I live next to the winter strawberry capital of the country- Plant City. I plan to buy my crowns/roots (bare rooted?) From Parkesdale farmers market, or even on the side of the road in that town. They should start selling in September-October. These are Florida specific varieties, as I think we might be the only part of the country that grows them in winter, and northern varieties crash and burn in FL. They sell them by the dozen I think for pretty cheap. Plant at the level of the crown, water, grow. Fruit from Nov to April.
Strawberries attract lots of pests - hence the reason for this topic. They are the #1 most pesticide filled fruit in the market (
https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty_dozen_list.php). Commercial growers plant them in rows with black plastic impregnated with pesticides/herbicides covering them to prevent more weeds/pests. This also prevents them from sending out lots of runners that can compromise fruit production. Growing them as an annual in FL leads to best fruit production.
At home though you can plant in raised beds, pots or hanging pots to ameliorate many of these problems.
This article is helpful, though still written with more of a traditional style growing in mind:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs403