Pardon the American iguanas residing in sunny Florida for not feeling very patriotic on this Fourth of July.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which protects crocodiles and places strict guidelines on hunting deer, has put the scaly, yardlong-or-more creature also known as the green iguana on its hit list.

The commission issued a directive describing the green iguana as an invasive species, citing damage they wreak on seawalls, sidewalks and plants. The iguanas are protected only by anti-cruelty law, the commission adds.

Homeowners need not worry about permission to kill them.

"The (commission) encourages homeowners to kill green iguanas on their own property whenever possible," the directive says. "Iguanas can also be killed year-round and without a permit on 22 public lands in south Florida."

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Don't let the names fool you - the iguanas are not native to the United States of America and they aren't always green. The local population apparently began as escaped pets or otherwise managed to slip into the region from their native Central and South America, finding South Florida's man-made canals perfect for colonizing. North Florida is a bit too cold, however, so no issue there.

The green iguana actually comes in blue, brown to almost black. Some adults can take on an orange or pink coloration during certain times of the year. Hatchling and young green iguanas usually are bright green.

They get big. Male green iguanas can grow to over 5 feet in length and weigh up to 17 pounds. Females reach lengths similar to those of males, but usually do not exceed 7 pounds. They live about a decade in the wild and can last twice that long in captivity.

They get no love from Joseph "The Croc Doc" Wasilewski, a crocodile and iguana expert at the University of Florida.

"This is a serious problem from many standpoints," Wasilewski told ABC News. "They will destroy agriculture, undermine roads, cause electrical transformers to fail, they can transmit salmonella and can be a FAA safety hazard."

Still, Wasilewski says he feels badly about the apparent need to kill the green mini-monsters.

"It saddens me that all of these magnificent animals, along with multitudes of other invasive reptile species have to be put down," he said. "There is no alternative for the problems."