How To Keep Iguanas Away From Pool

Seeing an iguana by the pool can be scary and irritating, especially when you have kids or friends that come around.

What happens when your child, trying to ward off an iguana, gets bitten?

Shooing them away with your hands or a stick isn’t enough, and yelling won’t do much.

Don’t panic! In this guide, we will discuss some foolproof and easy strategies to keep these unwanted guests away from your pool.

In the following sections, we will discuss seven easy-to-deploy strategies to deter Iguanas from pools permanently.

7 Ways To Deter Iguanas From Your Pool

Like humans, Iguanas can go to any length to hunt for food and comfort. And pools are perfect for that.

If you stay in regions like Florida and Mexico, where iguanas are rampant, you should pay closer attention to their invasion.

Below, we consider some practical ways to keep your pool free from iguanas’ troubles:

1. Look for Entry Points

Iguanas don’t appear out of thin air. They come to the pool through holes in the fence or trees. It would be best to observe any entry points around the pool. 

Iguanas are excellent swimmers and crawlers. If a tree is hanging above the pool or across the fence, you may want to cut it off. You can trim out long branches and plants.

Cracks in the walls are red flags indicating that iguanas and other critters may have entered the pool area. When you discover such holes in your walls, you should quickly cover them.

Use hard materials to cover the holes if you want to keep off the iguanas longer. Rocks are better options than sand because they can easily maneuver. You can also use hard boards or iron rods.

2. Use Repellants

There are natural repellents and inorganic repellents explicitly made for iguanas. Natural repellents for iguanas include citrus plants, spinach, garlic, broccoli, and many others.

The fact that the plants above are repellants doesn’t mean that all fruits and vegetables are repellants. Iguanas love fruits like bananas, apples, dates, grapes, berries, etc. It’d be dangerous if you plant a diet instead of a repellant.

It’s best to confirm what plants they love before placing them around the pool to avoid shooting yourself in the leg.

Also, be careful not to get highly toxic repellants so that the iguanas won’t die in your hands.

Remember that some homeowners may choose to keep iguanas around, which can wander off anytime. If you intentionally or unintentionally kill them, you may get into much trouble.

There are DIY repellants you can sprinkle around the pool. Spraying these repellants away from the pool would be best to avoid skin reactions/irritations.

DIY repellents are from neem oil, chili/cayenne peppers, and water. Sprinkling normal water is enough to deter them though it would only be temporary. Iguanas hate splashes of water, and it irritates them.

You can purchase customized iguana repellants from any pest insecticide store near you.

3. Proper Trash Management

Open trash cans are all iguanas need to explore your area. If your trash is close to the pool, then that’s double trouble.

You could get a dumpster and neatly put all the garbage. Iguanas will rarely find their way there.

Asides from trash, having a clean environment is generally a good thing. Iguanas will gladly explore any leftovers and litter them around the house, which is terrible for your health. 

Another thing you shouldn’t do is leave food out in the open. When the kids finish with their food, they can keep it in a flask and store it in the fridge.

You can keep pet food inside the house. Leaving pet food outside for your cats or dogs may attract iguanas, and they could mess up the house

4. Fencing

If there are trees close to your pool that you have no control over, you can build a fence around them. You can use a wire mesh around the trees if a wall is expensive.

You can also install railings around the pool to ward off iguanas. These railings will have tiny holes so the iguanas won’t get through.

You can make the railings about 2 ft, so swimmers feel safe when they come around.

You can also wrap iron sheets around tree stems to prevent iguanas from climbing the trees and jumping/falling into the pool.

Iguanas are also good diggers. You can install the fences some inches into the ground so they don’t burrow through.

Any mesh that can cover the pool will be a good idea too. Covering the pool may cost a lot and defeat the idea of having a pool, but you can try it out.

Which would you prefer, the beauty of having an enclosed pool to deter iguanas? Or a beautiful open pool full of iguanas?

Aesthetics should be the last thing on your mind, especially in an area where iguanas are common.

Use durable fencing materials to save costs.

5. Employ an Exterminator

If the sight of an iguana makes you collapse, it’s best to employ an exterminator. Exterminators usually have enough skill and experience to detect and eliminate pests from your yard.

There would be exterminators that mainly handle iguanas, and you may want to contact them immediately. Most times, getting them to do the job is easier than some of the above steps.

You could hire an exterminator if you are a very busy person or if you’re only sometimes around. They don’t charge much, and their methods are effective. 

Exterminators can also do all the things mentioned above. Most exterminators cover up holes, sprinkle repellants, and apply pesticides specifically for iguanas. 

They take their time to fish out iguanas and pick up stubborn ones with their hands. It’s dangerous to pick up an iguana with your hand because it can bite at the slightest threat.

But these exterminators undergo training and are confident in picking up the iguanas. They also have special tools that they use in handling iguanas.

If you feel your iguana situation is beyond your capabilities, you can call pest control agencies to help you. Pest control agencies get to the root of the matter and involve a special team to assist you.

Exterminators may kill the iguanas and their eggs upon discovering them. Pest control may cage the iguanas and take them away.

6. Use Traps

Remember that the aim is not to kill but to avoid issues. Setting traps around the pool area is an excellent way to keep them away. You can use bait, like mangoes, bananas, or any fruit they love to lure them into the cage.

Remember that citrus plants are not a bait option since the smell of citrus will scare them off the trap. You can also place the trap around the entry points the iguanas use. 

You wouldn’t just leave the trap in the open, though. You can use branches or leaves as camouflage so the iguanas won’t notice. Iguanas are intelligent creatures, and they can quickly figure you out.

If buying an iguana cage isn’t budget-friendly, you can use a DIY trap. You can easily fold a mesh or place a sticky pesticide close to the holes or by the pool. 

These sticky traps are effective and send a message to other iguanas. After gathering as many trapped iguanas as possible, you can hand them over to pest control.

7. Make Some Noise

This method may only be feasible if you stay serene or quiet. Iguanas hate sounds and will run from a loud place without looking back.

You can use your speaker or nail gun to make noise and temporarily scare iguanas off.

They detest sounds and may never come back. However, some iguanas love challenges and always come around when the coast is clear.

Conclusion

Iguanas seem scary. But they aren’t a big deal.

You don’t need to have a panic attack at the sight of them if you know what to do.

They may be stubborn and persistent, but you can eliminate them. Carefully study the methods we mentioned above to know which one you can easily apply for the best results.

If you aren’t sure what to do, it’s best to contact an exterminator immediately.