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I very rarely or never deal with the animals listed on this page. I merely included short bits of information about them
for the reader's information. I've included a few northern species of animals merely because they are common nuisance species
that northern web surfers might want info on.
Florida Alligator
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Biology: The American alligator is the largest reptile in North America. Alligators can be found in ponds, lakes, canals, rivers, and swamps throughout Florida.
Alligators are about 10"-12" in length when they are hatched from eggs. Females can grow to approximately 9' in length and 200+ pounds. Males can grow to approximately
13'+ in length and attain 500+ pounds. The record alligator was 19 feet 2 inches. They can live to be 100 years old. When alligators mature their diet includes animals
such as muskrats, nutria, beaver, raccoons, large birds and fish, snakes, turtles, deer, etc. |
Nuisance Concerns:
Alligators are considered a nuisance due to the potential danger they pose to pets or even children wandering near or swimming in Florida waters.
Nobody wants an alligator taking up residence in their private pond or worse, swimming pool! If you encounter an alligator, do not approach
or harrass it -leave it alone.
I am not licensed to handle nuisance alligators. The Florida Wildlife Commission issues a special license
to a select few individuals. If you have a problem with a potentially dangerous or nuisance alligator, please call them at 352-732-1225 or visit this website:
http://www.wildflorida.org/gators/
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Beaver
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NOTE: There are no beavers in Florida east of the Suwannee River drainage.
Biology: The beaver is the largest rodent found in North America. Adults can weigh up to 65 pounds
and measure from 24 to 36 inches, plus a tail of 12 to 18 inches. With its webbed hind feet,
waterproof fur, and unique paddle-shaped tail, the beaver is well-adapted to living in an aquatic environment. |
Nuisance Concerns:
Beavers are considered a nuisance for two primary reasons: tree cutting and dam building. Tree cutting
is undesirable to landowners who want to protect their trees. Dam building is a more serious matter,
resulting in flooding forest and farm lands, plugged culverts and the washout of roads.
Beavers do not respond to repellents, and they are impossible to exclude. They may abandon a dam site
that is continually destroyed, but the most effective means of beaver control is trapping.
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Chipmunks
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NOTE: There are no chipmunks in central Florida, just the panhandle.
Biology: Chipmunks are rodents, best described as small ground-dwelling squirrels.
They are typically 5-6 inches long and weigh about three ounces. Chipmunks are omnivores.
Their diet consists primarily of grains, nuts, berries, seeds, and insects. They are
burrowing animals. They hibernate, and store food for the winter. |
Nuisance Concerns:
Chipmunks are considered a nuisance because they may consume flower bulbs, fruits, seeds, and seedlings.
When present in large numbers, they can also cause structural damage by burrowing under patios, stairs,
retention walls, or foundations.
I have quite a bit of experience in chipmunk control, am familiar with the most effective trapping
methods, and am successful in eliminating nuisance chipmunks around the home.
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Coyote
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Biology: Coyotes are members of the canid family, which includes wolves, dogs and foxes.
Adults coyotes weigh an average of 30 to 50 pounds, and are four to five feet long from nose
to end of tail. They are carnivores, whose diet consists of rabbits, deer fawns, birds and
various invertebrates. They also scavenge and can bring down larger prey in packs. They raise
pups in dens, but seldom dig their own. They possess exceptional senses of smell, sight and
hearing, and can produce a distinct howl. |
Nuisance Concerns:
Coyotes prefer solidation, but become a big nuisance when it comes to certain livestock. Occasionally,
an individual coyote learns that chickens, sheep, lambs and calves are easy prey.
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Florida Deer
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Biology: The white-tailed deer is distinguished by
conspicuous ears, long legs, and narrow, pointed hooves. Adult males have spreading, branching antlers.
The tail is brown above and white underneath. When deer are alarmed, the tail is raised high, revealing
a white "flag" as the deer bounds off through the woods. Juvenile deer, or fawns, have white spots which
fade with age. Florida's deer are smaller than the national average. Adult males may weigh 125 pounds.
There are currently about 750,000 deer in Florida. Deer efficiently forage over a narrow home range with a diet consisting of trees, flowers,
bulbs, shrubs, seedlings, vegetables, and fruits. |
Nuisance Concerns:
The primary problem with deer is their appetite. They will eat a vast variety
of vegetation. They can eat your crops, damage your trees, and can ruin your nice landscaping.
Deer are also responsible for the spread of Lyme Disease, because they are carriers of Deer Ticks.
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Florida Stray Dogs
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Dogs are often our beloved family pets. Unfortunately, many dogs do not have
homes, due to a variety of reasons. Some of them become a nuisance around town. They
can bark, harass other dogs, scavenge, and worst of all pose as a violent threat to
unsuspecting civilians. Others simply wander without homes, and still others have homes,
but have gotten themselves lost. If you find a stray dog, or are having problems due to
dangerous strays, contact the Animal Services division in your county, and they will
attempt to capture it and bring it to the local humane shelter.
ORANGE COUNTY: for a dog complaint or welfare problem, call 407-352-4390
SEMINOLE COUNTY: for a dog complaint or welfare problem, call 407-665-5201
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Florida Flying Squirrels
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Biology: The southern flying squirrel is a small, nocturnal mammal weighing 3 to 5 ounces and
measuring 6 to 8 inches in total length. It has a long, broad, flattened tail, very eyes,
and thick, silky fur. It is a colonizing mammal. It does not actually fly, but uses
flaps of skin on either side of its body to glide through the air. |
Nuisance Concerns:
Flying squirrels are a nuisance because they are colonizing animals. In the wild, they prefer
hollowed out trees as nesting sites, but many decide that your attic is a swell environment. Because
they are nocturnal, you may hear them scurrying about at night, particularly as they move in and
out of the building. Many people hear the noise and mistake flying squirrels for rats, mice, or
other types of squirrels, such as the Eastern Gray Squirrel. People don't like the noise that a
colony of flying squirrels can make at night, nor do they appreciate the biohazard that the droppings
pose. Flying squirrels chew, like all rodents, and can leave stains on your house at exit/entry sites.
I deal with many flying squirrel jobs each year. Their tendency to use the attics of buildings brings
them into the realm of the nuisance animal. I can always identify them by their unique scent. My methods
of capture, exclusion, and damage repair will eliminate your flying squirrel problem. If you are
hearing noises in your attic, soffits, or walls at night, there's a good chance these little critters
are responsible.
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Florida Red & Gray Fox
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Biology: A medium-sized canid with a large bushy tail, often tipped in white. Ranges in
color from grayish and rust red to a flame red, usually reddish-brown. Adults measure
35-45 inches in length from nose to tip of tail and weigh between 12 and 18 pounds. Generally
moves at dusk and dawn, though may be active in mid day. Fox use a variety of habitats for
dens, including abandoned holes dug by other animals. Diet is varied, though it often
includes small mammals and birds. |
Nuisance Concerns:
Fox are a nuisance primarily for poultry producers. Turkeys, chickens, ducks, and geese are all
susceptible to an opportunistic fox. Young pigs, lambs, and small pets are also killed by foxes.
Foxes may carry rabies. Additionally, foxes have been known to steal pet food left outside for
outdoor pets.
I deal with a few nuisance fox every year. If a fox is harming your poultry farm, call about our
predator abatement program.
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Groundhogs
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NOTE: There are no groundhogs in the state of Florida.
Biology: The groundhog, also known as the woodchuck, is a member of a group of large, ground-dwelling squirrels,
called marmots. Adult groundhogs measure 18 to 24 inches long and weigh about 6 to 10 pounds.
The woodchuck is almost a complete vegetarian, eating leaves, flowers and soft stems of various grasses, of field crops such
as clover and alfalfa, and of many kinds of wild herbs. Certain garden crops like peas, beans and
corn are favorites. Chucks occasionally climb trees to obtain apples and pawpaws which they relish. |
Nuisance Concerns: Groundhogs are a nuisance primarily because of their tunneling ability. The are prodigious
diggers, and often choose to dig burrows along edges, such as your house or deck. They can seriously
undermine support of your house's foundation, deck, or outdoor stairs. It is important to eliminate
groundhog tunnels next to a house. Its burrows are also dangerous to both horses and cattle. In addition, groundhogs will eat most of the crops in your garden if
given access.
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Florida Muskrats
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NOTE: There are no Common Muskrats (pictured) in the state of Florida, only Roundtail Muskrats.
Biology: The common muskrat is the largest member of the rat and mouse family (Cricetidae)
in North America. Adults weigh 3 to 4 pounds. The Roundtail Muskrat found in Florida is smaller.
The muskrat is adapted to an aquatic way of life,
and is an important and valuable furbearer. They live in family groups, each group occupying a
portion of a pond containing a house, feeding areas, and canals through cattails and other pond
vegetation. Muskrats eat pond weeds and emergent vegetation. They also eat a variety of animals,
including freshwater mussels, frogs, salamanders and small fish. |
Nuisance Concerns: Muskrats burrow in the banks of rivers, streams, and ponds. The primary
concern is bank erosion. Of course, they pose a threat to dikes as well. Most of the muskrat nuisance complaints
are from people who don't like numerous burrows, which erode the bank or can be accidentally stepped
in, on the edge of their private pond or stream.
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Florida Nutria
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Biology: Nutria are members of the rodent family. Adult nutria are about 14 inches long from the nose to the base of the tail.
The tail itself is 12 to 17 inches long, round, and hairless. Nutria average 15 to 20 pounds in weight.
Nutria are native to South America. Nutria prefer to live in salt water shoreline mudflats and tidewaters. |
Nuisance Concerns: They can disrupt catfish farming, destroy rice and sugar fields, and disrupt
flood control. Nutria tear out aquatic plants by the roots to eat them. They are destroying many hectares
of marsh vegetation, such as bullrush and cordgrass. When nutria eat all of the grasses in a marsh, the
ecosystem is disrupted. This damage impacts wading birds, fish, mollusks, crustaceans, and many other
organisms. The roundworms infesting nutria can cause health problems for man. The roundworm larvae is
present in the water where nutria are found, and this larvae can penetrate human skin. Known as "nutria itch",
severe inflammation can result, which requires medical attention.
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Florida Cottontail Rabbit
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Biology: The Cottontail Rabbit is not in the rodent family. It is classified as a
Lagomorph. An adult cottontail is about 15 to 18 inches long and weighs between two and three pounds.
Litter sizes up to l0 have been reported, but typical litters number from 3 to 5 young, born
after a gestation period of about 28 days. Eastern Cottontails are herbivorous, eating a wide
variety of plant materials. |
Nuisance Concerns: Rabbits are primarily a nuisance due to crop damage. In high numbers, they can
decimate your garden. Additionally, Tularemia is a bacterial disease of rabbits that is transmittible
to humans, usually through openings in the skin.
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Florida River Otter
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Biology: The river otter is the largest member of the Mustelidae family which
includes the mink, weasels, skunks and badger. Adult animals are three to four feet long, including the 12- to 1 8-inch tail, and generally weigh 15 to 25 pounds.
Otters are usually found in or near water and are well adapted for aquatic Iife. Their streamlined bodies, webbed feet and long tails contribute to their excellent swimming ability.
Fish make up the greatest portion of the otter's diet. Crayfish are also an important food when available. Other foods include amphibians, insects, mammals and birds. |
Nuisance Concerns: Not many, though otters occasionally cause depredation problems at fish
hatcheries and rearing areas. As with all animals, their presence on your private property may be
unwanted for a variety of reasons.
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Porcupine
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NOTE: There are no porcupines in the state of Florida.
Biology: The porcupine is a rodent of about 20 inches long and 10 to 20 pounds. They are famous for their many
sharp quills, which are actually modified hairs, and used in self-defense. Porcupines are nocturnal.
They feed on a variety of plants and trees. |
Nuisance Concerns:
Porcupines are considered a nuisance when they destroy trees or other wood, which they gnaw on,
like all rodents. They can also choose your deck as a den site. They pose a potential danger
because of the sharp, barbed quills. Like most animals, they are not aggressive, choosing flight
over fight. There are no porcupines in Florida, I just like porcupines.
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Florida Skunks
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Biology: Skunks are easy to recognize with their bold black and white coloring. While most animals
prefer camouflage, a skunk's distinctive coloration serves as a warning of its potent attack. Using
special glands below the tail, skunks can spray their powerful scent up to 15 feet. This scent burns an
attacker's eyes, and causes temporary blindness. Of course, the stench is too much for most animals to
bear, and serves as a strong warning against future attacks. Adult skunks grow to about 22-30 inches and
8-12 pounds. Skunks are primarily nocturnal. Skunks are omnivores, and will feed on almost anything,
including small rodents, worms, insects, grubs, carrion, fruit, garbage, and pet food left outdoors.
Don't forget the Spotted Skunk (not pictured), which is oftentimes more common in FLorida than the striped skunk, particularly
on the east coast.
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Nuisance Concerns:
Most skunk problems involve skunks that have chosen to take up residence
under a building in a crawlspace, or under a shed or deck. They often dig to gain access to these areas.
Skunks are well known for their strong odor. People can often detect a single roadkilled skunk for
miles. No homeowner appreciates this scent under their deck. Furthermore, a skunk in the area poses
a constant threat to nosey pets. I've cleaned dogs that have been sprayed before, and believe me, the
scent does not come off easily. Of course, no person wants to risk being sprayed by a startled skunk.
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Florida Snapping Turtle
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Biology: Snapping Turtles average 8-12 inches long and 10-35 pounds, though they can
grow to weights of up to 65 pounds Common snappers are at home in slow-moving streams, rivers, lakes and ponds.
They consume a variety of aquatic plants and many kinds of animals including fish, frogs, birds, and small
mammals. They are also effective scavengers and clean up dead fish and drowned animals. |
Nuisance Concerns: Pond n. - A body of water surrounding a Snapping Turtle. If you own a pond
in Florida, even a small one, there's a chance you've got a home for a Snapping
Turtle or two. Snapping turtles are well-known for their aggressive behavior. Their strong jaws are
capable of delivering a serious bite. Your pet might be in for a surprise should it encounter a nesting
snapper on land.
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Mystery Animal
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That scratching in the attic, that bump in the night, that howling on the wind ...it could be
anything! Or perhaps you saw some creature which you swear doesn't have a listing in the Audubon Society Guide To North American Mammals.
Well, don't trouble yourself over it any longer. Just call Sherlock Seerveld of 24/7 Wildlife Removal and
we'll discover the identity of the culprit. We carefully examine every bit of evidence. Footprints!
Hair samples! Excrement samples! Telltale odors! Scratch marks! Chew marks! Bedding material! Hole size!
Type of noise! Environment of animal! Time of year! Time of day! DNA evidence! By golly, if it's there,
24/7 Wildlife Removal will find it and bring it to justice. Just call our crime lab at 407-729-6946 |
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