I have lived in The Villages for a bit over 4 years. We put our trash bags by the curb twice a week in the late evening for next morning pickup. We have never had a trash bag torn open by a bird or animal - or stolen. Maybe we just have respectful birds and animals in Glenbrook that have learned The Villages way of life.

I had no idea that my insurance would cover this but I appreciate this information. I also found out that sumter county does not have this type of animal control and that they give you a list of trappers. I really do not want repeated repair costs. Honda dealer says honda's have problems with rodents getting in and chewing wires. Next car wont be a Honda

I have no idea what type of rat it was but I guess I will call a trapper. I have no bird feeder nor palm trees on my property but on the other side of my villa wall there are palm trees. Thanks for your kindness in getting back to me. I am having adjustments and challenges going from city gal to country gal

After three weeks living in my garage I finally saw a rat going under my washing machine.We called Massey for help but nothing they tried worked.When we took the washing machine outside and turned it over,we saw his tail and got him.Yes,he was a rat.In those three weeks he ate the turn signal wires in my golfcart,the cord on a portable sweeper,the the wires to my sprinkler system,and the wiring in the washing machine.It was the most frustrating three weeks of my life.The different poisons and traps Massey tried were all ignored by the rat.My advice-NEVER leave your garage door open for extended periods.He even chewed his own tail off when he wandered into a glue trap which happened in the first week.I realized something was amiss originally when I noticed things on the floor that had been on shelves.

Wow, I'm surprised you have never seen any. We see them all the time on the cart paths. Little boogers shoot across the path fairly quickly!

have been living here since dec '08 and have never seen a rat or anything of the sort. we have no squirrels in our neighborhood, negligible populations of rabbits, and if there are field mice i sure have not seen them or any evidence of them. from what i remember about rats, they are dependent on human garbage, and if there is no source of food refuse and the sort then you will not have them. that is why they congregate near restaurants and other sources of food.

You're thinking about the wrong kind of rats. These are citrus rats, and they nest in palm trees.

13 years in FL and I have never seen a rat till last early evening, which surprises me because of the lack of fruit trees in a courtyard villa neighborhood. That rat ran down the sidewalk then climbed a stucco wall at the same speed and eases as running down the sidewalk and went in my neighbor’s courtyard. The war is on, ever morning I will have a banana on my cereal and he can have the peal. He will then become crow food after I see how long he can hold his breath under water.
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rats
 

I am glad I am not the only one with this problem I did find out that citrus rats carried the bubonic plague when they first arrived in America. They do carry disease but are not apt to bite people unless provoked. Trappers are needed.