident might not be quite so placid then! [:0][:0][msnscared][msnscared]
We've got a gator in the lake at the rear of our home (it could be more than one but we've only ever seen one at once). It's been there since it was a baby and we have guests who ask how he/she is getting on and want progress reports on how it's doing and how it's grown. We're all really fond of him/her!
We've never seen the rest of him/her, just it's head and a bit of body when it's been swimming around and it's never been out of the lake at all in the many weeks we've spent there. He/she tends to be around in the morning or early evening, just as it's getting dusk.
As with all wildlife, if you don't interfere with it or feed it, it won't interfere with you and, as has already been said, they're very shy of humans.
If your daughter is very frightened (I don't know how old she is?) then you could try making it a personalised gator by giving it a name and having a family gator spotting game from the pool deck. Anyone who spots xxxx gets a nice treat of some sort or gets some money.
huckleberry house
08-07-2004, 02:12
Nostromo
I am not sure that anyone would ever really mistake a lake for a swimming pool, well certainly not a natural lake anyway and I am in no way advocating that people try this at their rental home but as I said in my post the Lake my home is on WAS used for swimming by the locals with no "accidents" whatsoever so I think the risk is very very small and something we Brits seem to over exaggerate as we dont have any dangerous creatures living around us .
Lesley
I don't know if any of you have been to the 'Sonney's ' on OBT but there is water in a sort of pond at the back , there is a gator in there we were shown him by a US friend of ours, he's been there years. It's probably quite true what they say 'Where there is water there are Gators !! '
I agree with the consensus. While residents also told us that where there was a body of water, there would be an Alligator, I think that you are very lucky and honoured to see them.
There were two small 'Gators in the lake behind the Villa that we rented earlier this year. We had to work very hard to catch a glimpse of them, usually extremely early in the morning and NEVER out of the water. They were just a small bump in the surface of the lake. The previous Villa, that we rented in 1996 in another area, also had a lake to the rear but led onto a very swampy Conservation area too. We did not hear or see one single Alligator in the area although residents had told us that they were there. Locals had no problem with wandering along the very edge of the shoreline, fishing, with their toes virtually in the water.
I don't think you'll have a problem either and hope that you can allay your daughter's fears.
Wally lives in the lake behind our house, he only comes up on the bank in the summer when he can bask in the glorious sunshine. At Christmas he prefers to stay in the luke warm water of the lake and treats himself to an extra large Christmas catfish.
As Chrizzy said you need to be more worried about the spiders and fire ants !
We have a small 'gator on the lake behind us but it seems to get on with the many families of ducks there.
Many people have said don't feed them which most people would not be silly enough to do. However if anyone is tempted then it's not the 'gator you should watch for but the local sheriff. Feeding 'gators is a BIG fine because it make them think that people mean food.
Dave
orlandobabe
08-07-2004, 03:36
Lesley-if you haven't seen any in the wild you need to go to Kissimmee downtown to the lake near the park-you can usually spot one or two if you look closely.
Southport Park where the airboat rides are had too many to count in Feb-but didn't see quite so many in May.
Last time we were over our realtor, Steve, was late to the office and his excuse was "I've a six foot gator in the back yard and I'm waiting for the trapper". The trapper duly arrived and removed the gator but not before Steve had his photo taken with it! As far as I'm aware the trapper services are free and perhaps it might be an idea to have the phone no. available for your guests.
chrizzy100
08-07-2004, 04:04
If anyone feeds a gator...you are signing its death warrant in a lot of cases.............and you will get a fine........a nuisince gator can't be rehomed......they are put to sleep.......
thats a shame chrizzy, you wouldve thought with the size of the country , there would be some government or voluntary service that would look after them?
sort of a gator aid so to speak:D:D:D:D
sorry
trev
chrizzy100
08-07-2004, 05:10
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by trevlad
thats a shame chrizzy, you wouldve thought with the size of the country , there would be some government or voluntary service that would look after them?
sort of a gator aid so to speak:D:D:D:D
sorry
trev
[/quote]
They become a danger if fed......they lose their fear of humans.........
The gator aid thing....very funny........:D
Linsan: Any idea who the "trappers" are? Are they state game wardens or something official like that? Must be if they are free I suppose.
Yep, they hook them out when they reach a certain length and are soncidered a threat and take them off God knows where. I like to think they are re-located but,,,,,, That happened to the one who was in the Lake at Eagle Pointe who had griown rather large a while back.
There are fout that I have seen in the Lakes in Celebration.
We stayed on Ridgewood Lakes and there was gator in the lake. I called him once for a joke and he came over from the other side of the lake!! We thought it as fluke but every time I did it he came!! He was like a pet!!LOL
Seriously though we realised he could be a danger and kept our distance, he only came out of the water to cool off and was never more than a few feet from the waters edge.
It is against the law to feed them too!!
It was amazing to see him every day and was a real bonus to our stay.
Lucy
Alligator trapper are licenced by the state ..They do get not get paid.. Their income is from selling the meat and the hide...problem gators are never re-homed. Since 1948, 13 people have been killed by Alligators, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation.
If you see an alligator, LEAVE IT ALONE unless it is actively threatening a human, a pet, or livestock. If that happens, call the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at 1-888-404-3922 to file a nuisance complaint.
CarolAnn
08-07-2004, 17:24
Think all the chat on Gators is fab!!!:DI did query if you bought or rented near a lake was it not likely to have a Gator in[?]and how dangerous is that[?]Guess if you have a property on a lake you will have a glass half full vibe on it[8D]and if not...it is likely to encourage you to be a little negative about the issue[msnscared].
I guess if you are renting with small children who could potentially wander the lake/gator issue could be of concern, but cautious folk would just enjoy the view of the place[msncool][msnsmile2][msnwink].
Leave that Gator alone[msntongue]
That's the whole point, small children can't potentially wander! Not only do we have pool door alarms so that parents are very much aware that their children have 'escaped' onto the pool deck, as well as locks on the doors, but the net screen door latches are purposely too high for small children to reach.
There's absolutely no danger as long as gators are admired from a distance and aren't fed by humans. They're very lazy and it really is much easier to eat a fish in the lake than anything else!
craigandersson
08-07-2004, 21:14
13 Killed by Gators? I wonder how many have drowned in the pool or been eaten by a car?
It's all about relative risk. Give me Gators anytime.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by craigandersson
13 Killed by Gators? I wonder how many have drowned in the pool or been eaten by a car?[/quote]
On average 50 children a year drown in Florida pools.
It's great seeing an aligator in the wild. We only saw one this time at one of the lakes at Celebration. He was a small one but kept the ducks quacking!
Just sit back with your binoculors and watch - it's great.
We are on the same lake as Lesley. It is over 40 acres and has all sorts of wonderful wildlife in it. We got back home to the UK this morning, but whilst in Florida we saw one 'gator every day and it would swim to within a couple of feet of the end of my garden. I really would have loved for it to come up and sun itself, but it was content with just watching us for a while before swimming off somewhere else. On one ocassion the lake was so still and clear that we could see it's legs and entire body through the water. On our last day a smaller one came along too, at the same time, which really thrilled the kids. Alligators never come into the screened area unless some total moron tries to entice them in with meat and opens the screen doors for them!!
If you stay in Florida you have to accept that you could potentially see a 'gator anytime and anywhere - if anyone tells you that a natural lake doesn't have a 'gator in it, then they are not being truthful, and if there is one, then there is likely to be more as well. The whole State is full of wildlife, all of which should only be admired from a distance. Whilst there this time we saw 'gators, turtles, herons, buzzards, a raccoon, an armadillo, wild turkeys, green tree frogs and beautifully marked small birds and large flying insects including some moths. These natural inhabitants are what make Florida such a wonderful place for a vacation. I have guests who rent my home just for the opportunity of seeing all of these creatures in their own environment.
Try and find out why your daughter is so frightened of 'gators and work on removing the fear so that she can really enjoy her vacation in Florida.
See related story at:
http://www.news-press.com/news/local_state/040724gatorfolo.html
It's a very sad story,and a terrible ordeal for her to go thru . And such a she died of infection after surviving the attack. I suppose in some ways it is more dangerous for locals, aside from the obvious fact they spend more time near gators perhaps they get so used to them they forget the dangers.
i'll cercainly be keeping a close watch on my kids during our next visit.
benfilo
It's very sad I agree but also a very rare event.
But I think that we need to put this into perspective and bear in mind that the alligator concerned was nearly 12 feet long and that normally alligators are removed from residential areas when they reach around 6 feet in size.
jolliffee
25-07-2004, 03:58
Very sad to think she survived the attack and died of infection; we have vacationed on Sanibel with our three kids, just need to be more in tune with the environment in Florida, and keep them close. They (the kids) may be street wise but not nature wise, not much eats you in Britain
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:not much eats you in Britain[/quote]
Apart from the taxes!!
Last ime we were out in Florida a young local girl had been swimming in a natural lake and was attacked by a gator and was badly bitten, one of the things the news stated was that the infections from the bite are the most worrying if you survive the attack, gators have more bacteria in the mouth than most repiles.
But this has to be kept in perspective, I have never heard of a tourist being attacked, just keep your distance!!
Lucy
I have 3 (so far) infallible rules when I'm out in Florida.
1. If it moves (even slightly) don't poke it!
2. If it doesn't move - don't poke it (It might be thinking about moving!!)
3. If it looks dead - don't poke it (It may just be kidding!!)
:D:D
Add:
4 Don't chuck food at it!
5 Don't get anywhere near enough to poke it!
Hi Blott,
Added to the "rule of thumb" (At least I've still got two - thumbs that is!!)
[msnembarrased]
Well, if you follow those rules, you'll still have them (the thumbs that is) when you get back from Florida and you need at least one of them for that geeetar of yours! :D
jolliffee
26-07-2004, 20:07
Did you know that crocs can cough up hairballs like a cat? Just make sure its not your hair!
Your Home Owners Association can arrange removal through local services. We had one on Sunset Lakes when the Estate was being built - when the Builders Sandwich van hooted, the gator would go to the same place every day for the builders to feed it !! [ ssh don't tell anyone - $10,000.00 fine]
It disappeared once the Estate was finished.
sdestinyp
06-08-2004, 21:35
Some years ago, my youngest daughter jumped into our screened pool for a swim.
I casually suggested that maybe she should swim to the exit and get out as I had spotted a snake in there with her. She complied like a shot. My wife scooped the reptile up in a bucket (you didn't think I was going to do it did you?), opened the screen door and ejected it.
Next day we were in Busch Gardens and saw a snake handler so I thought I would enquire as to whether our visitor had been of the dangerous variety. His answer was: "was its belly red?".
Did he REALLY think I was going to turn the blessed thing over and examine its stomach? Jeez!!