A historic site on Fort Myers Beach is under siege — not by people, but by invasive iguanas. And the town has hired a local expert to fight back.
Seth Brattain, owner of Sleuth Reptiles, has signed a contract with the town to trap and remove invasive lizards from the Mound House, a cultural and archaeological landmark dating back nearly 2,000 years.
“In just four days, we’ve removed 68 iguanas,” Brattain said. “We also removed 17 agamas — another invasive lizard.”
The lizards have been burrowing under the site’s ancient shell mound, which experts say is causing structural damage and erosion.
“We saw the iguanas tampering with the scene of history,” said Adam Knight, manager of the Mound House Museum on Fort Myers Beach. “They’ve dug multiple burrows around the site, threatening something that has stood for millennia.”
The porous nature of the mound makes it especially vulnerable to burrowing, which creates unstable ground conditions, Knight added.
Brattain and his team use a combination of trapping and precision removal techniques, including air rifles, to control the population.
“We can either trap them using various foods as bait,” Brattain said. “But the best way to get rid of them is to walk around with an air rifle and pick them out of the trees.”
The town said the removal effort is also aimed at protecting seawalls and infrastructure throughout Fort Myers Beach.
Brattain hopes to expand his services to more Gulf Coast communities.
“It’s just overrun with iguanas. Cape Coral is even worse,” he said. “If you take a boat down any of the canals, iguanas are lying everywhere.”
Town officials said they are committed to protecting the island’s historic and natural resources — and that removing the lizards is a necessary step in doing so.
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