Bunker sand is ideal digging
Bunker sand is loose, well-drained, warm, and often sits right beside a lake — a near-perfect combination for a digging, nesting iguana. On the many golf-course communities across Palm Beach County, iguanas excavate the faces and edges of bunkers, especially during spring nesting, when a female wants soft, warm substrate to lay in.
The digging collapses the crisp shaping crews work to maintain, mixes soil into clean sand, and leaves cave-ins and spoil across the bunker. Grounds crews end up re-raking, re-edging, and re-shaping the same bunkers repeatedly through the season.
The lake banks are the real source
The lake banks between and beside holes are the other half of the problem. That's where the iguanas den and stage before moving to the bunkers, so the visible bunker damage is really a downstream symptom of an established population living at the water's edge.
Droppings compound the nuisance — scattered across greens, tees, cart paths, and clubhouse areas — which is both a playability and a sanitation complaint for members.
What crews contend with
- Collapsed and cratered bunker faces, especially in nesting season
- Soil mixed into clean bunker sand, ruining consistency
- Nesting burrows dug into bunker edges and adjacent slopes
- Droppings on greens, tees, cart paths, and around the clubhouse
Re-edging is a symptom, not a fix
Constantly re-raking and re-edging treats the appearance while the cause keeps generating new damage. Managing the iguanas along the adjacent lake banks — removing the resident animals and collapsing the shoreline burrows — is what reduces how often crews have to rebuild the bunker faces and how much droppings foul play surfaces.
Common questions
Why do iguanas dig in bunkers?
Bunker sand is soft, warm, and easy to excavate, which makes it attractive for both denning and nesting, so bunkers sitting beside lakes get hit hardest — especially in spring when females are looking for nesting substrate.
Can a course keep bunkers intact without removal?
Constant re-edging only treats the symptom. Managing the iguanas along the adjacent lake banks is what reduces how often crews have to rebuild bunker faces, because the bunker digging is really an extension of the shoreline population.
Are the droppings on greens a health issue?
Iguana droppings can carry salmonella, so scattered waste on greens, tees, and cart paths is a sanitation concern for members and staff, not just a playability nuisance — another reason to manage the source population.
