A $79 special sounds great until you understand what it leaves behind. Here's what the cheapest quote usually buys — and what it doesn't.
There's always a cheaper quote. Someone with a truck and a trap will come grab the iguanas off your dock for less than a real clear-out costs, and if that's genuinely all you need — a single passer-by, nothing settled — that's fine. The trouble is when a rock-bottom price gets sold as a solution for a property that actually has a colony in the bank.
I'm not here to knock affordable work; our own single visits start from $125, which isn't a fortune. I'm here to explain what the very cheapest quotes leave out, so you can tell whether you're saving money or just deferring the bill.
What the cheap quote usually includes
A bargain iguana visit is almost always a 'catch the visible ones' job. That's real work and it's not worthless — the deck looks better that afternoon. Here's the honest scope of it.
- Grabbing or trapping the iguanas that are out and easy to reach that day.
- Maybe hauling them off. Maybe.
- A quick in-and-out with no property walk and no written scope.
What it leaves behind
The problem is everything the cheap visit doesn't touch, which is most of what actually keeps a property occupied.
- The burrows in the bank — still there, still hollowing out your seawall.
- The eggs incubating from the spring, ready to hatch a fresh crop.
- The climb routes up the pilings and trees that funnel new animals in from the waterline.
- Any insurance coverage if the low bid came from someone working uninsured.
Why cheap often costs more
Take the visible five for $79 and the yard looks solved for a week or two. Then it refills from the burrows and climb routes nobody addressed, and you pay again — and again — while the seawall keeps eroding underneath the whole time. Add it up over a season and the string of cheap visits costs more than one proper clear-out would have, plus you're closer to a structural repair.
That's the real math on cheap iguana removal: it's rarely the cheapest thing once you count the repeats and the damage it doesn't stop.
The honest middle ground
You don't have to overpay to do it right. A free property walk tells us — and you — whether this is genuinely a one-visit job or something that needs the burrow and climb-route work to actually hold. If it's the former, great, a single visit from $125 and you're done. If it's the latter, a monitored program from $99 a month usually beats paying for the same cheap grab five times. See it all on /pricing.
Questions we hear
Is a cheap one-time removal ever the right call?
Yes — if you truly have a single passer-by and nothing settled in the bank, a quick removal is all you need and there's no reason to overpay. The free property walk is how you find out which situation you're in. The mistake is buying a cheap grab for a property that actually has a resident colony.
Why is your price higher than the $79 guy?
Because a clear-out from $125 addresses the burrows, eggs, and climb routes that refill the yard, and it's done by an insured, licensed crew that puts the scope in writing. Market rates vary, and we're not always the lowest number — but a cheap grab you have to repeat isn't actually cheaper.
Services in this guide
