Aligator removal
 

Who removes alligators in The Villages ponds ?

352 259 2746

dsettl@comcast.net

Call Community Watch...or are you advertising for your alligator removal service?

Nobody unless they are causing a problem.

Alligators abound
 

Alligators are not routinely removed from The Villages ponds. When they must be removed, it is done by licensed professional trappers.

There are alligators from time-to-time in virtually every fresh water body of water in Florida. If you remove one it is very likely that another will take its place. State policy is to remove alligators only if they are considered a nuisance.

The official word is: "Generally, an alligator may be deemed a nuisance if it is at least four feet in length and the caller believes it poses a threat to people, pets or property."

Note that it doesn't pose a threat just because it is an alligator.

Incredibly, many Villagers like to see the gators, and consider them an attraction of The Villages. Although feeding them is illegal, many people do this.

Information about Florida policy on alligators is found at Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program

No standing
 

Note that under the SNAP program, you have no standing to be the one to complain about the gator if it stays in the pond. Only the owner or manager of the pond can make the call. You can complain if it is on your property.

There are probably lots of gators in the pond near you.:icon_wink:

Graciegirl's advice is probably best. Call Community Watch.

WHY does a gator need removed? The are not relocated once they are trapped, they are killed. They WERE here first.

What I would like to know is, what is a nusiance and who decides?? I fear any one of us can just by saying so,

A couple years ago a neighbor feared her dogs might be inviting to an alligator. She reported her concerns and that she considered the presence of the gators to be a threat to her [dogs'] safety and the gator was trapped and killed. It had never done anything but exist. It had never attacked her dogs and her property was elevated above the pond with a 4 foot retaining wall. Just her complaint was sufficient to have the alligator removed. So no matter what the regulation says, at least in practice in this case, one call with no IMO real threat existing was a death sentence.

Exactly my point!!!

If you have a problem just seeing an Alligator do us a favor, get in your car and drive....I 75 will take you north. Unless the gator has been fed or you do something stupid they are harmless.

Not to take away from this thread but did Larry, the gator, in Brownwood get "removed"? Tell me it ain't so!!!!

Hav n't seen him in a month. All it takes is an easily frightened idiot

A Villages realtor told us that the Villages authorities knows about every alligator and when they get over 4 or 5 feet in length, they remove it and transport it to the swamps out of town. Perhaps that was a canned sales pitch???

Skeptical
 

Oh, really?

If true, they must have a private arrangement with a trapper who should be licensed by the state.

It is published policy by the state that their contracted professional trappers do not relocate alligators.

Actually, I am skeptical that "Villages authorities" are able to keep track of the alligator population, in view of the fact that alligators frequently move from lake to lake, especially during mating season.

That may be what happened to "Larry" in Brownwood. He just moved on.

I grew up in Florida, so just a bit of advice. If you remove the alligator, you increase rodent infestation. Pick your poison. As long as the little man stays in an around the pond (after mating and egg laying season when you just walk away from them and keep your garage door closed) let him do the extermination for you. They really do not hurt you as long as you never feed them.