badbobby Loc: texas

A team of scientists in Florida are on a three-month, $63,000 iguana-bashing spree.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission contracted the 15-member crew from the University of Florida to develop a set of best practices for killing the big lizards, according to a March 9 report in the Sun-Sentinel. So far, bashing their heads in seems to be a winning method.

Well-equipped team members sometimes use a captive bolt gun to destroy the critters' brains. (Picture a mobile version of the device often used to kill cows in slaughterhouses.) But, the Sun-Sentinel reported, bashing their heads against the sides of solid objects, like trucks or boats, works just as well. [Iguana Facts]

Given that the team is hoping their results will offer practical advice to homeowners, cracking some lizard skull against whatever hard object is handy might be a bit more practical than methods requiring bolt guns.

Iguanas, native to South America, are an invasive species in Florida, where they likely arrived via the pet trade, according to invasive iguana researchers. They feed on local plants and wildlife, the Sun-Sentinel reported, and may indirectly contribute to erosion. They also do weird things like freeze and fall out of trees when it gets too cold.

Head bashing may be "gruesome," the researchers told the Sun-Sentinel, but it's also the most humane of the effective methods they've come up with. Simply chopping the lizards' heads off turns out to be less humane, and the traps the team set have thus far only captured raccoons. Working in teams of two, sneaking up on the lizards in the dead of night and bashing 'em seems to be the best method.

Not all Floridians seem thrilled with the project, which has reportedly killed 249 of the lizards so far. The Sun-Sentinel quoted a local veterinarian who suggested sedating and euthanizing the iguanas, and "Gary Fishman, a Boynton Beach resident, [who] says he’s killed more than 100 iguanas with a pellet gun to protect his landscaping," who told the Sun-Sentinel that the iguana "needs to be eliminated," but that he's a bit uncomfortable with the whole head-bashing thing.

boatbob2

Heck,as long as youre going to worry about the iguanas,how bout going to the glades,and kill the snakes too...

badbobby Loc: texas

scared a snakes

archie bunker Loc: Texas

I think the guy with the pellet gun might be on to something.

badbobby Loc: texas

what?

archie bunker Loc: Texas

Well, that sounds a whole lot easier than bashing their heads.

badbobby Loc: texas

if you're a good shot
it oughta work

Redd Loc: SWFlorida

I grew up in Panama and would eat Iguana whenever I could.. Very, very good.

no propaganda please Loc: moon orbiting the third rock from the sun

I have heard that iguanas tails are god eating. Haven't tried it, but you never know. The best way to get rid of them would be to put out rumors that they have a great abilty to make you feel stoned. The stoner would kill them for the drug affect.

PoppaGringo Loc: Muslim City, Mexifornia, B.R.

What version of snake, the slithering or the two-legged type?

badbobby Loc: texas

lets hope it's the slitherers
speakin of slithering
Slat comes to mind

pafret Loc: Northeast

If you are not a good shot it is a great way to get practice and perfect your aim. I cleared all of the squirrels which were invading my attic with a break barrell Gamo Varmint .177 pellet gun. Highly accurate. I practice on a 1 gallon can which was painted bright yellow and suspended from a tree branch at about head height. It is 250 feet away and makes a nice challenge for free arm, standing shooting. The Varmint has a muzzle velocity of 1250 fps and will put a pellet through and through both walls of the can at that distance.

PoppaGringo Loc: Muslim City, Mexifornia, B.R.

Marines are very good at 'slithering' when stalking an enemy, so be very careful.

badbobby Loc: texas

I'm a semi-friend

PoppaGringo Loc: Muslim City, Mexifornia, B.R.

Of course, and that makes you worry free.