How do we get rid of iguanas on our Florida HOA's common areas?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised October 28, 2026

How a Florida HOA board deals with green iguanas on common areas: what FWC rules allow, hiring a trapper, burrows under seawalls and sidewalks, and owner notices.

Part of the HOA board handbook: vendors, projects and upkeep.

The short answer

Green iguanas are an invasive species in Florida, and state rules let a landowner, or someone the landowner authorizes, remove them from private property without a permit as long as each animal is killed humanely where it is caught. An association owns or controls its common areas, so the board can hire a nuisance wildlife trapper to do this work. What nobody can do is catch iguanas and turn them loose somewhere else, keep them alive without a permit, or kill them cruelly. Pair removal with changes that make the property less inviting: fewer of the plants they eat, filled burrows, and barriers on trees, docks and seawalls. Your declaration and county or city ordinances may add rules, and this guide is general education, not legal advice.

What Florida law allows

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) added the green iguana to its Prohibited species list effective April 29, 2021. FWC's species page says green iguanas are not protected in Florida except by anti-cruelty laws, can be humanely killed on private property with landowner permission, and that FWC encourages landowners to remove them. Four rules shape what your board can approve: No permit is needed if the animal is humanely killed at the site of capture. FWC's trapper page says permits are only required for removal work that involves live possession or transport of Prohibited species. Live animals need a permit. Anyone who wants to hold or move a live iguana for control work needs FWC's free eradication and control permit, which runs for one year. No relocation. FWC says captured iguanas cannot be released at another location in Florida. No cruelty. Florida Statutes 828.12(1) makes killing an animal in a cruel or inhumane manner a first-degree misdemeanor, with a fine of up to $5,000. FWC's humane killing guidance, which it applies to nonnative lizards as well as large snakes, calls for two steps: a method that causes immediate loss of consciousness, such as a captive bolt or a shot to the brain, followed by destroying the brain with a rigid metal rod.

Decide who does the work

Start with the declaration and the maintenance chart. Common areas, lakes and community seawalls are usually the association's job. Owner lots, patios and private docks usually are not, though some declarations give the association landscape maintenance on every lot. Write down which areas the board will treat so owners know where to send reports. Keep volunteers, managers and landscape crews out of the removal itself. Killing an iguana humanely takes training and the right tools, and a botched attempt in front of residents is both a cruelty problem and a complaint the board will hear about for months. Florida Statutes 790.15(1) makes it a first-degree misdemeanor to knowingly fire a gun in a public place, or to recklessly or negligently fire one outdoors on property used mainly for homes, and many cities restrict air guns too. So the board should not approve shooting by residents or staff on common areas, and should ask any trapper exactly what method it uses and where. If owners want to deal with iguanas on their own lots, the board can point them to FWC's rules, but it should not lend association tools or staff for the job.

Make the property less inviting

Removal without habitat changes means a trapper on retainer forever. FWC lists four steps for property owners: remove plants that attract iguanas, fill in holes to discourage burrowing, hang wind chimes or other things that make intermittent noise, and spray the animals with water. University of Florida IFAS Extension adds detail for landscapes. Iguanas favor hibiscus, roses, pink pentas, greens, squashes and melons, and tend to avoid tough, thick-leaved plants such as milkweed, citrus and oleander. IFAS suggests wrapping sheet metal around tree trunks and dock pilings so they cannot climb, building an L-shaped wire barrier to stop digging under plants and structures, and filling empty burrows with concrete or sand during the day when the animals are out. It also suggests offering mulch or sand piles near seawalls as an alternative nesting spot, which keeps females from digging into the wall itself. Put the plant changes into the next landscape contract renewal rather than ripping out beds at once. A few hundred dollars of replacement plants near the pool and clubhouse often does more than a month of trapping.

Burrows, seawalls and droppings

FWC says iguana burrows erode and collapse sidewalks, and IFAS says burrows next to seawalls allow erosion that can lead to collapse of the wall. Have the trapper or your landscape crew map every burrow on common areas with a photo and location. Send the ones along seawalls, canal banks, slabs and sidewalks to whoever handles your structural inspections, and fill vacant ones promptly. Our guide on inspecting and repairing an HOA seawall covers what a marine contractor should look at when burrows show up near the cap or behind the panels. Droppings are a health issue at pools, docks and patios. FWC notes that iguanas can pass Salmonella to people through water or surfaces contaminated by their feces. Ask the pool vendor to check the deck and the water each visit during warm months, and add a line to the pool rules telling residents to report droppings instead of hosing them into the water.

Hiring a trapper

Ask at least two nuisance wildlife companies to bid. Before you sign, get answers in writing: What method do you use to kill the animals, and where? The answer should match FWC's two-step guidance and happen at the capture site, unless the company holds the eradication and control permit and explains where live animals go. Do you use firearms or air guns on residential property? If yes, how do you comply with Florida Statutes 790.15 and the city or county code? What insurance do you carry? Ask for a certificate naming the association. How do you price the work: per visit, per animal or a monthly service fee? Is burrow mapping and filling included? What do you report after each visit? Ask for the count removed, the locations, and new burrows found. Record the decision in the minutes. A motion you can adapt: 'Move to hire [company] for iguana removal on association common areas, lake banks and seawalls at [price], for a [term] trial, with removal by FWC-recommended humane methods at the capture site and a written report after each visit.'

Cold snaps and falling iguanas

When temperatures drop to near freezing or below and stay there, iguanas can become cold-stunned and fall out of trees. They look dead, but FWC warns that they recover more quickly than people expect and can defend themselves with tails, teeth and claws once they warm up. FWC tells residents not to bring them indoors or into a car to warm them. In January 2026, FWC issued an executive order that let people collect live, cold-stunned iguanas without a permit and drop them at five FWC offices on February 1 and 2, 2026. That order covered those two days only. Unless FWC issues a new order, the normal rules apply: no permit for animals humanely killed where found, and a permit for anyone holding them alive. Before the next cold front, send owners a short reminder to leave fallen iguanas alone and to report large numbers on common areas to the board so the trapper can schedule a visit.

Owner notice you can adapt

'Green iguanas are damaging landscaping and digging burrows along our sidewalks and seawall. The board has hired [company], a wildlife control company, to remove iguanas from common areas using methods recommended by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Please do not feed iguanas, try to catch them, or move them. Releasing iguanas anywhere in Florida is prohibited. If you see burrows, droppings at the pool, or iguanas on common areas, report the location to [email or phone]. Owners handling iguanas on their own lots should follow FWC's rules at myfwc.com.' Send it by email, post it at the pool and mailroom, and repeat it each spring when activity picks up.

Mistakes boards make

Letting a resident with a pellet gun handle it. That invites a cruelty complaint, a firearms violation and liability for the association. Agreeing to relocate them. A trapper who offers to release iguanas somewhere else is offering to break FWC rules. Trapping without fixing the habitat. The hibiscus by the pool is a feeding station. Change the plants and fill the burrows. Ignoring burrows near structures. A filled burrow costs little. A failed seawall section costs a special assessment. No records. Keep the trapper's reports and burrow photos with the maintenance files so the next board can see what worked.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

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