The MULLET RAPPER What’s Happening in the Everglades & 10,000 Islands!
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News, Stories, Classifieds & Tide Table
JULY 11, 2020 - JULY 24, 2020 © 2020, K Bee Marketing, Inc.
P. O. Box 134, Everglades City, FL, 34139
Volume XII
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Issue # 368
Non-Native Iguanas Have Been Spotted in Everglades City
Back to School Tax Free Days August 2-9
WHAT IS TAX-FREE? Clothing, footwear, and certain accessories selling for $60 or less per item Certain school supplies selling for $15 or less per item. Included items: pens, pencils, erasers, crayons, notebooks, notebook filler paper, legal pads, binders, lunch boxes, construction paper, markers, folders, poster board, composition books, poster paper, scissors, cellophane tape, glue, paste, rulers, computer disks, protractors, compasses, and calculators Miscellaneous items that are NOT included: printer paper, white-out type products, masking tape The first $1,000 of the sales price of personal computers or personal computer -related accessories purchased for noncommercial home or personal use. For the complete list go to: https://visitevergladescity.com/tax-free/ RAPPER TABLE OF CONTENTS Calendar
p. 2
Poetry Street/ Tide Table
p. 6
Living Gulf Coast
p. 3
Tax Guy
P. 6
Capt. Merritt
P. 4
Manatees
p.7
Business News
p. 4
Covid19
p. 5
Crossword/ Recipe Classifieds/ Biz Info
FEATURE: FISHING REPORT, P. 4
p.7 p.8
These Non-Native Reptiles Arrive Here in Multiple Ways By Kathy Brock Last week Ken Dampier told me he spotted a large greyish iguana in his back yard. When he summoned his son Trenton to come and see it with him, it took off towards a neighbor’s house. This is the second person who has mentioned the large reptiles to me. When we sold our home in Hollywood (where I was born and raised), we had over 20 of the reptiles living on our property. The greyish iguanas are Mexican Spiny Tailed Iguanas. The large green with yellow markings iguanas are called green iguanas. Both are considered invasive species. On the east coast, Mexican Spiny Tails are known to eat herbs, vegetables, fruits, and flowering plants. The ones on property primarily munched on fruit that dropped from our fruiting trees and hibiscus flowers. Here, they will not find as much fruit...and would seek out and locate flowering plants, herbs and grasses. How do they get here? Many hitch a ride in plants, boats and cars they occasionally climb into to hide. The Mexican Spiny Tails prefer a burrow and they dig! We had large dens dug under our foundation and around any cement slabs where they spent the majority of the day venturing out only to sun or to eat. One of the easiest ways to bring one in accidentally is in a potted plant. Be aware that these reptiles mate in the late winter and lay their eggs in the soil. Many will lay the eggs in the soil of potted plants. In spring the little ones emerge green and yellow. In the beginning, they eat bugs, worms and other types of protein. As they grow, they become primarily vegetarian. They are not aggressive to humans, however they will defend themselves if cornered. Typically they will try to run away to avoid any confrontation. Iguanas are prolific. If a mating pair got together here it would only take a few years for the entire island to be inundated with them. Iguanas are currently on Marco Island and in Naples. The east coast has so many that you see them everyday along the roadside, on canal banks and in yards. The Mexican Spiny Tailed iguana is not a water lover but they can swim. The green iguana loves the water (fresh) and is found in almost any location with a pond or along the canals. The good news is that they do not eat our native reptile species...the bad news is they will eat your plants and flowers and once they find something they like, they will eat until it is gone. Photos by Kathy Brock: Top: Male Green Iguana, Bottom: Female Mexican Spiny Tailed Iguana
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