Vacant, shuttered, abandoned and uncared for properties have popped up in all neighborhoods. The fronts look sad enough, the lawns weedy, the shrubbery barely tended.
Have you wondered what the backyards look like?
Like heaven if you are an aggressive weed or better yet, Florida wildlife and we are not talking lizards here.
Think rat colonies, think raccoon families, think of nasty decease carrying quadrupeds that can bite. It happened to a client of mine trying to prevent her cat from bringing what appeared to be a dead rat into the house. It wasn‘t. It bit her. So if you or your child is bitten are you going to muck around trying to catch that rat to see if it is carrying rabies, rat fever, typhoid ( to name but a few ) or are you going to run to the hospital? Chances are the latter.
So what to do? How to prevent it?
For grossly overgrown, untended backyards call Code Enforcement in the particular municipality. It may take more than one call, so be persistent. You are doing yourself and your neighbors a favor. Not only are you protecting the value of your properties but also the time, money and effort invested in your gardens. Aggressive and invasive weeds are not deterred by property boundaries. Once established they are difficult, costly and time consuming to eradicate.
Rats, raccoons and possums, even foxes are native Florida wildlife with whom we co- exists even in urban areas. When however you are seeing them very often, when there is more than one coming in from an abandoned backyard you need to call the Florida Health Department Neighborhood & Sanitation at 305 623 3574. That by the way is also the phone number for Nuisance and Rodent Control.
Don’t be afraid to be proactive. Your backyard neighbors may let their yard go wild to save some money, YOU need to protect your property and most important your health.
And yes the county responds and quickly.