In the public interest for the common well-being of the populace we impart below our knowledge of some of the Pestilent Pests of South Florida. You might well be wise to also check out our "Florida Dangers" page, and our "Top 50 Reasons" and "Next 60 Reasons" to avoid Florida pages...
. .Sea Lice
Sea lice are a prolific south Florida "pest" and not a lot of visitors or even residents are aware of them. Consequently, victims might easily mistake the adverse effects of sea lice for something other than what it really is... These nasty little (nearly microscopic and virtually invisible) critters are floating around in the lower Atlantic coastal waters of Florida. Sea lice create an itchy red rash on areas of the body. These invisible and unpublicized pests attach to areas with human hair (not just on the head), and easily become trapped inside bathing suits. Contact activates the stinging mechanism of the sea lice. The stinging mechanisms are called nematocysts and are just like those of a jellyfish. The result is that an itchy red rash develops, usually hours later and therefore "of unknown origin", and the rash can last for several weeks, so people can easily mistake the symptoms for other maladies. Many people infected with sea lice develop a fever and feel unwell or just feel tired (here again, unbeknownst as to the cause, that sunburned hangover feeling can actually be attributed to sea lice). Point, if you have been in toxically contaminated SoFla waters and develop this condition (or worse...) don't just automatically go to a doctor or dermatologist. Note that Children are more likely to develop more severe systemic effects like high fever, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Have a nice day at the beach...
Head Lice
An article in the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel news (link below) indicates that lice have become resistant to over the counter remedies and Florida is looking at a possible "full scale epidemic" of head lice (sounds like it already is an epidemic), to go along with their sea lice and their sincerely monumental bed bug infestation (see below for bed bugs info). Come to Florida and get loused and bugged (and bitten, and mugged, and robbed, and beat up, and killed in any of numerous ways)...
Link to article Florida is a breeding ground for head lice.
Link to a site for a company that calls itself "Louse Calls", a de-louser that makes house calls Florida's Head Lice Removal Experts.
Scabies
If you have never heard of scabies, you are lucky. Scabies is a highly infectious disease of the skin caused by nearly invisible parasitic mites that burrow into the skin, lay eggs, and produce new crops of more little buggers every three or four days. The result is burning and itching "scabs" in sensitive areas, and the scabies mites, like bed bugs and lice, are very difficult to eradicate, requiring (immune system diminishing) prescription pharmaceuticals to do so.
The multitudes of elderly people are typically more vulnerable to contract scabies, but anyone with a diminished immune system (and that's a lot of people these days) is also vulnerable. And, Florida is full of the retired elderly, and there are also plenty of diminished immune systems amongst Florida's non-elderly due to the poisoned water, air, and over-consumption of pharmaceutical drugs handed out at Florida "pill mills" like candy..
Scabies - a common infestation among south Florida's elderly [and Immuno-suppresed] (note that you can be immunosuppressed and not be aware of it).
Bed Bugs
Bed bugs are also a prolific and extremely problematic pest in South Florida tourist accommodations and we therefore give them their own separate warning. Many visitors are unaware of bed bugs in SoFla, and initially assume that bed bug bites are from mosquitoes and no-see-ums, and unconsciously end up taking an infestation of bed bugs home with them in their suitcase. Realize that eradicating bed bugs is not as easy as washing the sheets, as some accommodations here have to "tent" their building and have it fumigated. That is the other side of the problem -- if your SoFla accommodation does not have bed bugs, there is a good chance that all surfaces are coated with residue of highly toxic insecticides used to eradicate them (that is actually the case regardless, to keep down flying palmetto bugs and cockroaches which are also very prolific in this "always on" pestilent swamp. If for some reason you have to go to SoFla check out this link for tips for avoiding bed bug bites while visiting Florida. And, below is a video of a front page article in the local Fort Lauderdale newspaper on the bed bug problem in Florida accommodations, and here is the link to the online article depicted in the video, but they will likely be forced to eradicate the article when the tourism industry gets wind of it (as predicted, it soon disappeared, so we replaced it with a similar but not nearly as correct article...).
January 2011 update. A recent article (link below) indicated that the number of reported (likely under-reported) cases of bedbugs at Florida accommodations (so, the count did not include cases in people's homes and apartments) more than doubled in the state of Florida in 2010 over those reported in 2009, and that Broward county (Fort Lauderdale: used to be "where the boys are" but now is "where the bugs are") had the highest number of reports of any county in the state. Note that in addition to the count not including cases in personal residences, it did note that bedbug bites are occurring in public places such as theaters, stores, schools, and the nasty little blood suckers even tend to "catch rides" on kids backpacks as a means of spreading increasing their range. Link to article "Where the bedbugs bite".
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Florida Sand Flea
There seems to be a lot of confusion on the internet as to what a Florida sand flea is and what they look like, with even locals providing differing perspectives. The no-see-um is NOT a sand flea, nor is the above noted "beach roach" to be confused with the sand flea. The voracious bloodsucking sand flea actually looks like the common flea but is somewhat larger and considerably more vicious. The sand flea renders numerous horrendous "bites" that are more irritating and last longer than mosquitoes, even the new invasive Asian tiger mosquito (altho the latter is more deadly since it carries fatal diseases like dengue fever and encephalitis). Here is a link to a not-so-pretty picture of Florida sand flea bites and here is a link to a picture of an actual Florida sand flea, not that you will ever see the nasty little critters...
Biting Beetles
We are not making this up. Last year, we observed itchy red welts that were not like any typical bites or stings previously encountered in Florida, or anywhere else for that matter. These welts were more like a pimple, coming to a head and bursting and secreting pus. We realized that the bites had to be occurring at night while we were asleep and incorrectly took actions as though the culprit were bedbugs. Quite by accident, on the third night of sleeping in the bedroom in question, troubled and unable to sleep, I turned on the light to read, and immediately caught sight of a strange looking flat black beetle traversing the wall toward the bed. It then turned around and crawled slowly back for the safety of nearby nightstand from where it apparently had been hiding. Upon close observation, it appeared to have two glowing florescent spots on it's shell, and purely out of curiosity, I caught the beetle in a glass container -- wallah, end of bites. Looking into the matter, we discovered that their are many pestilent beetles that bite humans (carpet beetles, blister beetles, spider beetles) but we never pinpointed this one seemingly carnivorous species, although we speculate that it was likely an exotic invasive beetle from other regions of the world brought into nearby Port Everglades on a container ship. Hope they never get a foothold here, very unpleasant to deal with, but that is one of the consequences of living in a region that serves as an entry point for shipping from all parts of the world...
Remember this! Since we have inhabited Florida for several decades, we have experienced bites and stings from all the aforementioned except bed bugs. A point that we felt compelled to emphasize is that anyone experiencing bites that appear like those in the above linked-to pictures should realize that the bites from all the above mentioned pests pretty much look the same, they only vary in intensity, duration, and potential consequences, and even then can differ from person to person. It is important to monitor anyone coming away from the Florida beaches with bites such as these, as they might well be afflicted with viruses and even potentially fatal diseases. Lastly on this, we repeat our often stated "opinion" that decades ago these types of bytes from these pests were far less prevalent and in recent years has become such a serious common problem, that we avoid the ocean waters, abstain from lounging on the beach, and are hesitant to go out at any time of day or night unless it is raining, very cold, or very windy (because of the voracious Asian tiger mosquito feeding 24 hours per day, and it seems resistant to any kind of natural insect repellent). Florida just isn't a pleasant place to live anymore and in fact has conversely become dangerous and unpleasant; then too, there is the rampant increase of human pests, and those 19,000 hardened criminal "pests" they released just from from Broward county jails due to statewide budget cuts -- but we digress, just be informed and "avoid Florida"...
Poisonous Toads and Frogs
Here we interject a note of an important future point to address, but for now, anyone with pets unfamiliar with the many invasive species of pests in Florida, be aware that south and central Florida is infested with poisonous toads that are hazardous to the health of dogs and cats and can of course be problematic for children, and this nuisance is headed northward...
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Ceratopogonidae, a.k.a. "no-see-ums"
Ceratopogonidae are also known as biting midges along with some other off-the-wall names, and are sometimes confused with sand fleas, but are NOT sand fleas. Noseeums are actually very small flies, so small that they are almost impossible to detect before they mercilessly bite you, and are the minute cousins to the much larger biting "black fly". Depending on what virus a noseeum may happend to be carrying at the time, the blood sucking bite of the noseeum can cause intensely itchy, red welts that can persist for more than a week, altho for most folks the effect is just irritating and is not as problematic as a mosquito bite; however, being attacked by swarms of these little monsters is not at all pleasant and people tend to flee under those circumstance because they are unable to do anything to stop the bites except get the heck away from them. The severe discomfort of a noseeum bit arises from a localized allergic reaction to the presence of virus proteins in their saliva, and can be somewhat alleviated by topical antihistamines if severe. Note that we have had no luck staving off noseeums using most natural repellents, and since we do not spray our bodies with carcinogenic, dementia-inducing "deet" repellents, we do not know if that toxic junk works in keeping the little buggers from biting. What we do know is that if it is not cold and if there is little or no breeze in Florida, and especially if recent winds have been out of the south or southwest (on the east coast), that if you are out and about, or on the beach, or particularly in an area near mangroves or a swampy region, you will be viciously attacked by swarms of these invisible blood sucking little pests. Lastly, realize that you do not have to be "out and about" to be attacked, because these little suckers are so small that they can fly right through screens, so at times that they are present, you have to keep the windows and doors shut.
. .
Theoretically, Florida supposedly has only two venomous spiders, the black widow and the brown recluse. However, always bear in mind that the state suffers from the eruption of new invasive species of all types due to the numerous international shipping ports and the local idiots bringing them in intentionally and turning them loose in theory to control some other kind of invasive (or native) species of insect. Note that starting a few years ago, we have observed the proliferation of of a new type of spiders, resembling the large "garden" spiders of northern climes, but these are different, and we have no idea if they are harmful to humans (and of course the state agencies would never tell us if they were). Point is, these new spiders has started infesting the vegetation along the beach roadways and broadwalks, and since many people are forced to use these areas for a bathroom, if you ever have to do that in an emergency situation, be very cautious of these spiders, and all the other poisonous and venomous vermin that lurks in the mangroves. The above video depicts a congregation of seven spiders within about a three foot by four foot area, the incidence of "spider families" like this is quickly increasing and in some places there are already solid infestations of these spider webs that span areas of several yards. If they eventually increase their ground level populations to equal what used to be in their densely blanketed tree-top canopy infestations, they will pretty much form a solid wall of webs anywhere you go. Realize what effect these dense spider webs have on trapping insects, and that the types of insects caught (by these large spiders) are of course larger insects and unfortunately not the small mosquitoes, so they will decimate the populations of beneficial insects which serve to pollinate the flora here...
Below is another video of a newer type of spider, this one has two white spots (eyes) on a black body and a white stripe (mouth) that gives the appearance of a face, but the other side just has two wide white stripes...
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Roaches and Palmetto Bugs. Well, everyone knows about roaches, and most people should know something about roaches in Florida. But for those that may be familiar with them outside of Florida, we thought we should post this little piece for anyone unfamiliar with Florida's unofficial "state bug". Florida is mostly water, with a lot of swamp, and a lot of savannas and mangroves and sawgrass praries, all teeming with roaches of all types. These little critters have of course infested every nook and cranny of the state, and seem to prefer urban areas, likely for the overabundance of garbage and filth, their food source. The point is, that no matter how new a home or hotel or condo or resort is, nor how supposedly "roach resistant" residences and accommodations are theoretically supposed to be, roaches have been slipping into "homes" since the first one was constructed; realize that roaches dwell quite nicely in water (they are the original "water bugs") and if they cannot manage to slip into your abode through cracks in the windows and around the doors, they will come up out of the drains in showers, tubs, and sinks into your home, usually at night when you do not see them, then slip into those places where you open a drawer and find some little buggies playing munch and poop on your stuff...
One other thing that we reluctantly point out about these filthy, vile little demons is that restaurants here have resident populations that are especially active at night, somewhat active during the day
The other negative aspect related to roaches is that when their infestations get out of control in a home or building or restaurant -- as they always eventually do -- exterminators have to be called in and spray their carcinogenic insecticides to get them under control for a time. Of course, between exterminations, their is a lot of insecticide spraying going on daily in restaurants and homes to attempt to keep the pests down to a reasonable level for as long as possible to stave off expensive visits by exterminators. These toxic, poisonous, carcinogenic insecticides are also sprayed liberally on all surfaces of tourist accommodations (many use "foggers") to try to keep down the number of "close encounters" with the vile creatures. All of this spraying and fogging means that residents, visitors, and tourists are exposed to the aforementioned toxic, poisonous, carcinogenic chemicals.
Bonus point info. "Palmetto bugs" [sic] are just a very large species of the cockroach "family", large relatives of the "water bug". For anyone not familiar with the so-called palmetto bug, they are huge in comparison, ranging to several inches long, and tend to fly around like birds as opposed to crawling around like their smaller cousins, but have the same despicable habits, simply leaving behind larger poop balls in your drawers... Ick!
Super bonus point info. If anyone is thinking "so what, they may be a nasty nuisance, but can they really be called a pest can they?". Realize this fact and remember it. Roaches of all kinds wallow in the very vilest kind of filth, and consequently roaches of all kinds carry germs like salmonella, and who knows what next... 'Nuff said. The above video shows one (little) iguana from a herd of iguanas that inhabit the beach vegetation on Hollywood beach, altho this invasive species also ranges everywhere inland and all over South Florida. It is said that these large lizards (the one above is a small one as they grow to 3 to 4 times larger) were introduced to keep down the cockroach population and even rats (eating the young/baby rats) which also have a growing population in the beach foliage, right next to the broadwalk...
Contrary to the above "speculation", it is also said that some "third-worlders" have introduced these lizards as a cheap "free range" food source, and are referred to by our Latino friends as "gallina de palo", or "chicken of the tree", because they also hang out in trees and when it gets cold they hypothermiate and fall out of the trees in droves and are harvested by the locals for barbecuing, and are also said to be served up in local mom and pop restaurants as an exotic wild meat, or as a substitute in "chicken fingers", etc...("how is your roach-eating-iguana taco senorita"?).
OK, so iguanas may not be so much of a pest per se, you say, and actually serve to feed illegal occupants. But, realize that these slow moving critters do migrate about looking for a new supply of roaches and often end up as road kill, might well end up in your restaurant food, and do end up as gutted carcasses cast off into the bushes after being butchered for their meat, drawing flies and stinking up the place. Then too, be careful if you go walking on a brisk winter day under a tree, these critters grow large and getting hit a falling frozen iguana might well move them from the classification of a pest to the dangerous category, as you stare up at the ceiling in the emergency room while they fit the neck brace on you... Mosquitoes are no longer classified as a "pest"... We did not forget mosquitoes in the pest category. They are no longer considered just a pest. They have become a serious danger now that the Asian tiger mosquito has invaded Florida and now that several cases of viral hemorrhagic dengue "fever" (more accurately a viral disease that kills more than twelve thousand people each year around the planet) has been documented in Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach (and is approaching epidemic levels as nearby as Peurto Rico, with five percent of Key West residents now being carriers). Click on the "Florida Dangers" tab for details on this new deadly plague that has just arrived in south Florida. Check back here occasionally, we are just getting started with this topic, and unfortunately, there is so much more to document...if you must travel to Florida, be wary, ask locals about the newest pests to invade the area and what to avoid...
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