Iguanas don't chew through a good pool cage. They walk in through the gaps you can't see from your patio chair. Here's how I close every one of them.
I get called out to pool cages in Boca Raton and Delray Beach all summer for the same problem. A homeowner finds iguana droppings on the pool deck, a torn screen panel down low, or a four-foot lizard sunning itself on the top rail of the cage. They assume the iguana bit through the mesh. Almost never true. A healthy screen panel is tougher than people think. What lets iguanas in is the gap at the base, a loose spline that popped out of the frame, or a screen door that doesn't quite seal at the bottom.
I'm Nick, and I run SoFlo Iguana Pros out of Lake Worth. I've walked hundreds of pool cages across Palm Beach County and Broward, and the same handful of weak spots show up over and over. The good news is most of them are fixable in an afternoon with parts from any hardware store. Some of it you'll want a pro for. I'll be straight with you about which is which.
How do iguanas get into a screened pool cage?
Iguanas are climbers and they follow the path of least resistance. They don't decide to break in. They wander the perimeter looking for the easiest way through, and on most cages there's an obvious one.
Here's where I find them getting in, roughly in order of how common it is:
- The kickplate gap. Most cages have an aluminum kickplate along the bottom, but the screen above or below it works loose, or there's a half-inch gap where the frame meets the deck or pavers. A juvenile iguana squeezes through a space you'd swear was too small.
- Popped spline. The rubber cord that holds screen in the channel dries out in our sun and backs out of the groove. Once a corner of a panel is loose, an iguana pushes right past it. This is the single most common failure I see.
- The screen door at the bottom. Cage doors sag over time and the sweep at the base leaves a gap. Iguanas walk straight under it.
- Overhanging branches and cage-top access. If a ficus, oak, or seagrape limb reaches over the cage, iguanas drop onto the top and then find any hole in the roof screen. Same story with a tile roof line that meets the cage.
- Damaged low panels. A dog, a chair, a hurricane, a landscaper's blower blowing debris into the mesh over years. Any tear below knee height is an open door.
Sealing the cage gap by gap
Do this in daylight and move around the whole perimeter slowly. Iguanas are lazy about entry points, so once you close the easy ones they usually give up rather than work for it.
Start at the bottom, because that's where nine out of ten problems live. Walk the base of the cage and look for daylight. Any spot where you can see through to the yard is a spot an iguana can use. Push on the lower screen panels with your hand. If a panel flexes way out or a corner lifts, the spline is going.
- Re-spline loose panels. Pull the old spline out with a screwdriver, lay the screen back in the channel, and roll new spline in with a $6 spline roller. Standard sizes are 0.140 or 0.160 inch. If you're not sure, bring a piece to the store.
- Close the kickplate gap. Screw an aluminum L-channel or a strip of hardware cloth along the base where the frame meets the deck. I like 1/2-inch galvanized hardware cloth for this because iguanas can't push through it the way they can with soft screen.
- Fix the door sweep. Add a rubber or brush sweep to the bottom of the cage door so it seals against the threshold. Cheap and it kills a very common entry point.
- Patch tears you can reach. Small holes take a screen patch kit. Anything bigger than your hand, or a whole panel, is worth having done properly so it lasts.
- Upgrade the lower two feet to a heavier mesh. On cages backing up to a canal or lake, I'll swap the bottom row of panels to pet-grade or no-see-um screen, which is denser and takes more abuse.
Do screen guards actually stop iguanas?
Yes, when they're used in the right place. A screen guard, sometimes called a kickplate guard or screen protector, is a solid or heavy-mesh panel that runs along the bottom two to three feet of the cage. That lower band takes almost all the abuse from iguanas, dogs, and yard debris. Putting a rigid barrier there means an iguana can't push a soft panel out of the way, and it can't tear through.
I recommend guards most for the side of the cage facing water. If your deck sits on a canal in Fort Lauderdale or a lake in west Boca, that's the direction iguanas come from, and that's the run of screen worth armoring. On the far side of the cage away from the water, standard screen kept in good repair is usually enough.
Guards won't help you if the problem is up top. A cage with branches hanging over it or holes in the roof screen needs those addressed first, or the iguanas just come in from above and the fancy kickplate does nothing.
Cut off the climb routes around the cage
Sealing the cage is half the job. The other half is making your yard less of a highway. Iguanas travel along seawalls, fence lines, and tree canopy, and if you cut those routes they're less likely to end up at your cage in the first place.
- Trim any branch that reaches over or within a few feet of the cage. Overhanging limbs are how iguanas get onto the roof screen. This one change fixes a lot of cases by itself.
- Clear the base of the cage. Iguanas like cover. Mulch piles, dense plantings, and stacked pots against the frame give them a staging spot and hide the gap they're using.
- Watch the seawall and dock. Along the Intracoastal and the canals, iguanas bask on seawalls and move up into yards from there. You can't reshape the seawall, but you can keep the run from the water to the cage open and unwelcoming.
- Knock down burrows near the deck. A burrow at the base of the cage or under the pool deck means an iguana already treats your yard as home. Those need filling, and sometimes trapping, before sealing will hold.
When to DIY and when to call
If you've got a popped spline, a small tear, or a door that won't seal, handle it yourself. Those are honest weekend jobs and you'll save money doing them. A spline roller, a patch kit, and a door sweep will solve a real share of the calls I get, and I'd rather tell you that than sell you something you don't need.
Call a pro when the iguanas are already living on your property, when there's a burrow under the deck, or when a full panel or the cage roof is compromised. Sealing a cage while an iguana is trapped inside it, or while a female is nesting under your pavers, just moves the problem around. In those cases you deal with the animals first, then close the cage so they can't come back.
That's how I work a property. I do a free walk of the cage and the yard, point out every gap I find, and tell you which ones you can knock out yourself and which ones are worth having me handle. If there are iguanas on site, single removal visits start at $125, and for homes on the water that keep getting new ones, monthly control runs from $99 a month so you're not fighting the same battle every summer. You can reach me at (561) 735-1975.
Questions we hear
How do iguanas get into a screened pool cage?
Almost always through a gap, not by chewing. The usual culprits are a popped spline where the screen has come loose from the frame, a gap at the kickplate along the base, a sagging screen door that doesn't seal at the bottom, or a tear in a low panel. Iguanas also drop onto the cage roof from overhanging branches and slip through holes in the top screen.
Will screen guards stop iguanas?
In the right spot, yes. A screen guard or kickplate along the bottom two to three feet of the cage puts a rigid barrier where iguanas push and tear, so they can't force their way through soft screen. Guards work best on the side of the cage facing a canal or lake. They won't help if iguanas are getting in from the top, so fix the roof screen and overhanging branches first.
Can an iguana bite through pool screen?
A healthy panel is tougher than people expect, and outright chewing is rare. What usually looks like a bite-through is a spot where the spline let go or the screen was already torn or worn thin, and the iguana just pushed through the weak point. Keep the mesh in good repair and you close off most of that.
How much does it cost to iguana-proof a pool cage?
The DIY parts are cheap. A spline roller, new spline, a door sweep, and a patch kit run well under $50 and handle the common problems. If you want a pro to seal it, remove iguanas, or replace panels, single removal visits start at $125 and monthly control for waterfront homes runs from $99 a month. I do a free property walk first so you know exactly what you're paying for.
How do I keep iguanas off a screened lanai near a canal?
Waterfront lanais take the most pressure because iguanas travel up from seawalls and canals. Armor the lower panels on the water-facing side with a screen guard or heavier mesh, seal the kickplate gap, add a door sweep, and trim any branches reaching over the cage. If iguanas are already nesting or burrowing near the deck, deal with the animals first, then seal.
Do I need to remove iguanas before sealing the cage?
If any are living in or under the cage, yes. Sealing a cage with an iguana trapped inside, or with a female nesting under your pavers, just traps the problem instead of solving it. Remove the animals and knock down any burrows first, then close every gap so new ones can't get in.
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