Lizards are some of the most fascinating creatures on the planet. Cold-blooded, scaly, and ranging in size from just a few inches long, to nearly 10 meters long, lizards come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and live in almost every environment on Earth! They’ve been around for a very long time too – there are fossil records of ancestors of modern lizards that are more than 200 million years old!
Fascinating and amazing animals as they are, they can still be a little bit of a nuisance in the home! They have a habit of getting where they’re not wanted – and while they’re mostly harmless, nobody could blame you for not wanting them at home! If you’re wondering how to get rid of lizards on the porch, or other places at home, then you’re in the right place!
Why Do They Try To Get Into The House?
If you repeatedly have lizards around and in your house, you might be thinking that they’re planning an invasion! Well, rest assured, that they’re probably not – but there are definitely some reasons why they might be attracted to your home!
One important thing that lizards – just like all living creatures – love, is food! If you have great smelling food left around the house – or even not so great smelling food that you’ve put in the bin – then you’re essentially passing out invitations to any animals, including lizards, that can make it into or around your home! Make sure that you don’t keep food or leftovers out in the open, and that bins are emptied and cleaned regularly – and kept closed, so that smells don’t get out, and lizards don’t get in!
As lizards are cold-blooded animals, they absolutely love finding ways to keep warm. If you’ve got a lively warm home, and it’s colder outside, then that open window or door becomes very welcoming for lizards! Keep your doors and windows closed as much as possible – which, admittedly, can be difficult in hot weather if your air conditioning just doesn’t seem to be hitting the spot!
Speaking of air conditioning, make sure that any air conditioning vents are covered up with a grill or mesh, just in case some little scaly things decide to pay you a visit through there. And if there are any air vents or air bricks in your house, consider finding ways to seal them up in a way that will let air pass through, but will stop a lizard from getting through. Don’t block these up entirely – you need them to let air in and out of your house!
And, if you’ve got any holes in your house that need repairing – even small ones – then you might have a great way for lizards to get inside! Fix or patch them as soon as you can.
How To Get Rid Of Them Humanely?
It’s not the lizards’ fault that they’re getting in and around your house – after all, it’s their world too! It’s perfectly fine, however, to want to get them away, or to make them not wish to come around in the first place. There are plenty of ways that you can remove lizards, or discourage lizards from coming around that won’t harm them!
You can catch and release a lizard without causing it any harm with a bowl and a piece of cardboard. You might have to be quick, as lizards can be quite skittish and won’t stick around if they think there’s danger afoot. Quickly and gently place the bowl over the lizard, making sure not to catch its tail or little feet – you don’t want to harm it! Slide some cardboard underneath so that the lizard can’t get out of the bowl, and the lizard is trapped. You can now move it to a safe location out of your way, and release it back into the wild unharmed!
Lizards have a strong sense of smell, and there are ways to use this to your advantage. If you get some lemongrass essential oil, for instance, and spray a solution of lemongrass essential oil and water over your porch, then you’ll have added a noticeable, but pleasant smell to the area – but will also have made the smell too strong for lizards to bear! They won’t be harmed, but they won’t want to be around the strong smell either. This can be done with other essential oils too – try citronella, eucalyptus, or peppermint essential oil too!
Conclusion
Even if you absolutely love lizards, you might not want them in and around your home. Hopefully, this article has taught you how you can help to get them out of your house safely and humanely, and to help you keep them away from your house too!
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