How to deal with iguanas as their numbers rise in South Florida

South Florida’s booming iguana population is far from endangered — but the reptiles could be in the crosshairs soon.

State officials are looking at ways to control the critters.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will begin offering workshops in the coming months to teach the do’s and don’ts for removing iguanas.

Under Florida law, you can remove iguanas from your property “as long as it’s done safely and humanely,” Sarah Funck, with the FWC, on Wednesday told a group of residents fed up with iguanas in Palm Beach County.

The agency’s workshops also will offer tips on how South Floridians can live in harmony with iguanas if they don’t want them gone.

The herbivores, which can be spotted along canals and in backyards on any sunny day, munch their way through gardens and then leave behind the digested remains on patios and in pools.

Prolonged cold spells years ago took a big bite out of the iguana population, plunging the reptiles into a state of hibernation from which many of them could not recover.

During South Florida’s frigid winter of 2010, iguanas couldn’t tolerate temperatures that dropped into the 30s. They were falling like icicles from trees.

But mild winters in recent years have revived the population, said Funck, the coordinator for the FWC’s non-native species program.

“They are making messes on patios, they dig holes, undermine sea walls,” said Joe Miller, who runs JP Miller & Sons Pest Control, based in Deerfield Beach.

Funck gave Boynton Beach and Delray Beach residents a taste of the FWC’s upcoming initiatives Wednesday morning, offering tips and tricks to keep iguanas out of gardens and away from seawalls.

Among the tips:

— Use wire mesh screening to create a barrier around plants.

— Make sure chicken wire is installed at least one foot beneath the soil around your fences or seawalls to prevent iguanas from digging underneath them.

— Bang pots and pans together, play loud music, or shout at them to scare them off.

— Install electric fencing.

Iguanas can get spooked when water is flung at them, so installing a water scarecrow, basically a motion-activated sprinkler, is also an option, she said.

She also mentioned a few of the state laws regarding iguanas’ removal. It’s legal to gather iguana eggs and dispose of them, she said. It’s also legal to hire a trapper or trap them yourself.

But inhumane tactics are unlawful, such as shooting iguanas with a BB gun or any other method that would harm them. (South Florida has seen several such cases through the years.)

Boynton Beach residents living near Lake Ida Park say their yards are overrun with iguanas that devour their gardens and leave droppings on their patios and in their pools.

Iguanas have been in South Florida since the 1960s, and their population grew abundant because of their ability to lay nearly 100 eggs two or three times per year, Funck said.

Estimates of iguanas’ population in Florida weren’t available.

Gary Fishman, president of the Diane Drive neighborhood association in Boynton Beach, said he sees at least 10 iguanas in his yard per day.

“They’re beastly,” he said. “They have huge appetites, they eat all your vegetation and your flowers, and then they swim in your pool and go to the bathroom on your deck. They’re very unsightly.”

Fishman, who has lived in Boynton for almost 30 years, said he’s trying to call on all local and state governments to initiate regulations and laws surrounding the sale of iguanas as pets.

It’s a sentiment some iguana lovers also agree with.

Susan Loman, nicknamed “the iguana whisperer,” has operated her iguana rescue effort called Iguana Haven in Fort Lauderdale since 2001.

The 57-year-old keeps about 30 iguanas on her acre of land, many of which have been injured or disfigured and require special medical care.

“The reason they are out now in our environment is because of laws that allow iguanas to be sold in pet stores,” she said. “They get big and they’re not good pets. People don’t know how to take care of them.”

She still has the first iguana she ever rescued in 2001, a 22-year-old female named Jack. Loman thought it was male at first and the name stuck. Jack has begun to go blind in her old age despite two visits to the eye surgeon, Loman said.

“She doesn’t climb trees anymore or move around as much, but she’s very healthy and happy and we love her to death,” she said.

Efforts to control iguana populations must start at the governmental level, she said. She said she thinks people shouldn’t be allowed to have exotic pets.

“I know people think of them in a negative way because they’re not native to Florida,” she said. “It’s unfortunate for them, because they mean no harm.”

The FWC is currently working on future workshop plans. The first public workshop will be held in the Florida Keys in December.

Staff writer Anne Geggis contributed to this report.

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Brooke Baitinger: bbaitinger@sun-sentinel.com, 561-243-6648 or Twitter: @BaitingerBrooke

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