Do you find yourself getting annoyed by lizards everywhere? And you wonder how to get rid of Lizards from your home naturally without harming them? In this article, I will show you simple and sure ways to quickly get rid of lizards without killing them. So you won’t have to worry about stepping on them when you’re in your house or your yard.
Lizards are one of the many creatures that are living around our homes. And because lizards are considered to be an invasive species, you’ll often find them scurrying around the house, looking for a warm place to live. And that’s what makes them so hard to get rid of.
Lizards are fast, and they hide well, so people often find it difficult to get rid of them. There are lots of tricks on how to get rid of lizards. But some of the methods can be very harsh and dangerous. If you don’t want to hurt them but don’t know how to get rid of lizards, you could cause more harm to the lizards than good.
If you want to learn methods of getting rid of lizards that work even if you are out camping, and there are hundreds of them lying around, then read on.
In this article
Why Do Lizards Hang Around Your House?
To solve this puzzle, you first need to know what attracts lizards to your house or yard.
Lizards are one of the many creatures that are living around our homes. And because lizards are considered to be an invasive species, you’ll often find them scurrying around the house, looking for basic needs, i.e., a warm place to live, water, food, and security from predators. And that’s what makes them so hard to get rid of.
Now we are equipped with the knowledge that lizards come to our houses and yards because they offer something they want. Getting rid of most of these basic lizard needs will certainly mean the lizards will relocate to other more conducive places. This is the primary method of how to get rid of lizards without killing them.
Unfortunately, removing these basic lizard needs is not straightforward. For instance, talking about food, what do lizards eat? Many people may not have a clue. Below we will discuss each of these four Lizard basic needs to help you better identify them and take action.
1. What Do Common Lizards Eat?
Lizards hunt their prey in the wild. Their food varies based on their environment and what they can find. Some prey items include, but aren’t limited to, grasshoppers, crickets, moths, ants, and other small insects.
At this point, it is critical to investigate what attracts these bugs that lizards chase to your home or yard.
Many insects are drawn to light. Bright light from your porch or windows at night will attract not less than a five-course bug buffet for the lizards.
It has been proven that you can stop bugs from entering your home by turning off your porch light. Darkness will draw bugs away from your porch because they don’t like the darkness. The same principle applies to any insect or other pests that might be around your home.
Fewer bugs mean less food to attraction to lizards, and thus lizards will head elsewhere in search of this basic need- food.
As much as you want lizards out of your yard and home, remember they can play a valuable role. Lizards will eat most of the garden pests or house plants pests and thus help to keep the plants healthy.
Besides controlling insects in your home, you can get rid of lizards by keeping edible items in airtight containers. Items like pet food and birdseed are known to attract Lizards.
2. Do Lizards Need Water To Survive?
Yes. Certainly, lizards need water as a basic need for survival.
However, the debatable part is; How much water do lizards need?
Typically, water is not such a pressing need for lizards that they will only find it in your home. Sometimes mist and dew on vegetation is enough water supply to the wild lizards.
If you stay in a dry area, your home may be the only saving heaven for the lizards in terms of water supply.
Water in a potted plant’s vase or a pet’s watering dish at home, the condensed water on a cooler, droplets from a hose tap or irrigation system, e.t.c will certainly attract a lizard’s attention.
In this case, withdraw or limit water availability if you note the lizards are attracted by it.
3. What do lizards do when it’s cold outside?
Cold-blooded or ectothermic animals like lizards rely entirely on their environment for body temperature regulation and do not have any internal heat-generating mechanisms.
When lizards are cold, they can burrow under leaves, dig a hole in the soil, or even come into your house as they seek a warm place to live.
This means; your controlled home temperature, heating, or dryer vents extensions outside your home, and any heat emitting device in your yard can attract and become a comfortable basking spot for lizards.
Therefore you must be keen and create barriers to keep the lizards away.
4. How Do Lizards Survive Danger?
Lizards appear to be prey for a wide variety of animals, including snakes, some birds, and even larger lizards.
Lizards can’t outrun their predators when it comes to self-defense. For this reason, they will have to live in a safe place to survive dangerous situations. Unfortunately, that safe place might be your home.
To manage lizard invasion, reduce available potential hiding spaces for the lizards;
- Keep your house or yard clear of clutter,
- Gardening equipment, boxes, and crates should be kept off the ground, and
- Have your bushes neatly trimmed.
However, this method will not entirely get rid of the lizards. It will certainly help to reduce their numbers.
If you already have Lizards in your home, we will discuss various methods on how to get rid of lizards without killing them.
How To Get Rid of Lizards From Home Naturally?
Are Lizards dangerous?
No. The Majority of lizard bites are harmless. The little lizards are no match for a human. We pose more danger to them than they do to us.
While it’s true that they aren’t dangerous, it is important to keep in mind that lizards do leave behind feces and urine. This can be a problem since droppings from a lizard can contain salmonella and other bacteria. Read more about the chances of getting Salmonella from reptiles here.
As such, cleaning the area where you often find them regularly can help prevent any health concerns.
You will need creativity and patience to remove Lizards from home naturally without killing them. You will also need to learn what makes lizards uncomfortable yet does not hurt them. Here are the top preferred methods.
Grab The Lizard
Grabbing a lizard is one of the ways to catch a lizard without a trap.
The best time to use this method is when the lizard movements have slowed down during low temperatures. You will need to be patient, wait until you find the lizard, and slowly approach it. Try not to grab it as soon as you see it, but rather try to make sure it does not become startled and try to bite.
It’s advisable to scoop the lizard up by its body rather than its tail. The lizards can drop their tails to avoid predators or escape from danger. To avoid injuring or killing the lizard, be careful not to hold the lizard too hard.
Here are the best safety practices when catching a lizard;
- Catch the lizard as soon as you notice their presence. You will help avert potential disease transmission to your pets and family members.
- Always use gloves when catching the lizard and wash any clothes that may have come into contact with the lizard.
- Approach the lizards from the side to avoid or limit the chances of you holding them by the tail.
- Ensure you support their full body weight. This can be with one hand or both of your hands, depending on the size of the lizard involved.
- Before releasing the lizards to the wild, ensure it is lawful. Confirm this from your local laws or department of environmental protection.
Use a Noose to get rid of lizards.
The noose method means to slip a noose of dental floss or fishing line over a lizard’s head and tie it off. It takes a good level of patience and skill, but it’s easy to noose a lizard and release it into the wild once you get the hang of it.
Take precautions, especially when you have no prior experience using a noose. Lizards’ bodies are delicate, and a small accidental application of too much force may kill or seriously hurt them.
Take the loop slightly in front of the lizard to enter it. Pull up, tighten the slipknot and catch the lizard when its neck is within the loop. However, once the lizard has been caught in the loop, the slipknot must be removed as soon as possible. The lizard may be choked or hurt by the noose if left in place longer than necessary.
Use a Box to Catch The Lizard.
Boxing a lizard can be challenging because it is difficult to know how to capture it without injuring it.
This method is best applicable to catching small lizards. Cover the lizard with an open inverted box. Patiently and gently slip a piece of paper under the box to trap the lizard.
Now that the lizard is in a box, you can gently turn it to an upright position for ease of transportation away.
How can I get rid of lizards permanently at home?
After driving the lizard out of your home, seeking a more permanent solution is important. A good solution will ensure you don’t have to catch to get rid of lizards repeatedly. Use lizard repellent.
You will need to learn home remedy that keeps lizards away and what smell lizards hate.
Use Hot Pepper Sauce To Repel and Get Rid of Lizards
To keep the lizards at bay, mix a few tablespoons of hot sauce or other hot peppers with a pint of warm water. These items emit a strong smell that lizards will hate to approach. Spay or apply this along the lizards’ access routes like windows, doors, and around your home.
Use Garlic and Onions to Repel and Get Rid of Lizards
Lizards hate the smell of garlic and onions. Plant garlic and onions in your garden to help deter and get rid of lizards from your home. Storing garlic or onions near potential lizard access routes can also be useful in keeping them at bay.
Use Bird Feathers to keep Lizards away.
Are lizards scared of feathers?
Birds naturally hunt lizards for prey.
Lizards are specifically afraid and avoid peacock feathers at all costs. This is one of the many ways to keep a safe distance from predators getting to them. To keep lizards away from your home, make sure that peacock feathers are visible anywhere where they might hide.
Generally, having any bird feathers visible around the lizard’s potential access routes will do the job. If you are creative enough, you can decoratively use peacock feathers to serve double purposes.
Use Egg Shells to Repel and Get rid of Lizards.
You probably know that lizards dislike the smell of eggs. Lizards are scared off by the smell of eggs. They tend to avoid an area with eggs, so they are more likely to leave you alone if you have eggshells in strategic locations.
Conclusion.
Do you now know how to get rid of lizards without killing them?
Remember, some methods like catching them are best applicable when one or just two lizards have invaded your home.
Always take precautions when handing lizards since their bodies are delicate.
If need be, use cold water to immobilize or slow down lizards when trying to catch them. Like other reptiles, lizards can not operate optimally in a cold environment. This is another helpful critical trick on how to get rid of reptiles at home.
Keep in mind the potential of bacterial diseases infections when invaded by lizards. Always clean well after you get rid of lizards from home.
Employ one of the discussed lizard repellent smells or techniques to avoid unnecessary interaction with the lizards.
