This article discusses how to get rid of lizards around your house once and for all.
Among all known household pests, lizards are perhaps the least harmful. Unless they’re threatened, they almost never bite. Plus, they’re officially classified as non-venomous and rarely carry life-threatening diseases.
Even so, lizards aren’t the most welcome house guests. Their sight alone is enough to bring shudders down your spine!
Luckily, lizard infestations are relatively easy to take care of. There are many ways to get rid of lizards in your home, from using eggshells to DIY sprays and lizard traps.
Why Do I Have Lizards in My Home
Worldwide, there are currently over 4,000 known lizard species. Homeowners usually encounter the Hemidactylus frenatus or the common house gecko, a species that live in both urban and suburban areas.
Common house geckos and most lizards tend to be attracted to the following:
- Insects
- Water sources (leaky pipe, standing water, garden ponds)
- Exposed fruit and vegetable
- Warm areas
- Hidden, dark corners
If you notice a sudden increase of lizards in your home, it’s likely that you’re housing a ton of insects. Insects, after all, are their biggest food source! Also, lizards love the sweet scent of almost-rotting fruits and vegetables.
The easiest way to prevent lizards from entering your home is to tightly lock your windows and doors, as well as removing their food sources. You might also want to decrease your home’s room temperature to discourage them from entering your home.
How Do I Get Rid of Lizards in My Home
Here are some of the best ways to eliminate lizards from your home:
1. Chop Up Some Garlic
Like most reptiles, lizards despise the smell of garlic. Its pungent scent is enough to leave them scurrying away, preventing them from returning to the corner they used to inhabit.
Cut several cloves of garlic and place them around areas they’re most active in. You can also hang them around the entry points of your home, like the windows and doors. Leave the cloves for about a day or two.
Eventually, the lizards will have no choice but to leave your “stinky” garlic-infested home.
2. Deter Them With Naphthalene Balls
Naphthalene balls, also known as mothballs, are a type of chemical pesticide and deodorant. Usually, naphthalene balls are placed in or around clothing, cabinets, and toilets to prevent the growth of mold, moth larvae, and silverfish. They also deter different kinds of household pests, including rodents, insects, and—you guessed it—lizards!
Even to humans, naphthalene balls are quite pungent. Lizards have chemically sensitive organs that convert smells to taste, which is why they can’t tolerate the strong scent of chemically enhanced products.
Similar to the garlic method, simply place them around the lizard-infected area. Keep in mind that naphthalene balls are toxic to both animals and humans, and shouldn’t be placed in areas where young children and pets are around. Exercise utmost caution when using this product!
3. Coffee Death Balls
Coffee powder mixed with tobacco powder creates a potent death-ball that instantly kills lizards. Roll the mixture into small balls and stick them on matchsticks and toothpicks. Then, place them around the house—particularly behind cupboards, shelves, and similar low-light areas lizards love hiding in.
If you’d rather deter than kill, forgo the tobacco powder and instead use freshly used grounds or coffee powder. Place it in a small bowl and watch them crawl far away from the smell!
4. Tabasco Sauce
A water-based Tabasco sauce spray is a potent but non-deadly alternative to coffee-tabasco balls.
Mix two to three tablespoons of Tabasco sauce with about a quarter of a cup of water. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle and shake well. Spray said mixture around your house, particularly in cabinets, wall corners, and entryways.
5. Shock Them With Cold Water
Lizards are cold-blooded creatures, and therefore sensitive to cold temperatures. When you see a lizard crawling around your walls and floors, splash it with ice-cold water.
The cold will immediately immobilize them, giving you enough time to either kill or carefully collect it and throw it out of your house.
If the lizard is in an area you can’t reach, grab a water bottle and spray it using the highest jet setting.
6. Use Electric Repellents
Ultrasonic electric repellents emit high-frequency sounds that insects, rodents, and lizards find intolerable, thus chasing them away. These sounds are said to cause a physiological response that disorients and distresses most household pests, forcing them to leave the general vicinity and never come back.
It’s important to note that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has yet to confirm the effectiveness of ultrasonic electric repellents, as there’s little to no scientific evidence to back up these claims.
Even so, thousands of homeowners say that these devices have significantly decreased the number of pests they have in their homes, so it’s safe to say that these repellents more or less work.
When buying an ultrasonic repellent, make sure it has a frequency range of 25kHz-60kHz to guarantee its success.
7. Egg Shells to the Rescue
Lizards hate the smell of eggs, a great advantage to us homeowners! The next time you crack an egg, keep the shells and place them around the house, particularly near doors and windows. The eggy aroma will throw them off, deterring them from entering your home.
For hygienic purposes, always throw away the eggshells the very next day to prevent mold and insect infestations.
8. Lizard Repellents Work Too
One of the easiest ways to repel lizards is with the use of commercial lizard repellents. These repellents are quite similar to what exterminators use in severe infestations.
According to manufacturers, lizard repellents “create a barrier that will keep lizards away for good”.
Most of them are non-toxic and made with natural ingredients, meaning it’s safe to use around pets and children. Spray the repellent in windows, walkways, and wall corners every two weeks until your lizard problem goes away.
9. Trick Them With Bird Feathers
Lizards are deathly afraid of birds. After all, they’re their natural predators! Take advantage of this by hanging several bird feathers around your house, creating the illusion that it’s filled with lizard-eating birds. Once they realize that your house is no longer safe, they’ll scurry away and search for a different home to live in.
10. Create a DIY Pepper Spray
Professional exterminators believe that pepper triggers an allergic reaction in lizards, which is why they freak out and run away when their reptilian noses detect the spicy scent.
Create a do-it-yourself pepper spray by mixing powdered pepper with water and pouring it into a spray gun.
Spritz the mixture in your kitchen racks, inside and behind cabinets, and under appliances. Don’t forget your windows and doors, too! The smell of pepper should drive away the lizards living in your home and prevent more from coming in.
11. If All Else Fails, Use Lizard Traps
Nothing beats the age-old method of lizard traps. Sticky traps work great for small lizards; simply place the trap near places lizards most frequently appear and watch for them to take the bait. Once they do, you can safely get rid of them by throwing them out of the house.
Conclusion
There are multiple ways to get rid of lizards in your home, from using eggshells to DIY sprays and lizard traps. If you can’t seem to keep the lizard population in your house, it’s always best to call an exterminator as this might be a sign of a bigger, non-lizard infestation. Good luck!
