“It’s 5 feet tall”: Overgrown yard creates a breeding ground for rodents, neighbor says

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville homeowner said his neighbor’s overgrown yard is becoming a breeding ground for snakes and rats. Now he claims they’re creeping onto his property.

Sam Riddick has lived on Dunmire Avenue in Northwest Jacksonville for about 40 years. He said his neighbor’s yard hasn’t been maintained in 5 months.

“It’s kind of scary because you get up in the morning and you don’t know what you’re going to walk into when you walk out the door,” he said.

According to the city of Jacksonville, overgrown yards are the biggest cause for code enforcement violations.

The address on Dunmire Ave. has had a code violation for overgrowth before in October of 2019.

Action News Jax’s Robert Grant spoke to the renters of the home. They said they would have to contact their landlord to get it taken care of, but have only noticed spiders on the porch.

We left a voicemail for the landlord, but at the time this article was posted, we have not yet heard back.

The city tells Action News Jax, if you have a problem in your neighborhood, call 630-CITY or go to the MyJax app on your cell phone to file a complaint. An inspector will go through the property and the homeowner will have 15 days to fix the problem after the violation.

If it is not fixed, the city could hire a private contractor and place a lien on the property for the cost.

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