Rats!

There very well may be a palm rat problem but the word infestation brings other kinds of pictures to mind for most of us.

People who sell pest control aren't going to say there is no problem. I have seen no signs of rats in or near where we have lived in either Hadley or the location we live at now.

Infestation brings to mind this;

picture of rat infestation. - Bing

I still say don't feed birds and don't plant fruit trees or palms. The only critters messing with garbage I have seen or those big crows, Heckle and Jeckle.

You may never have seen a rat but trust me, there are plenty. There are MANY rats living in Live Oaks Park.

Where is that?

I have been told palm rats genetically expect to find food at the base of little white crosses. Apparently those little crosses look like small palm trees to them. Then like those from NIMH they go out to seek new food locations. They are smart little guys. Perhaps there is some correlation of the proliferation of rats and the proliferation of little white crosses. Not sure yet.

I looked it up. It is that small park adjacent to the cart path just west of Mission Hills off Morse, near 466. What would attract rats there? People picnicking and leaving left overs in the trash?

In the last 2 years between our dog, traps and poison put out by our pest control, we have eliminated 7 rats in Ashland. They're still eating the poison so it's far from over.

Ashland Pool was where the thread on Rats was about several years ago. What is the attraction? I can't find my glasses, but my memory on other things is still good..

Have a look;

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...s+Ashland+pool

Just wondering if the region language thing may be in gear here. Are the Extremely small Squirrel looking animals actually the things that are being called Palm or Tree Rats? If they are indeed called Rats in Florida then they would be called a Squirrel where I'm from in NJ. We had many Squirrels in NJ and many two legged Rats. I'm with Sandtrap, I think its an identification problem and you can't stop rats or squirrel but you don't have to give them a easy food source. What a terrible problem. I'd be the first one up on a chair. LOL.

The big problem is with certain Palm tree variations

Have had rats in Duval for years. One got chopped up in our air conditioner. Had traps set by a company laced with peanut butter not poison. Dogs would die eating a poison rat. We had to have the traps emptied so frequently that my husband was doing it. They smell horrible pretty quickly.We decided we had more rats with the traps. Our company agreed. The poison or the PB attracts the rats. No traps. Less rats.

We Are Not Discussing UFO's
 

Railcrusier: Up to now I have been respectful and polite, and have held back details, to those posters who view this subject matter as if we were discussing UFO's .

About 7 years ago, I had my pest company place a black bait box in my yard as a precautionary measure because I live on a golf course. To my delight never had a problem. then about 2 years ago my landscaping people came upon a rat exiting this box.
to my delight the box was serving its purpose if a rat happened by.

Then about six months ago the results turned horrifying so much so that I have to patrol the perimeter of my property before my wife will go out and fuss with her plants, etc.

The horrifying results caused me to contact my pest control company. The worker answering the phone told me TV has a problem. I insisted on speaking with the pest control manager . My question was , "Is the black bait box the solution or the problem? He said the bait box is not drawing them. he explained that these rodents live within 100 square yards of that bait box.

The other day another horrifying experience and I called the pest control people again asking the same questions and asking for advice. A second Pest Control manager again stated that the bait station was not the problem.
Again, for the third time I was told there is a rat problem in TV and this manager added they could not keep the bait boxes filled fast enough.

A side bar" Pest control people gauge rat activity by the amount of poison consumed at each bait station . Up until 6 months ago they reported only little nibbles

I may not be the smartest bloke in the world but I do know the difference between a rat and a squirrel...and I do have a squirrel problem owing to pine trees located on the championship course in my back yard.

You will not hear this information from the Developer, the District, the Daily Sun, The POA, the VHA because they peddle the Disneyworld analogy of The Villages and the only rodent there is Mickey Mouse. Indeed we have posters on here whose head spin at the thought that TV is less than perfect.

The truth is the continuing expansion of TV for various reasons and the continuing mild winters have concocted a perfect storm for this problem. It needs to be dealt with and it needs to be dealt with on a community level.

so if we can keep residents minds off the dangers of a cart going 1-5 miles faster than they should we might get this problem addressed.

Personal Best Regards:

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I'm with Rubicon. I know the difference between a rat and a squirrel. Jeesh! The rats in Live Oak Park live in the marshy area of he lake and come out on Sunny mornings to bask inthe sun. There was an infestation ( yes, I also know what infestation means too). We reported it to TV and soon after started seeing many dead rats in the park. Rats are still there, just not so many. Why are they there? Because they are just a part of Mother Natures brood.

First, let me also say I know the difference between a small squirrel and a rat. The one that caused the damage in my garage was trapped. Secondly, I am not insinuating that we are over run with rats, but I for one experienced the damage that can be caused. These are not your big ugly NY city rats, they are palm rats, they are smaller. I have had a pest contol contract with Massey since I moved here, so no one swindled me by saying we had a problem. My opinion is even though you may not have seen a rat doesn't mean they aren't around...it's not like I see hoards of rats running around at any given time. There are fruit trees here, palm trees with berries and other vegetation and bird feeders which attracts these pests. It's not as though you need some to leave food or trash around. These are native rats so they are all around. I see them primarily at night when walking. I was told at property management there was a problem, I don't think they would have brought the bait boxes here if there weren't. If you look closely you will see the black bait boxes in the landscaping around rec centers and golf courses. They are here and can cause problems. I'm not a Village basher, not trying to discourage anyone from moving here, not saying we have an infestation...all I'm doing is sharing my personal experiences and saying I would recommend bait boxes around homes and don't feed the birds.