Too close for comfort: Gators seen scratching and knocking on front doors of 3 Florida homes

WESLEY CHAPEL Fla WSVN A Tampa-area family had a different kind of wake-up call when a scaly neighbor tried to barge into their home They experienced one of several new alligator encounters across Florida that came too close for comfort Courtney Beck stated she and her parents woke up when they heard scratching at the front door of their Wesley Chapel home this past week Beck reported she and her loved ones heard the door rattling and their dogs were barking She became worried that someone was trying to break into the house Beck s worry turned into shock when she saw the toothy trespasser paying a surprising visit That was just not what I was expecting I thought maybe it was the UPS guy It was the last thing I was thinking was a gator she mentioned After the Florida-style wake-up call Beck explained she and her family watch their backs when leaving home But Beck s home wasn t the only one in the Sunshine State that had a door-to-door scalesman stop by over the past sparse weeks A similar sight played out in late April this time at a home in Lake Mary near Orlando There is an alligator at the front door Do not open it the homeonwer is heard saying in surveillance video The homeowner announced the reptillian visitor was nearly feet long and even tried knocking on the door but after she called a trapper the alligator made its way through her backyard before going back into the water This is why in Florida a doorbell camera isn t a luxury it can be a means of survival The gator encounters haven t stopped Another front porch predator targeted a Fort Myers neighborhood Lee County Sheriff s Office deputies responded to the unwanted visitor chomping at the bit to enter a home Friday morning The gator on the loose was eventually secured and handed over to a trapper As for Beck she posted the surveillance video on TikTok where it received more than two million views