Iguanas are active year-round here, but the pressure shifts by month — nesting in spring, hatchlings in summer, cold-snap risk in winter. Here's the calendar.
There's a myth that iguanas have an off-season in South Florida. They don't, really — the warm climate keeps them active most of the year. But the pressure does shift month to month, and knowing the calendar tells you when to act for the most leverage. Here's how the iguana year actually runs across Palm Beach County.
The single most useful thing on this calendar is the nesting window in spring. Almost everything else is easier or harder depending on whether you got ahead of it, so if you take one thing from this, take that.
Winter (December–February): cold-snap risk, low visible activity
Winter is the one stretch the climate pushes back. Iguanas slow down in the cool weather, and a strong cold front — temperatures into roughly the mid-40s and below overnight — can cold-stun them out of the trees. You'll see fewer of them, and after a hard front you may see them on the ground, sluggish or apparently dead.
The trap here is a false sense of security. A quiet January bank looks solved, so the property walk gets put off — and then spring arrives with fresh burrows and nobody having done a thing. Winter is actually a smart time for a property assessment, while numbers are naturally down and the banks are exposed.
Spring (March–May): nesting — the leverage point
Spring is the season that decides your summer. Females dig nesting burrows into canal banks, seawall backfill, and beds against foundations and lay their clutches — roughly 20 to 70 eggs each. What you do in these weeks determines whether summer is quiet or overrun.
Clearing resident iguanas and collapsing nesting burrows before the eggs hatch stops the population spike before it starts. Wait, and you're not removing a handful of adults anymore — you're chasing dozens of fast, wary juveniles across the property later.
- Fresh diggings and 'practice' holes as females test nesting spots.
- Females lingering on the bank in the days around laying.
- The best window all year to get ahead of the population.
Summer (June–August): hatchlings and peak activity
Summer is peak visible activity — full warmth, full feeding, and the spring clutches hatching out. Small green hatchlings appear in the same banks the adults used and den there. Heavy summer rains also soften the soil for digging and bring the plants they graze roaring back.
If you got ahead of it in spring, summer is manageable. If you didn't, this is the bigger job — heavier trapping and repeated visits to catch the young as they move and grow, plus the burrow and climb-route work so next spring doesn't repeat the cycle.
Fall (September–November): hurricane prep and a second window
Fall is hurricane season's back half and a good second window before winter. Storm surge and heavy rain can wash out banks and expose or open burrows, so a post-storm walk of the seawall and canal edge is worth doing. Activity is still high in the warmth, but the year's breeding surge has largely played out.
This is a sensible time to harden the property before winter — re-pack diggings, confirm wraps are snug, and knock the population back so you start the next spring from a lower baseline rather than a full one.
Questions we hear
Do iguanas have an off-season in South Florida?
Not really — the warm climate keeps them active most of the year. The pressure shifts by month rather than stopping: nesting in spring, hatchlings and peak activity in summer, and cold-snap risk in winter. There's no month you can safely ignore a waterfront bank.
When is the best time to act?
Before spring nesting, if you can. Clearing resident adults and collapsing burrows before the clutches hatch stops the summer spike before it starts, which is a much smaller job than chasing hatchlings later. Winter is a good time for the assessment while numbers are naturally down.
What should I do after a cold snap?
Don't assume it solved the problem — a freeze lowers the count for a season, but survivors breed it back by summer. Use the quiet window for a property walk while the banks are exposed, and handle any carcasses with gloves, since droppings and dead iguanas can carry salmonella.
Services in this guide
