Florida is home to some of the strangest stories in the country.
One family is dealing with a problem they never expected.
And visitors to a Florida business face a scary attack every time they look up.
Hawks attack anyone entering and leaving Florida business
A woman in Venice, Florida is dealing with a nightmare after a pair of red-shouldered hawks began nesting outside of her business.
The hawks are attacking anyone who is in her front yard.
Odalys Hayes said that the hawks have attacked her husband and son.
“Everybody, the minute you go in the walkway here, you get attacked,” Hayes stated.
The angry hawks have dive-bombed the company that cuts the grass.
Her husband was bitten in the head by one of the birds while he was wearing a helmet for protection.
“He’s wearing a helmet, got attacked eight times on Wednesday, last Wednesday taking the garbage out,” Hayes said. “He almost lost balance and fell down.”
The only protection that Hayes uses from the hawks is an umbrella.
“Anytime we go to take the garbage out, which is a long way from the back of the house to here, they will attack us,” Hayes lamented. “Anything we do, out they will come and attack us.”
Hayes’ son received cuts on his head from the talons of one of the hawks.
“Last year they cleared land near Venice and Havana. I don’t know if it has anything to do with it, but I’m assuming because that’s when the problem started,” Odalys explained.
The law stops a Florida business owner from removing attack hawks
Hayes called the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to see what could be done about the hawks terrorizing her.
The wildlife official who showed up on her property was attacked by a hawk while he was investigating.
She has contacted state agencies and even the Department of Agriculture to solve her hawk problem.
Pest control removed the hawks, but they came right back and made another nest.
The hawks are federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
Red-shouldered hawks are considered a protected species.
Officials are not allowed to use lethal options to dispose of the hawks or move them from the area.
“I’m not safe. I’m not safe at all, and we have a statue that stipulates if people are being hurt and property is damaged, these agencies are supposed to do something, but they can’t,” Hayes said. “I can’t do anything, at all, anything, period, when the nest is there.”
Gulfshore Bird Away owner David Voykin removes nuisance birds for a living.
He admitted that his options were limited in dealing with a problem like this.
“Out where we are talking about, hawks are going to be hawks, and they are going to rule the land, and with the guidelines from the FWC, they are protected,” Voykin explained.
Voykin thought that noisemakers or shiny objects could scare them off.
“In the short term, something flashy that would give them a scare or a visual deterrent,” Voykin stated. “And some people say hang wind chimes.”
Hayes only has one piece of advice for her customers.
“We are making sure that we tell them, you know, to park really close to the roof,” Hayes noted.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
