Quote:
Originally Posted by mulligan
Either it's mating season or the current date crop on the palms is ripe.
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Does the developer or county do anything about the rats?
Or is it totally left up to the home owner to hire a rodent specialist?
A few years back, my innocent inquiry re the same exact problem was met with not so happy campers at this forum.
I had only asked the question after our experience in Venice Florida. They were there, in all the condo walls, in the sewers, in the waterways, in the toilets, running around the airconditioning units, in the PALM TREES..........in the attics, etc., chewing through the wires in first floor of two story condo units. It appeared they were running rampant. Venice was a beautiful "Main Street U.S.A." designated hometown..........originally, it was a planned community with beautiful boulevard leading to the Gulf of Mexico beach and the Esplanade. A lovely town. But those rats were visible. Even return tourists would tell us how the rats would go from palm tree to palm tree.
None of this had ever entered our minds.
The exterminators told us, the realtors admitted it, the citizens of the town admitted it. Just wish we had done our research before totally revamping a condo. It was in the newspaper.
Whether or not you call them citrus rats, fruit rats, palm tree rats or voles, they look like rats and creeped me out.
It seems a new wave of people are not afraid to speak out and tell the truth about these rats, as I've just read all the earlier posts about them by the pools, the mailboxes, the golf cart paths, the golf courses.
Awhile back I was made to look foolish....just for asking a serious innocent question.............I have since been told by realtors all over that YES THERE ARE RATS IN FLORIDA........but they try hard to keep them out of the house.
Ditto for Mount Dora.....as I was told.
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I'd rather have an honest answer than beat around the bush. All places have something or other. Better to be truthful and upfront about it.
One of the realtors at Top of The World said that the rats have been here long before we have.......
p.s. The reason I had asked on this forum awhile back is that we were told that the rats ARE ON ALL THE BARRIER ISLANDS from the Carolinas down to Florida and around to Texas......we were told they were especially bad on Longboat Key and Siesta Key which are down by Sarasota. You can find this information at any Florida university site.
Thus, now that we were considering THE VILLAGES for retirement, I was simply doing my homework. Exterminators also told us about huge snakes in toilets in single family homes in the Venice area. I guess it's just something one has to "live with" if they want to live in a warmer climate. I'd hate to be an exterminator. As the one person said, it's one thing to think of them as "citrus" rats...........but rats do carry disease. I think that the developers should at least eliminate them from the golf courses and the pool areas..........before they get into the homes or attics............or multipy.