How to Get Rid of Lizards: Repellents & Home Remedies

I really hate seeing lizards in and around my home. I go to the garden and there they are. It is nighttime, I try to sit on the porch — they keep appearing. Due to this, I decided to find the best possible way of how to get rid of lizards.

Identification: How to Find a Lizard

lizard repellent
First of all, I would not recommend capturing a lizard in the nighttime. That is the period when most of them are active, so it is not advisable to chase them away at that time. Since lizards are quite flexible, it is important not to present them with opportunities to get away. Therefore, it is important to close the door of the room where it was spotted and also to put towels under the door.

One of the signs of lizard presence in your house is feces. In this article, you can find more details about lizard droppings.

Also, when we spot them at night, it is not clever to turn on the lights. There is a better chance that they will get out if the lights are out since they will think that it is nighttime. I do not recommend chasing lizards around the house. A lizard will come out in the open only when it feels that there is no danger.

Where Do Lizards Hide?

Lizards prefer to hide in small and enclosed areas, especially if they are dark. They can often be found under furniture pieces such as:

  • chairs
  • bookshelves
  • desks
  • beds
  • tables

Also, they can be found behind hanging items on walls, especially paintings. It is important to move furniture away from the walls since it is a perfect hiding place for lizards. In addition, cluttered shelves are another place where lizards may hide. If lizards continue to appear in some spaces, it is smart to clean them out and remove the unnecessary furniture. Moreover, we should check any dark and warm places, which especially goes for any kind of dark corners or crevices.

What Do Lizards Eat?

lizard eating spiderLizards can be both herbivores (they eat fruit and vegetables) and carnivores (they eat meat), while some of them are omnivores — they eat everything. It is also important to note that lizards need water too. While some of them simply drink, there are species that can absorb it through their skin.

When it comes to fruits and vegetables, these are some of their favorites:

  • Collard Greens
  • Strawberries
  • Squash
  • Mellon
  • Lettuce
  • Green beans

Based on their size, they can feed on different kinds of insects, crickets, and flies.

What Sounds Do Lizards Make?

Lizards are thought to be mostly soundless animals, which, along with their quick movement, allows them to move without getting noticed. However, many of them produce hissing noises that usually stand for a defense mechanism. They can also produce some kinds of growling or squealing noises. We can say that geckos are actually the most vocal since they can produce a wide variety of sounds.

Lizards in The House: Is It Good or Bad?

Many people find lizards to be repulsive and do not think of them as desirable guests. However, there are some benefits to having lizards in a house. They can prove to be an excellent remedy for insects or crickets. These types of creatures represent their basic diet, and we can also get rid of these vermins.

In addition, in some cultures having a lizard in a house is seen as a token of good luck. Still, not many people consider this to be worthwhile enough to let them stay inside.

The problem with these creatures is that they carry diseases such as salmonella. Although it is not harmful to them, it can affect people badly, so it is no wonder that people turn to the extermination of lizards. One of the reasons why lizards may appear in a home is that it is not clean enough. For example, if we leave food lying around for days or if we do not take out the trash regularly. If these measures are taken then lizards will stay out of your house.

How to Get Rid of Lizards: Home Remedies

Finally, we will talk about how to get rid of lizards. First of all, we will deal with home remedies. Even if we do not suffer from a lizard-related phobia, they are still not the creatures that we like seeing around our home.

Outdoors — Porch and Yards

First of all, I will try to present ways of how to get rid of lizards on the porch and in the yard.

Turn off the lights — keep them away from the patio

Lizards are often attracted to light and heat, so it is no wonder that there are so many of them during the summer. One of the best ways of keeping them away is not to provide them with food. Try to turn off the lights on the patio since this would mean that fewer insects would gather in front of the door. With no available food, lizards would be less interested in the porch.

Do not provide them with good hiding places

When it comes to how to get rid of lizards in a yard, it is also important not to create a habitat that would attract lizards. Therefore, there should not be much water, heat or good places for hiding.

We should try not to have a water container since they are great places for breeding of insects. It is also sensible to trim down the bushes regularly since lizards like to hide in dark and moist places. Another solution may be to place a net over the bushes, which would make their movement limited.

Do not water the yard often; no succulent plants

Also, we should not water the yard too often for it could draw lizards and salamanders since they are looking for places to get easily hydrated. There should not be many succulent plants in the yard since they can also provide lizards with much-needed water.

Indoors — House and Garage

Eggshells

This has proven to be a great lizard repellent for it seems that they have a problem with the smell of unwashed eggshells. Moreover, it reminds them of bird territory, so they try to stay away.

How to use it:

  1. Put some eggshells into a plastic container.
  2. Place them around the house.
  3. People sometimes hang them on walls.

Pros

  • Keeps the lizards away
  • No extermination

Cons

  • Not a long-time solution
  • Unpleasant smell around the house

Garlic

It has quite a strong smell and even people can find it repulsive. Besides keeping vampires away, it is also a great remedy for lizards.

How to use it:

  1. Hang cloves of garlic at the doors and windows.
  2. We can also make a mixture of garlic essence and water.
  3. Spray it at possible lizard entering points.

Pros

  • Smaller chances that lizards will appear
  • Easy to make

Cons

  • Bad smell
  • Not a permanent solution

Onion

This is another homemade lizard repellent and we are again counting on the fact that the unpleasant smell will help us to get rid of lizards.

How to use:

  1. Chop an onion.
  2. Hang it on the walls.
  3. Put it in their hiding places.

Pros

  • Cheap
  • It is not time-consuming

Cons

  • Onion slices need to be replaced after some time
  • Foul-smelling

Cold water

We usually do not spot lizards during winter and that it is not strange since they prefer hot and humid weather. If there is already a lizard in the house and we are trying to get rid of it — cold water might be the perfect solution.

How to use it:

  1. Pour some ice-cold water into a spray bottle.
  2. Spray some of it on the lizard.

Pros

  • Good for catching lizards
  • Fast solution

Cons

  • It is still problematic to get it out
  • Cannot kill lizards with it

We can spray some cold water on the lizard, and it will stop moving. As a result, we can easily pick it up and throw it out of the house.

How to Kill Lizards With Repellents

Lizard Repellents — Natural

Tobacco and coffee powder balls

Although it is a combination that many of us favor, it can work as a great lizard deterrent.

How to use it:

  1. Make a mixture of coffee and tobacco; 4:1 ratio.
  2. Mix it with some water.
  3. Place it in their hiding places.

Pros

  • Not hard to make
  • It kills lizards

Cons

  • Perhaps we are only trying to keep them away
  • The smell may attract kids or pets

Home-made pepper spray

Once again, lizards, reptiles by nature, have an issue with strong aromas and therefore are not big fans of spicy food. For this method, there is no need to buy pepper spray, but we can make some on our own — it functions as a great lizard repellent.

How to use it:

  1. Mix some tobacco sauce and water.
  2. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle.
  3. Spray it in all the crevices.

Pros

  • It can keep a lizard or a skink away
  • A quick lizard repellent

Cons

  • The smell can be strong even for humans
  • It is not a lizard killing spray

Besides, when trying to catch lizards, it is easiest to trap them with a cardboard box. Also, try to get them off the walls with rolled-up newspapers.

Lizard Repellents — Commercial

In case we are not big fans of the do-it-yourself approach, we can always use a lizard repellent.

Ultrasonic Pest Repeller

ZERO Pest Repeller

When looking for ways to get rid of lizards without hurting them — Ultrasonic Pest Repeller Control is certainly a great electric lizard repellent.

How to use it:

  1. Install it at 31–47 inches from the floor.
  2. Keep it away from furniture.
  3. Do not place it near a device that emits some frequency.

Pros

  • Eco-friendly and organic
  • It can cover up to 1200 square ft.
  • Only insects detect these sound waves

Cons

  • Sound waves cannot go through walls
  • Need a device for every separate room

Lizard Defense All Natural Repellent Spray
Lizard Defense All Natural Repellent Spray
It is a all-natural lizard spray that we can use for organic farming too.

Pros

  • We can use it both indoors and outdoors
  • Safe for humans, pets and birds
  • Natural deterrent

Cons

  • No international shipping
  • Cannot kill lizards with it

Design Toscano Horny Toad Lizard Statue
Design Toscano Horny Toad Lizard Statue
It is a funny way of keeping lizards away. Namely, it is a lizard repellent in the form of a statue that scares off these creatures. You can place them either outside or inside of a house and lizards run away from them since they think of them as predators. This statue is surely one of the funnier answers to the question how to get rid of lizards.

Do Mothballs Keep Lizards Away?

Mothballs function with the help of the process called sublimating — it changes directly from solid to liquid state. The problem with this lizard repellent is that it is highly toxic, so try to keep it away from children and pets.

One of the ways of utilizing mothballs is to scatter them on window sills and entrances to keep them away from front door. In addition, we can also scatter them in the garden but remember to place them again if it rains. However, I’m not sure if mothballs actually help with the permanently burning question: How to get rid of lizards? Still, I think that it is worth a shot.

Lizard Prevention Tips

Tip #1 – Keep Your House Clean

First of all, we should make sure that our houses or apartments are clean and tidy. It is wise to use antibacterial cleaning products to disinfect the area. Also, lights are known for attracting both insects and lizards, so whenever we are not in a room, we should turn the lights off.

Tip #2 – Get a Cat

We are all familiar with the fact that cats and dogs do not like each other that much, but the same goes for cats and lizards. If we have a cat for a pet, they can also help us with the ways of how to get rid of lizards.

Tip #3 – Close Your Doors

It is also important not to leave the doors open, especially during summer and we should make sure that there are no holes or cracks in walls due to both adult and baby lizards.

Tip #4 – Don’t Put Furniture Right Against the Wall

In addition, we are supposed to make sure that furniture is not put right against the wall since lizards are fond of dark and warm places, we should keep our furniture away from the walls.

Tip #5 – Clean Up Leftover Food

Leftover food can also attract lizards — so make sure to clean up after done eating. Do not leave water around the place, since it attracts the lizards’ food — insects. Moreover, try not to have too many items in one place, so this might be the perfect opportunity to clean the garage of all the unnecessary things, and it can also help us repel lizards.

Comments 1

  1. Lazaro Gramolini says:

    Great post 🙂
    I finally was able to eliminate lizards from my property!

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