Search 'iguana deterrent' and you'll find a hundred gadgets and sprays. Most don't work. Here's an honest breakdown of what actually helps in South Florida.
The deterrents that mostly don't work
Fake owls and predators, ultrasonic repellers, and mothballs are popular but largely ineffective — iguanas habituate to stationary decoys fast and simply ignore ultrasonic devices. Save your money on these.
Repellent sprays are a mixed bag: they can protect specific plants for a short time but wash off in the rain and do nothing about burrows or population.
What genuinely helps
The tactics that do move the needle are habitat-based: removing food sources (fallen fruit, favorite plants), collapsing and sealing burrows, installing physical barriers and exclusion along seawalls and gardens, and keeping the area less hospitable overall.
Motion-activated sprinklers can give some deterrent value, and metal guards on trees can protect fruit. But these reduce damage rather than eliminate the iguanas.
The only reliable 'deterrent': fewer iguanas
The single most effective thing you can do is reduce the iguana population itself through professional trapping and burrow control, then maintain it. Fewer iguanas is the deterrent that actually lasts.
That's the core of our iguana control programs — real reduction, not gimmicks. We serve properties across South Florida.