Those small, pale lizards climbing your walls and ceilings are house geckos, and while they’re harmless insect-eaters, most people don’t want them sharing their living space. Getting rid of them comes down to three things: removing the bugs they’re feeding on, sealing the gaps they’re entering through, and making your home less comfortable for them. Here’s how to do each one effectively.
Why Geckos Are in Your House
House geckos follow their food supply. If you have insects inside your home, especially around porch lights, kitchen areas, or bathrooms, geckos will find their way in to hunt them. They’re attracted to warm, humid environments with plenty of hiding spots behind picture frames, inside cabinets, or along ceiling edges. Understanding this is important because simply chasing geckos out without addressing the root cause means new ones will keep showing up.
Cut Off Their Food Supply
The single most effective strategy is reducing the insect population in and around your home. Geckos eat mosquitoes, moths, roaches, ants, and other small bugs. When there’s nothing to eat, they move on.
Start with outdoor lighting. Porch lights and exterior fixtures attract flying insects at night, which in turn attract geckos. Switch to yellow or warm-toned LED bulbs, which draw fewer bugs. Keep exterior lights off when you don’t need them, or install motion-activated fixtures instead of always-on lights.
Inside, focus on general cleanliness. Don’t leave food out, take garbage out regularly, fix any standing water from leaky pipes or dripping faucets, and store pet food in sealed containers. If you already have an insect problem (roaches, ants, silverfish), treating that with traps, bait stations, or a perimeter insecticide spray around doors, windows, and baseboards will remove what’s attracting geckos in the first place. An insecticide applied around your home’s foundation and in landscaping beds can reduce outdoor bug populations for up to 90 days, cutting off the gecko food chain at its source.
Seal Entry Points
House geckos are small and flexible. They can squeeze through gaps you might not notice. Walk around your home and check for cracks around window frames, gaps beneath doors, openings where pipes or wires enter walls, and torn window screens. Seal cracks with caulk, install door sweeps on exterior doors, and repair or replace damaged screens.
Pay special attention to the garage. Garage doors often have gaps along the bottom and sides that are easy entry points for both insects and geckos. Weatherstripping can close these off cheaply.
Natural Repellents That Work
Several household items can discourage geckos from hanging around specific areas. None of these will solve the problem alone, but they’re useful as part of a broader approach.
- Garlic spray: Crush four or five garlic cloves, soak them in two cups of water overnight, strain the liquid into a spray bottle, and spray it around entry points and areas where you’ve seen geckos. They’re repelled by the strong smell.
- Pepper spray: Mix cayenne pepper or chili powder into a spray bottle of water and apply it to gecko-frequented spots. The irritating scent drives them away.
- Onion slices: Placing raw onion near entry points or along walls can deter geckos. The potent odor makes them uncomfortable.
- Eggshells: Break eggshells in half (don’t crush them) and place them along walls, windowsills, or near entry points. Geckos may perceive the shells as belonging to a predator and avoid the area.
These repellents need to be refreshed every few days as the smell fades. Garlic and pepper sprays can stain light-colored surfaces, so test on a small area first.
Temperature and Humidity Control
Geckos are cold-blooded and prefer warm, humid spaces. Most house geckos thrive at temperatures between 72°F and 78°F and become stressed when conditions fall outside their comfort range. Keeping your home well air-conditioned, especially at night when geckos are most active, makes it less appealing to them. Running a dehumidifier in damp areas like basements and bathrooms also helps, since lower humidity means fewer insects and a less comfortable environment for geckos.
Trapping and Removing Geckos
If you already have geckos inside, you can catch them humanely with a simple glass-and-cardboard method. Wait until the gecko is on a flat surface, slowly place a glass or clear container over it, then slide a piece of stiff cardboard underneath. Carry it outside and release it well away from your home.
Sticky traps designed for insects also catch geckos, though this is a less humane option. If you use them, check the traps frequently. A gecko stuck on a glue trap can be freed by gently applying vegetable oil to dissolve the adhesive, then releasing it outdoors.
Are House Geckos Dangerous?
House geckos pose very little direct risk. They don’t bite aggressively, aren’t venomous, and generally flee from humans. The main health concern is Salmonella. Like all reptiles, geckos can carry Salmonella bacteria on their skin and in their droppings, even when they look perfectly healthy and clean. According to the New York State Department of Health, anything a reptile touches should be considered potentially contaminated.
This matters most if geckos are leaving droppings on kitchen counters, inside cabinets, or on surfaces where food is prepared. Gecko droppings are small, dark pellets with a white tip. If you find them, clean the area with a disinfectant. Wash your hands thoroughly after handling anything a gecko has touched, and keep geckos away from spaces used by young children or anyone with a weakened immune system.
Why Killing Geckos Isn’t the Best Approach
It’s tempting to reach for a can of bug spray, but geckos are actually beneficial in controlled numbers. A single gecko can eat dozens of insects per night, including mosquitoes, roaches, and moths. Killing the geckos without addressing the insect problem often leads to a noticeable increase in bugs. The better long-term strategy is making your home unattractive to them so they relocate on their own. Remove the food, seal the gaps, and the geckos will leave because there’s no reason to stay.