Alligators in the pool...question from the UK

[emily1982]

I'm just watching a programme over here on tv about a british family who are relocating to Florida, they go round with a british estate agent who shows them homes...They've just been to see an alligator in someones pool, to learn how to deal with it if it ever happends...( we don't have alligators over here, and hardly anyone has a pool). Just wondering if any of you have ever had one??Must be abit of a shock

 

[HappyDznyCamper]

It is not uncommon to find alligators in pools or in lakes behind homes, after all it was their home before it was ours. Usually they are "smaller" ones and a call to animal control or the local police will take care of relocating it, just don't think they are "cute" and try to feed them.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I have not heard of it happening. At least in the area where I live you have to have your pool screened off to keep children away. If an alligator did show up near my house I would call the County Animal Control people to come take care of it.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

I used to live in a small town in northern California when I was a kid, and every summer there'd be several reports on the news about someone finding a rattler in or around their toilet. This never happened to anyone we actually knew, and the fact that it was on the news indicates it wasn't all that common. But for years I ALWAYS checked inside the toilet before I sat.

 

[emily1982]

I must admit i always check the toilet too lol...im scared a rat will come up

 

[lillygator]

this happens quite a bit in our area and there are lots of homes that were "grandfathered in" as far as having screen enclosures, etc. But gators can easily get through screens that have been damaged, etc. (as well as other critters)

 

[GeorgeG]

We've been in Florida for 16 months now and the only gators we've seen are in or around the ponds and lakes. Amazingly, people actually pay more to have a house on water, which is where the gators, snakes, and bugs tend to hang out.

Many of the home pools here are screened in to keep out all those critters, although a big gator might push through screens. The solution for that is solid panels along the bottom. A good rule of thumb is always to look before leaping, or sitting, or reaching...

 

[chessclubmom]

Aunt in Merrit Island, Florida found small alligator on patio beside pool, simply called Animal Control and it was taken care of like it was no big deal

 

[Pixiedust34]

I used to live in a small town in northern California when I was a kid, and every summer there'd be several reports on the news about someone finding a rattler in or around their toilet.

This whole thread is giving me the willies. Even those little lizards at WDW give me the creeps. I'd probably have a heart attack if I found a snake in the bathroom or a gator in the pool.

 

[GeorgeG]

About the only cases of people here with snakes in their house are those who leave the door open, mostly the garage door. On a nice day leaving the garage door open and another at the back of the house allows a really nice breeze to flow through the house. The key word here is screens. We have a sliding screen door on the garage that keeps critters out and is great for when we have to work in the garage on a nice day. It also pays to make sure any little openings are caulked.

Those little lizards are cute, will not hurt you, and eat mosquitos. If they get in the house (and they sometimes do) just pick them up and put them back outside.

 

[Saffron]

There was a frog in our pool once, I could hardly handle THAT. The frog was sitting in one of the cut outs in the side of the pool for the filter system, just relaxing, letting the water slosh in and out over him/her. I saw him/her and couldn't get out of the pool fast enough.

I'd pass out if I saw an alligator in the pool, especially one of substantial size.

 

[LuvDuke]

I'm just watching a programme over here on tv about a british family who are relocating to Florida, they go round with a british estate agent who shows them homes...They've just been to see an alligator in someones pool, to learn how to deal with it if it ever happends...( we don't have alligators over here, and hardly anyone has a pool). Just wondering if any of you have ever had one??Must be abit of a shock

There's an alligator in every puddle in Forida. At last count, there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,000,000 alligators which is why we now have a "season" on them. There was even a report of an alligator going through the "pet door" and ended up in someone's kitchen.

http://www.floridaconservation.org/gators/faq.htm

Along with the spiders, scorpions, poisonous snakes, palmetto bugs, lizards, bats, etc, it's just another day in paradise.