Oh yes. I was so happy after the big freezes a couple of years ago because they seemed to be gone, but now they're back with a vengeance here. :(

Thanks writersblock, hope your invasion is something you can deal with.
Met a neighbor this morning who just discovered one 3 " long monster in her toilet this morning, early. Hate freezes but might be rooting for one in 5 months or so !

>Met a neighbor this morning who just discovered one 3 " long monster in her toilet this morning, early

Well, at least I haven't had to deal with that!

But the night is rendered hideous by what sounds like thousands of them screaming with joy every time it rains (which is all the time, this summer). They're all over the sidewalk every time I go outside.

I have a few, not as many as in past years.

I have them here, but we kill them as soon as I see one. Writers block your friend needs to put hard ware cloth over the toilet's vent on the roof to keep them from coming down to the toilet. Tie a tie wrap around the hard ware cloth to secure it.
As long as hubby keeps at killing them, I've had the greenies return. :o)

Agree with the nightly screaming! I know there are more than I have found because of the cacophony. I have found several large guys in my screened lanai and plenty in the plants near the front door.

I protect the black snakes that enjoy my property, hoping they can help keep them at bay. My German neighbor was going to kill one because his wife was afraid of snakes. I told them to get used to them because these are good snakes! She still doesn't like them, but now tolerates them.

Here's a big guy in my brom by the front door -

Moved recently from North Fort Myers to Venice. NFM's was inundated with CTF's! I did find a huge one in the toilet one morning. It was a year later I read they can come down plumbing vents. I just tied vinyl window screening over the vents, that kept them out. As soon as we moved into Venice I put screening over the vents here, even though I really haven't seen any frogs. Next day a big hole is chewed right through the screen. Found out I've got a fruit rat living in it. I think I'd prefer frogs... Just put a one way trap over the vent, it has a door that lets the varmint out, but not back in. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Echo, after you catch the rat, use the hard ware cloth as I suggested in the above post, they can't chew through that. :o)

@katkin- Thanks! Already covered with hardware cloth. I know I can't rid the property of fruit rats, just don't want them in my plumbing. A frog is bad enough to wake up to in the toilet. I've got a large star fruit tree next to the house so I know the rats will always be around. I'm trying to think of them as not so cute squirrels.

Echo, can't tell you how much I sympathize,..Cuban tree frogs to fruit rats ?

Knew of course about the CTF's but was clueless about fruit rats although I heard them mentioned frequently. So I googled them and now I understand why a couple of neighbors in my mobile home park were apprehensive about the fruit trees I started planting.

One blurb :

Anyone in west-central or mid, south Florida with a fruit tree in the yard ��" orange, peach, papaya, tangerine, lemon, starfruit, mango, grapefruit, Barbados cherry, avocado, kumquat, you name it ��" knows about these pesky pests and the destruction they can cause. They scavenge scattered fruit on the ground and reproduce at a rate that would make Darwin's head spin, and, left unchecked, they'll move into your home.

Anything that can be gnawed will be. Think electrical wiring, insulation, air-conditioning duct work. Think four- and five-digit repair bills. Think stench, as in the monstrously fetid aroma of a decomposing rat.

But better yet, think prevention. And if that doesn't work, execution.

⢠⢠â¢

To combat rats in the wild, there's a lot you can do before you need to call the city.

⢠Keep your yard simple, and don't make it a jungle paradise.

⢠Don't feed birds (or anything else) outside. Rats love birdseed.

⢠Seal holes and cracks in doors, window frames and walls.

⢠Get rid of clutter, including old furniture, newspapers and boxes.

⢠Pick up fallen fruit, on a daily basis if necessary.

⢠Keep your garbage closed up, and don't put the curbside containers out until the morning of collection.

⢠Work with your neighbors to ensure that their yards are rat-free, too. If your neighbors have rats, you'll have rats.

Also, notes UF's Kern, snakes are your friends when it comes to rat control. While snakes can't solve all rat problems, they do enjoy eating them. Hawks and owls are good ratters, too.

Whatever your choice of weapon, realize that the fight will be a long one.

"As long as you have fruit trees, you'll have a battle with the rats," Kober said.

Hmmm, those CTF's don't seem so bad now. May have to downsize my plantation. lol

Echo, hope you dispose of that invader fast !

Thanks for the encouragement and suggestions per fruit rats. I think he's out of the vent now, I'll wait a few days with the trap door on before I cover it with hardware cloth. I know I'll always have a problem as there's a large starfruit tree right in the courtyard, with a huge stag horn fern attached to, which there's no way I'm getting rid of.

Jofus,
I bet you had a male and a female that landed on you.
It's mating season.
The males about the size of a 50c piece
where the females are big, about the size of the palm of your hand..............cheryl

Cheryl,
Didn't know that, about it being their mating season. No wonder they both looked mad as hell !