JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It’s National Invasive Species Awareness Week, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is highlighting an animal that’s causing major erosion to the banks of ditches, lakes, and other water bodies. Officials say the solution could lie in your kitchen.
Action News Jax spoke with a local critter control expert, who says they’re causing problems all over Duval County.
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That rodent is called a Nutria, which some refer to as a “water rat.” The large, semi-aquatic rodents are considered an invasive species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says these invasive pests were brought here for their fur and began to escape captivity back in the 1940s.
“They are so common in this area you can go to any retention pond in this area and you’re going to at least find one,” said the owner of Truly Nolen Pest Control and rodent expert Kevin Dissmore.
Dissmore said that Duval County has a high number of Nutrias living and breeding in our retention ponds. Jacksonville has the highest concentration of the animal across Florida, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
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Dissmore took us on a tour of a pond in the area, where evidence of the animals was left behind.
“Right up the slide here; they leave an imprint in the area that they’re coming in and out, the exact spot the nut’ came out,” Dissmore said.
Dissmore and his daughter even spotted Nutrias in their own retention pond.
“I’ll say we have about 4 to 10 in here.”
The problem with Nutrias is that they pose a significant threat to marshland.
“So, they’re destroying the vegetation that other animals rely on, but then it also destroys the landscape, and you’ve got erosion happening at a really high rate with these guys; they’re causing the erosion,” According to Dissmore.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants you to know: this furry rodent is edible. The federal agency even posted on X that Nutria meat is comparable to a rabbit.
“I would not be opposed to eating a Nutria,” Dissmore said.
However, not everyone is eager to add them to their menu.
“There’s a lot of animals I want to eat, a lot of people eat, but not me,” said one local, Emmanuel.
“That looks like an animal I could have at home as a pet,” said another man, Christopher.
Dissmore believes trapping them is not enough.
“They have to be un-alived, and that’s the only way to protect our environment.”
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According to the FWC, the Gun and Light at Night Permit authorizes individuals to legally hunt nutria overnight after notifying the FWC. Still, it must be on the hunter’s own land or with the land owner’s permission. The animal must also be on land or near crops that it is actively harming.
The FWC’s fur-bearer trapping regulations allow statewide nutria trapping year-round with no bag limits.
The nutria is just one animal that environmental officials are spotlighting in honor of National Invasive Species Awareness Week, which ends Friday.
Several invasive species are hunted in the state with proper approval.
Florida’s most famous pests are arguably the Burmese python and the green iguana, but they’re mostly seen in southern parts of the state.
You’re encouraged to report nutria sightings to FWC using the free IveGot1 mobile app or by reporting it online here.
Related: Officials warn of Florida invasive pythons spreading northward due to climate change
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