The iguana menace in South Florida has disturbed the lives of people in the region because the four-legged lizards damage the internet and telephone lines that lead to disruption of services. They invade homes and contaminate swimming pools. Residents are trying to rope in experts who can provide solutions to get rid of the pests. It has become a major problem for South Florida.
Daily Mail UK reports that innumerable numbers of iguanas have been seen in Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties. Richard Engeman, a biologist for the National Wildlife Research Center, admits that it is not possible to give any figure but it could be in thousands.
Use fruit as bait to catch the iguanas
Many people keep iguanas as pets but each female of the species can lay up to 60 eggs and the problem multiplies when they start to mate. That is what Florida is faced with because the lizards will dig tunnels to house their offspring. That, in turn, leads to issues related to landscapes, levees, and seawalls for the residents.
It all started in 1992 after Hurricane Andrew that destroyed pet shops and many of these creatures escaped to freedom. The population began to grow exponentially. An expert advises that these can be trapped in cages using fruit as bait. His suggestion is to use baits of frozen strawberries placed inside a raccoon trap.
It is a herculean task to check the iguana menace
According to The Sun-Sentinel, iguanas are responsible for many of the power outages in South Florida. An estimate of the power outages given by a spokesman of Florida Power and Light shows that nearly 9,200 are due to animals and birds. In Florida, iguanas are the second leading cause of power outages, while squirrels are at number one.
It is legal to eliminate iguanas but the process has to be humane. However, it will be a criminal offense to drown, freeze, or poison them. The situation in Florida can be attributed to a hurricane that occurred several years ago which damaged many pet shops. This is yet another aspect of hurricanes that are increasingly attributed to global warming.
Apart from destroying properties and taking lives, they give rise to long-term issues like iguanas on the run.
That hurricane allowed the lizards to escape from captivity, multiply over the years, and the residents are now straddled with the problem of overpopulation. They and the administration will have to find a way out and probably employ catchers.
