Iguanas can actually be a bit of a problem in certain parts of the United States. These animals are kept as pets by some people, but now they’re out in the wild and thriving in many warm states.
If you come home to find iguanas on your roof one day, then you might be shocked. This isn’t completely uncommon, though, and many people consider it to be a big problem.
Iguanas can potentially mess with your plants and they’re also not always particularly friendly. You likely don’t want them hanging out on your property, and this means you need to do your best to get rid of them.
Read on to learn how to get rid of iguanas on your roof and in your yard. This should give you the best methods for ridding yourself of annoying iguanas for good.
1 – Spray Iguana Repellent
One of the easiest things to do is to spray iguana repellent in the areas that the iguanas seem to be frequenting. If they seem to like to hang out on your roof, then you can climb up on the roof and spray it down with iguana repellent.
There are some different types of iguana repellents on the market that will keep them at bay. You can buy a liquid iguana repellent spray that will be easy to utilize, but you can also purchase powders and other types of repellents.
Some people even choose to make their own homemade iguana repellents to save a little cash. For example, you can puree garlic cloves and habanero peppers and then combine them with warm water to make a very good repellent.
Decide which type of repellent you would like to use and then use it in various spots. Iguanas won’t just hang out on your roof, and this means that it’s likely wise to use the repellent in your yard.
2 – Eliminate Things in Your Yard That Give Iguanas Cover
Iguanas will take cover in piles of rocks, thick thickets, and other things like that in your yard. If you clean things up, then you’ll be able to make the yard less inviting to the local iguana population.
It might even be a good idea to remove certain plants that iguanas are attracted to. They seem to like to eat plants such as roses and orchids, and they also love lettuce, beets, and broccoli.
Making a few changes might make it that much easier to solve your iguana problem. Making the landscape less appealing to iguanas works well when paired with other deterrent methods.
3 – Hang Reflective Objects
Hanging reflective objects near your property will help to scare iguanas away. Iguanas will not be able to process information about reflections very well and it confuses them.
This means that hanging reflective tape strips and other things like that can work to keep iguanas away from specific parts of your property. You can even hang old CDs if you have some lying around that you don’t wish to keep.
4 – Don’t Leave Pet Food Out
Leaving pet food out is going to be like a beacon that calls iguanas into your yard. If you have pets that eat outdoors sometimes, then it’s going to be best to place their food in a secure container once they’re done with it.
This helps you to avoid having iguanas flock to your yard in an attempt to eat the pet food. It might feel a bit annoying to not be able to leave some dog food in a dog bowl, but it’s really better to be proactive to keep iguanas away from your property.
5 – Ultrasonic Repellents
Ultrasonic repellents can work pretty well to scare iguanas away, too. People buy these to try to scare away lots of different animals, and it can work well to make iguanas feel uneasy.
The idea is to buy an ultrasonic device and then place it on your property. It’ll play noises that humans can’t hear, but iguanas will be able to hear it.
If all goes properly, then the iguanas might leave the area due to being bothered by the noise coming from the device. This is a good part of an iguana management strategy that can keep them from staying on your property.
It’s good to note that these devices are usually powered by the sun, and this means that you don’t have to worry so much about batteries. If you want to keep iguanas off of your roof, then using sound to your advantage makes a lot of sense.
6 – Trapping Iguanas
You can also try to trap the iguanas so that you can remove them from your property. Placing traps in your yard and putting bait pellets inside of them should yield good results.
Iguanas aren’t particularly hard creatures to catch when you’re using standard trap designs. You’ll just need to trap the iguana and then drive it to a faraway location away from your home.
This might not be the ideal solution since there could be dozens of iguanas in the area if not more. However, it can still be useful to reduce the number of iguanas that you have to contend with.
You Can Kill Iguanas Humanely in Some Places
It might be legal for you to kill iguanas humanely depending on where you live. States such as Florida allow residents to kill iguanas since they’re an invasive species.
However, it isn’t legal to make iguanas suffer, and this means that you must kill the iguana as painlessly as possible. You aren’t allowed to poison the iguana or kill the iguana by freezing it.
Shooting an iguana in the head, decapitating an iguana quickly, and other fast methods of death are said to be acceptable. You just have to be sure that it’s legal to kill iguanas where you’re living.
Whether this is right to do or not is up to you. It’s true that iguanas are an invasive species in the United States, but not everyone is fine with killing animals.
Decide which route you would like to take based on your conscience. If you think that exterminating the iguanas is the right path to take and it happens to be legal where you’re living, then that is your right.
I have a bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems and over 10 years of experience working in IT. As a homeowner, I love working on projects around the house, and as a father, I love investigating various ways to keep my family safe (whether or not this involves tech). I’ve also played guitar for almost 20 years and love writing music, although it’s hard to find the time these days.