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Homemade Iguana Repellent
Homemade Iguana Repellent. The green iguana greets each new day with a hearty breakfast of your favorite flowers, followed by sunbathing on the roof of your lanai. Then it’s time for an invigorating dip in your pool. Your contented tormentors -- once exotic pets, set free -- wrap up their busy day by relieving themselves profusely all over...
The green iguana greets each new day with a hearty breakfast of your favorite flowers, followed by sunbathing on the roof of your lanai. Then it’s time for an invigorating dip in your pool. Your contented tormentors -- once exotic pets, set free -- wrap up their busy day by relieving themselves profusely all over everything in sight. If you’ve had enough abuse from these freeloaders, it's time to take action. Though not definitively found to be effective, making your own nasty-tasting iguana repellent to chase the beasts to a more appetizing yard is worth a try.
Things You'll Need
3 garlic cloves
4 fresh habanero peppers
1 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon dish soap
Glass jars
Spray bottle
Puree 3 garlic cloves and 4 fresh habanero peppers in your blender. Whip in 1 cup lemon juice. Green iguanas dislike the tastes and smells of these plant materials, and won’t eat them. When their food source goes sour, iguanas may move on.
Pour the solution into 1 gallon of warm water. Add 1 tablespoon dish soap, and stir to blend the iguana repellent thoroughly. Pour into glass jars, cap tightly, and refrigerate for up to two weeks.
Fill a spray bottle with the iguana repellent when you’re ready to use it. Shake it well first, and then apply it to the plants where green iguanas are regularly feeding. Coat all surfaces generously.
Reapply the iguana repellent at least once a week, as long as damage continues. You’ll need to use it immediately following rainfall, too, as rain will wash it from the plants.
Resist any urges to deliberately feed these beasts or encourage their continued attraction to your property. Even though green iguanas began as exotic pets, animals in your yard should not be considered tame or trusted.
Plant ornamentals that don’t taste good to iguanas, such as oleanders (Nerium oleander), hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 8 through 10, and colorful crotons (Codiaeum variegatum var. pictum), hardy in USDA zones 11 and 12. Both these plants can be toxic to humans and pets, so use them carefully. Iguanas avoid toxic plants and plants with thick, tough leaves. They relish nearly any flowers and all fruits except citrus (Citrus spp.), hardy in USDA zones 9 through 11.
