How to get rid of the lizards and what really worked for me!

For the longest time, our family had a tradition where I’d scream and run from one place to another in the house after seeing a lizard – after which my husband would spend about an hour trying to shoo it away. My daughter couldn’t care less about my stupid fears, she takes after her dad that way. I am not usually one to get scared easily, but there’s something about a lizard that makes my skin crawl. I’d spend hours Googling ‘how to get rid of lizards inside the house’ and make my husband use all the methods but to no avail.

We finally managed to find a solution to the problem about two months ago. Sure, it took us a while but our usual family tradition hasn’t been repeated in two months and my husband and daughter couldn’t be happier. I haven’t seen a lizard in the house for a good while now. But I also knew there might be people out there who’d have struggled with a lizard infestation and I wanted to let you guys know what helped me. Here is everything you need to know about getting rid of and keeping away lizards.

Catching the lizards

• Cornering them- My husband swears by this method when trying to chase a lizard away from the house. According to him, the best way to catch a lizard is nudging the lizard with a broom or stick and lead it towards a cardboard box. Once the lizard is inside the box, tip it over, slide a piece of cardboard under it and discard it outside.

• Traps- While it was easy o catch most of the lizards in our house, there were some which were quite sneaky. When cornered, they would always find a way out. In those cases, what really helped us was a no-kill trap similar to the one used to catch rats. These traps have one door and are quite small. Place some bait (flies, worms, cricket, melon, papaya) in the trap and discard the lizard far away from home once it’s caught.

Keeping the lizards away

The things I am going to talk about now is exactly what helped keep those pesky lizards away for good. I have to tell you though that you have to be consistent with the following steps for it to work.

• Spring cleaning and declutter- An untidy house is lizard-heaven. Lizards love cluttered places so ensure your house is free of clutter. Give your house a thorough Spring cleaning. I’ll have to warn you that you might find quite a few lizards during the cleaning process, so be prepared for a few jumps!  It’s important that you clean the house thoroughly at least once in three months. 

• Get rid of bugs and insects- Lizards are attracted to the flies and insects that come along with the food debris/leaving food out. Ensure you do not leave any food out in the open and always close the garbage lid. This will not only prevent flies but also lizards which feast on them.

• Block the entry points- If you pay close attention to your house, you will find several openings which might be serving as the lizard’s entry point. Most of mine were in between windows and the corners. Seal all the potential entry points and try to keep your doors and windows closed as much as you can. Or use an inset-mesh for your windows.

• Keep a pet- I am not the biggest fan of cats but my brother has two at his house. From what he has told me, the cats love catching the lizards at his place. Though he is not fond of the fact that he receives dead lizards as gifts from his pets, he is happy to have a lizard free house. So if you can stomach getting dead lizards as trophies, we suggest you get a cat.

Home remedies to get rid of lizards- do they work?

The reason I didn’t talk about home remedies initially is because of how unpredictable they are. While these remedies have actually worked for me sometimes, they have also failed to do the needful at times. But I’m sure they’d work when tried with the above-mentioned steps.

• Garlic- You can place cloves of garlic at various points around the house. We suggest you place them in spots where you usually find the lizards. However, garlic can be dangerous for some pets, so do this with caution.

• Eggshells- Scattered eggshells near points through which lizards enter will scare them and keep them away.

• Peacock feather- Lizards view peacocks as predators, so placing peacock feathers near their usual hangout spots really does make them scurry away.

Stay tuned for the next edition – how to get rid of cockroaches!