Iguanas and your pool: what Keys owners should do

Ask anyone who has owned a pool in the Keys for a while about iguanas, and you will get a story. The invasive green iguana is everywhere down here, and pools are one of their favorite places to leave a mess. It is more than a nuisance, so it is worth knowing what the waste actually does and how to handle it.

Why they do it

Iguanas, like a lot of reptiles, prefer to relieve themselves in or near water. A pool is warm, open and safe, and in the Keys there is one in nearly every yard surrounded by the vegetation iguanas love. So they treat the shallow end, the steps and the pool deck as a bathroom. You are not doing anything wrong, and you are not alone.

Why it matters

• Health. Iguana droppings can carry salmonella. That is the main reason not to just leave it, or let a child scoop it, and to shock the water after a contamination rather than only skimming out the solids.
• Chemistry. Waste is an organic load. It consumes chlorine, feeds algae, and can turn a balanced pool cloudy or green faster than owners expect, especially in summer heat.
• Staining. Left sitting, droppings can stain plaster and surfaces.

What to do

1. Remove the solids promptly. Get them out of the water rather than letting them break down. Use a dedicated scoop and wash your hands well afterward.
2. Shock the pool. After a real contamination, raise your chlorine to shock levels to handle the bacteria and the organic load, then let it filter back down.
3. Test and rebalance. Confirm your chlorine and pH are back in range once the water clears.

Keeping them away

You will not eliminate iguanas in the Keys, but you can make your pool less inviting: do not feed them, keep dense vegetation and fruit away from the pool edge, and remove the basking spots they like. Some owners use motion deterrents with mixed results.

The honest bottom line is that iguanas come with the territory here. A pool that is serviced and shocked on a regular schedule shrugs off the occasional visitor. A neglected one turns it into a green, cloudy problem.