[Yankee]

I'm hoping to be in TV by Nov, and I'm from the north, giving up snow for sunshine, we hope, people keep telling me all these stores about bugs and snakes, is for real?

[jnieman]

I'm from the North also and I can't tell you how many stories I heard about bugs. People said I wouldn't want to live in Florida because of too many bugs. I have lived in both Michigan and Ohio and they have way more bugs than I've encountered here. The Villages sprays the neighborhoods and we really don't notice any. I haven't been bit by a mosquito in over 4 years and in Michigan and Ohio they were so big they could carry away a human. As far as snakes go, I haven't seen one either, although you do hear of a few on the golf courses near the ponds. A few people I know have seen a couple in their yards. I just don't go walking around in deep grass or stick my hands into a thick bush. Come on down!

[ilovetv]

There are bugs and snakes up north, too. (Friends in MN had three very aggressive rattlesnakes come after them in their garage a couple of years ago.) The naysayers say this stuff because they're afraid of change and are not adventuresome (we like how so many TV-ers are adventuresome and want to try new things).

As for TV, I've yet to see a live snake. In and around our courtyard villas, there's not much for them to eat. I know they're around the golf courses, and so I stay out of peripheries. We do keep our garage door down all the time.

And with mosquitos, the spraying they do at night seems to work really well. I got far more nasty bites last year when visiting friends in the Midwest.

[buggyone]

Twice a year (May and September) there are bugs called lovebugs that are a nuisance. They do no harm to anyone or anything but just are lots of them everywhere. They fly mated together and are just a nuisance. In 3 weeks, they are gone.

As for snakes, I see a garter snake about 12 inches long now and then in my yard as well as a beautiful 3 foot black racer snake every now and then. Completely harmless.

No mosquitoes at all.

Roaches and waterbugs will find their way into your home IF you do not have a bug service. Almost everyone has a "bug guy".

Fire ants will crop up in your garden if you do not spray for them. I have been bit one time and it was a feeling like being poked with hot needles and then it produces a blister that itches terrible for about a week. I spray now!

[Yankee]

Thank you, I sure feel better now, and I would not go in tall grass.

[NotGolfer]

I HATE bugs and snakes yet here we are in Florida---living full-time!!! The only bugs I've been bothered by are the love-bugs and gnats but these seem "seasonal" and not that bad really. Snakes---have yet to see one and hope not to! I don't do yard work so maybe I'll luck out with that!! I did see a giant frog once in our front yard but it hopped away---probably startled as much as I was.

If you're from "up north" I'd suspect that the bugs and snakes can be found just as plentiful, if not more so, there! So down here, we get an exterminator and we're good to go.

The other question the nay-sayers will bring up is "what about summers down there?" Our stock answer is "we stay in during the heat of the day and do ALL of our activities either early or later on in the day! It's not a problem!"
I actually think our summers aren't all that much different than 'up north'...we were actually cooler here than they were, last week!!!

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by jnieman

I'm from the North also and I can't tell you how many stories I heard about bugs. People said I wouldn't want to live in Florida because of too many bugs. I have lived in both Michigan and Ohio and they have way more bugs than I've encountered here. The Villages sprays the neighborhoods and we really don't notice any. I haven't been bit by a mosquito in over 4 years and in Michigan and Ohio they were so big they could carry away a human. As far as snakes go, I haven't seen one either, although you do hear of a few on the golf courses near the ponds. A few people I know have seen a couple in their yards. I just don't go walking around in deep grass or stick my hands into a thick bush. Come on down!

I absolutely, completely, totally agree with you!!

[rp001]

Just don't feed the alligators...They are NOT pets..

[asianthree]

you will be ok just remember that the snake will not look for you, you have to look for it stay out of the weeds and you will be ok

[wendyquat]

I don't know where some people get all this "dribble"! What snakes and bugs! I've not seen nearly as many bugs nor snakes as I had seen in NC. The only bugs that "bug" me are the love bugs and you only have to deal with them a couple of weeks a year!

[ronsroni]

Former NYer here. The bugs that really BUG me are Palmetto bugs. Yikes! They are big. some are fast, some not. I encountered eensy beensy ants on my kitchen counters on the second and thirddays after having new cedar chips dropped and spread. Called Bast Extermination and the problem is solved.
as for snakes, not seen one yet. Just be aware. If bugs were an issue here, we would not have purchased a home here.
All the best.

[Madelaine Amee]

Originally Posted by wendyquat

I don't know where some people get all this "nonsense"! What snakes and bugs! I've not seen nearly as many bugs nor snakes as I had seen in NC.

Totally agree. We're from the Northeast and had to live with black flies, mosquitoes big enough to carry you off and huge black hairy spiders inside and out ..........................

I don't think we would all be beating down the doors of TV to live here if it was a haven for bugs.

[rubicon]

Brazilian cockaroaches (water bugs) love the scales of palm trees. if you have recently planted palms then better get your pest control guy out there because you are going to have constant visitors. Those tisty tiny ants are coming up through the cracks in your concrete slab and usually can be dealt with but they will periodically appear. Try finding them on a granite counter? clue use a flashlight and move methodically.

Snakes can be a problem if you live near a pond. Some of my neighbors on our Cul de sac border a pond. They frequently find snakes in their yards and garages. I have other firends who have found snakes in their garages and do not livenear a bond, albeit less frequently.

My pest control guy is amazed as to the number of people who leave their garage doors and doors to the house open. He explained that he has had conversations with TV residents telling them how snakes entered right into the kitchen. Another guy told me he had a snake living under his refigerator and he doesn't live near a pond.

I chose my landscapping carefully and keep it low and away from the house and also used rock because it discouraged critters...not foolproof but better than mulch which is a haven for them.

Another of my neighbors use to leave his car outside until he dicovered that roof rats borrowed it during the night

[justjim]

We came from Illinois where the mosquito's can run you into your house at dusk. Honestly, they are no problem in TV. We had rattlesnakes too in Southern Illinois. Not to be concerned about the bugs and snakes. The so called love bugs come twice a year but I hear they eat mosquito's (don't know if thats true or not) anyway, they do not bite you----just wash them off your car or house. Stay away from the Gators and you will be fine. Come on down and enjoy!

[JoeC1947]

[QUOTE=buggyone;518920]Twice a year (May and September) there are bugs called lovebugs that are a nuisance. They do no harm to anyone or anything but just are lots of them everywhere. They fly mated together and are just a nuisance. In 3 weeks, they are gone.

Love bugs are more than a nuisance, the acid in them will eat through the paint on your car when squished.