{"id":152819,"date":"2019-07-30T19:07:45","date_gmt":"2019-07-30T11:07:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.geek.com\/featured\/-1797999\/"},"modified":"2019-07-30T19:07:45","modified_gmt":"2019-07-30T11:07:45","slug":"florida-clarifies-directive-to-kill-green-iguanas-after-pool-cleaner-shot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/test\/wordpress\/2019\/07\/30\/florida-clarifies-directive-to-kill-green-iguanas-after-pool-cleaner-shot\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida Clarifies Directive to Kill Green Iguanas After Pool Cleaner Shot"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Florida has a lizard problem (via Linus Mimietz\/Unsplash)<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Earlier this month, Florida conservation officials gave homeowners the green light<\/a> to exterminate invasive green iguanas without a permit.<\/span><\/p>\n

That doesn’t mean locals should open fire at anything that moves.<\/span><\/p>\n

Following the accidental shooting of a pool maintenance worker by an iguana hunter, the state’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has clarified its instruction<\/a>, reminding folks that Florida is “not the ‘wild west.’”<\/span><\/p>\n

In a notice posted on its website July 3<\/a>, the FWC encouraged people to “remove and kill” green iguanas on private properties, as well as 22 public lands.<\/span><\/p>\n

But aside from one mention of trapping and euthanizing the lizards, officials offered no real guidance on how to remove the cold-blooded reptiles.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Unfortunately, the message has been conveyed that we are asking the public to just go out there and shoot them up,” FWC Commissioner Rodney Barreto said in a statement. “This is not what we are about.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The revised statement comes two weeks after a pool worker in Boca Raton was hit in the leg with a pellet by someone hired to execute iguanas in the neighborhood.<\/span><\/p>\n

The unnamed hunter was not charged, according to WPTV<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

“If you are not capable of safely removing iguanas from your property, please seek assistance from professionals who do this for a living,” Barreto urged.<\/span><\/p>\n

Green iguanas\u2014which can grow to at least 5 feet long and weigh nearly 20 pounds\u2014cause damage to residential and commercial landscape vegetation, and are often considered a nuisance by property owners.<\/span><\/p>\n

The reptiles, which are not native to Florida, can also spread Salmonella.<\/span><\/p>\n

Next time you find an unwanted scaly guest lounging on your property, though, instead of grabbing a gun, try detering the animal by modifying the habitat: remove plants that act as attractants, fill holes to discourage burrowing, hang noisy wind chimes and reflective CDs, or spray the iguana with water.<\/span><\/p>\n

If all else fails, call a professional trapper<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

More on Geek.com:<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n