Florida residents dealing with invasive green iguanas now have more ways to get rid of the pests.
As NBC 6 South Florida reported, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has approved new guidelines to facilitate the humane capture and management of iguanas.
These rules make it easier for residents to relocate, exterminate, or transport iguanas for sale. Officials said the rule changes also incentivize green iguana removal efforts by giving permit holders better outdoor enclosure options.
Right now, there are several ways for Floridians to address the alarming numbers of this invasive species. One creative way includes humanely killing them before using their eggs in food, like an egg custard, as TikTok creator Gray Davis showed.
Another move is to sell them out-of-state for domestication, which was legalized in May, as the Fort Myers News-Press reported.
Getting the green iguana under control is of utmost importance. Since entering Florida through the pet trade, the FWC says the reptile has wreaked havoc by eating fruits and vegetables, threatening endangered animals, such as tree snails, and damaging infrastructure.
For that reason, the FWC emphasizes the importance of reporting any suspected prohibited reptiles or amphibians. It is legal to exterminate 16 types of nonnative reptiles and amphibians, including green iguanas, on private property without a permit.
Floridians may be treated to even more bizarre green iguana sightings than usual as a cold front hits Miami. Temperatures below 50 degrees can cause the animal to become cold-stunned and fall out of trees after losing its grip, as CBS News noted.
It's important to note that when this happens, the iguanas are not dead, but merely in shock. Onlookers would be best served by taking advantage of the new rules to deal with the momentarily incapacitated iguanas and helping out the local ecosystem by getting rid of them.
That's certainly what the FWC is hoping for.
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"These rule changes will further enable more Floridians to collect live green iguanas from their established range within the state and facilitate sale of those iguanas out of Florida," FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto told NBC 6. "These latest rule changes support the continued removal of invasive species from Florida."
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