Imagine enjoying a pretty sunset on your porch, and suddenly you see a lizard. Wouldn’t it be an awful experience? Indeed, it would be.
But how do you keep the lizards away? Bright lights, perhaps?
Unfortunately, lizards are not at all scared of artificial lighting. Instead, they are attracted to light. Lights will give them more cause to intrude in your house often.
However, lizards dislike bad smells because it signifies danger to them.
Getting rid of lizards on your porch is not impossible. You can try out the following remedies to keep them away:
- Use screen doors
- Repair holes, cracks, and gaps
- Use onions and garlic
- Use pepper spray
- Use lemongrass
If you want to avoid these uninvited guests, read the tips below.
13 Remedies To Keep Lizards Away
Contrarily, lizards do not want to encroach on your property.
However, due to constant urbanization, cities have invaded natural habitats, thus leaving no choice for lizards to dwell.
Below, we will discuss methods to help you keep the lizards away.
Man-Made Method
Artificial remedies can be quite productive in getting rid of lizards. A few tested methods are given below:
1. Use Screen Doors
Lizards usually crawl in whenever they see an open door, so you must keep your doors shut.
Nevertheless, you sometimes need natural ventilation when there is no source of practical cooling.
In this case, you can install a screen door. It will keep your house well-ventilated. Simultaneously, it will work as a barrier to halt any lizard intrusion.
2. Repair Holes, Cracks, and Gaps
Lizards are tiny creatures that can easily invade your house by slithering through small cracks, holes, or gaps between window sills.
To ensure this does not happen, fill out all the cracks you see on the walls. Look for any holes or gaps and fix them as well.
This will keep the lizards from getting onto your porch.
3. Replace or Fix Screens on All Windows
Usually, lizards infringe on your space through windows that are either open, without a screen, or have gaps between them.
The same holds for metal windows, as they will creep in through the holes in the window.
So, ensure all your windows have screens and are free of holes or cracks. Lizards can also intrude if your existing windows have a broken sill or screens with few broken spots.
Check for metal casings as well. Replace it immediately if it doesn’t fit your window or is slightly bent.
4. Replace Carpet With Tile
This option is expensive and time-consuming. Consider it only if you are already considering renovating your house.
Instead of installing carpets, get tiles in your house. This remedy is particularly beneficial for people who live in warmer areas.
Tiles will eventually keep your floors cooler and discourage lizards from moving in.
Another benefit of using tiles over carpet is that it helps eliminate hiding spots or camouflage for the tiny lizards.
Lizards would find it impossible to hide around a clean floor with sparkling tiles.
5. Cool Down the Temperature
You must have heard that lizards are cold-blooded reptiles.
They tend to run fast and can hunt more efficiently when the temperature is warm.
This is why lizards crawl on your porch. The porch has more sunlight that helps the lizards stay warm and steady.
You must cool your house down to a few degrees to keep the lizards away. It will make them lethargic and in desperate need of a warm environment.
Eventually, they will move to more hospitable surroundings rather than your cold and freezing porch.
6. Aim for Outdoor Plantation
As you know, plantations make your house look aesthetically pleasing, but at the same time, they will repel lizards as well.
Yes, there exist plants that are natural lizard repellents. A few of these plants are highly recommended, such as peppermint, pencil trees, and eucalyptus.
Lizards move away from these plants because they don’t like strong odors.
7. Contact Pest Control Staff
Lastly, you can always hire a professional from pest control management.
These professionals will precisely evaluate your house and look out for lizard-prone areas.
Based on their analysis, they will formulate a comprehensive and effective method to eliminate lizards.
Home Remedies
If you are tired of lizards disturbing your peace, following homemade remedies might help eliminate lizards from your porch, yard, and home.
Below are some remedies that you can try.
8. Onions and Garlic
Onions are the best home remedy to keep insects away.
This is because onions produce a powerful odor that acts as a protective shield against lizards. So, wherever you spot lizards, hang the onions and leave them out for a while.
Besides onions, garlic also produces a strong smell that will deter lizards for a few hours.
9. Pepper Spray
Pepper sprays can be used to keep reptiles from intruding into your home. The best part is that you can easily make it at home.
To make pepper spray, you have to boil pepper or cayenne for 20 minutes. Then add some jalapenos, onions, or garlic to the boiling water.
That’s it! Spray it on the places lizards visit the most such as the porch or deck.
Don’t apply pepper spray on walls. It leaves a residue that can destroy your walls.
Nonetheless, pepper spray will have a prolonged impact on lizards.
10. Peacock Feathers
This might seem bizarre, but believe me, peacock feathers help keep lizards away.
This is because peacocks eat lizards. So whenever lizards see a peacock feather, they get frightened.
Hence it is a natural way to eliminate them. And most importantly, they are not smelly and look aesthetically pleasing if you hang them around your porch.
The smart thing to do is to hang the peacock feathers where the lizards can quickly see them.
Since lizards tend to occupy gloomy and hidden places to survive, they might miss the peacock feathers. But you can still give it a try.
11. Lemongrass
Lemongrass produces a pleasant odor for humans but has the opposite effect on lizards. So lizards naturally don’t go to places that smell lemongrass.
However, if it’s unavailable in your vicinity, you can always use lemongrass tea bags as an alternative.
12. EggShells
A sure way to rebuff lizards is to put eggshells on your porch. Lizards usually don’t like the odor of eggshells, and sometimes, they mistake it for another animal or insect.
As this could be a threat to them, lizards tend to avoid places that have eggshells.
The only problem is that eggshells will stink after a few hours. Hence, it will eventually attract other insects and pests.
So, be careful while using eggshells as a lizard repellent.
13. Sticky Traps
Another technique to get rid of lizards is to catch them with sticky traps. Fly traps work as well.
This method can be messy as they leave a residue when a lizard crosses them. Also, this method could be cruel since the lizards will die a slow, painful death.
Hence, it should be the last option if you cannot eliminate lizards.
Takeaway
The reality is that it’s impossible to get rid of lizards and insects completely. But the tricks mentioned above might help you keep your environment safe and secure from lizards.
Either use homemade remedies like lizard repellents or install artificial remedies in your home. Both could be useful in scaring away lizards.
But, make sure not to use any harmful method that would affect your health or result in a painful death for lizards.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Lizards Bite?
Lizards will bite you if they get frightened.
In some cases, lizard bites could be poisonous and painful. Since its saliva contains germs, it can also result in an allergic reaction as well.
Do Lights Scare out Lizards?
Lizards are not scared of artificial lighting. Instead, they are attracted to light. Lights will help them intrude in your house more often.
Do Strong Smells Keep Lizards Away?
Lizards do not like strong smells.
Whenever they smell something strong, they sense danger and threat. So they automatically avoid places that omit intense odor.
How Do I Limit Lizard Re-Infestation?
There are a few tips to do so.
First of all, address the lizard population in your house or backyard. Then use above mentioned barrier treatments to restrict lizards from moving in.
