There are few things more frustrating than watching iguanas strip the flowers and shrubs you paid good money to plant. Here's how to protect your landscaping in South Florida.
What iguanas love to eat
Iguanas are voracious herbivores and go straight for the tender, colorful plants: hibiscus, bougainvillea, orchids, roses, and most flowering ornamentals, plus fruit like mangoes and figs. They'll also munch leafy vegetables in a garden.
If your yard is full of their favorites, you're effectively advertising a free meal — which is why a purely defensive approach only goes so far.
Plant smart, protect the rest
One useful strategy is choosing iguana-resistant plants — tough, less-palatable species iguanas tend to ignore — for the areas under heaviest pressure, and protecting prized plants with caging or barriers. Repellent sprays can offer short-term protection but need frequent reapplication, especially after rain.
These tactics reduce the damage, but they don't address why iguanas are there in the first place: a resident population living nearby.
The lasting fix is fewer iguanas
Ultimately, the most effective way to stop iguanas eating your plants is to reduce the iguana population on and around your property through professional trapping and burrow control, then keep it suppressed. Fewer iguanas means less damage — it's that direct.
Our iguana control programs do exactly that, so your landscaping actually gets a chance to thrive. We serve gardens and communities across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.