Geckos are colorful lizards that can grow from 1 to 24 inches in length and are found everywhere except Antarctica. These nocturnal animals are known to wander off into people’s homes every once in a while and can be difficult to kick out.
A lot of people do not know how to deal with a situation like that since geckos invade homes much less than mice or insects, for example. Naturally, the first question that pops into the mind of most people is, “How to get rid of geckos in house?” Well, we are here to explain to you just that.
By the way, the tips we will discuss in this article are also applicable to other types of similar-sized lizards, so do not look for help this way if you are dealing with Komodo dragons!
How to Get Rid Of Gecko: Fast And Effective Methods
1. Trap the Gecko with a Towel or In a Box
You are probably thinking, “Easier said than done,” and we feel you.
But if you manage to catch the small lizard while it is in one of the rooms in the house, it is quite unlikely that the gecko will start dancing in the middle of the room. It will probably try to find a shelter, like a corner, and from there, it is much easier to direct it where you want.
If the animal is not hiding under anything, you can throw a towel or something similar over it. In case putting something over it is hard or impossible, we recommend setting up a cardboard box or jar near the gecko. After that, use a broom or stick and push it toward the box.
When you have the gecko trapped, take it out and release it outside of your home.
2. Use Glue Traps
Setting out glue traps around the house is an age-old trick people use to get mice and rats. But it can also be used on geckos. You can buy special sticky traps or make simple glue boards at home and position them in the places in which you have seen geckos.
To make the trap more enticing, you can put a chopped-up veggie or fruit on it. The best option, though, would be some kind of bug since geckos are mostly insectivores.
While catching part with this method is quite simple, many people get uncomfortable in the releasing part. Some do not want to be touching the lizard at all, and others think it is inhumane to be trapping it with glue. An easy fix for this is not to use glue traps at all.
If, however, you like the idea of sticky traps, you can utilize olive or some other vegetable oil used for cooking – lubricating the trap with oil after you have caught the gecko will help it free itself from the glue once you take the trap outside of your home.
3. Escort the Gecko Out of the House with the Help of a Broom or a Stick
We are a tad facetious when using the word escort because we doubt the small lizard will just stroll out of your home like it is walking on a red carpet, but it is definitely much easier to try this method with geckos than with bees, mice, or snakes.
Once you have located the gecko, “all” you need to do is guide it with a broom or something similar towards the front door or window (they do not have any trouble climbing walls). Before doing this, make sure that the doors and windows to the places where you do not want it to escape are closed.
4. Spray the Gecko with an Unpleasantly Smelling Mixture
Image Credit: bake_cre
Like other animals, geckos are repelled by certain scents and will run away upon encountering and smelling them, which you can use to your advantage. Peppermint, cayenne pepper, garlic, onion, tabasco sauce, and coffee are among the things they hate.
For example, you can mix a couple of crushed garlic cloves or coffee beans with water and pour it into a spray bottle. When you spot the gecko, spray it with the mixture, and it will surely flee.
Using a spray on a gecko has the added benefit of “contaminating” your home for some time, making your house all the more uninviting for the lizard.
Pro tip: Geckos are cold-blooded animals, which means they depend on their surroundings to stay warm. It also means they do not like cold water (or any cold environment, for that matter). When preparing the spray mixture, use cold water to really let the gecko know it is not welcome in your house.
In fact, if you do not want your place smelling like peppermint or Tabasco sauce even for a minute, you can spray the gecko only with cool icy water.
5. Kick the Gecko Out With Natural Repellents
This method is similar to the one we just discussed, but this time, you will not directly inflict any harm to the gecko. The smell will do it for you. All you need to do is position sources of smells that geckos find unbearable on and around the spots where you have seen them.
Spreading coffee beans, placing small plates with a few drops of Tabasco sauce on them, leaving peppermint leaves, onion slices, chopped-up garlic, eggshells, or sprinkling cayenne pepper are some ways to achieve this.
6. Remove Food Sources from Your Home
Removing food sources from your home is as important as getting the gecko out. In fact, it is probably more important because it works on two levels.
These small reptiles enter our homes primarily in search of food and water. If you get rid of the food and water sources, not only will they leave your house in search of a better future, but they are unlikely to come back since there is nothing for them to eat or drink.
All of this, of course, begs the question: what do geckos like to eat? As we already said, they are insectivores that like to prey on insects and bugs such as spiders, cockroaches, moths, termites, ants, and beetles.
You can use a natural or a commercial insecticide or an insect repellent to get rid of these even smaller uninvited guests. In doing so, you are likely to get rid of the geckos.
Besides insects, geckos occasionally eat vegetables and fruits, so do not leave the garbage can open or food scraps around the house. Lastly, do not let the water run, leak, or accumulate anywhere in the house, as geckos might use it to hydrate themselves.
(We know this article is about removing geckos from home, but if you are comfortable with having a gecko around your home, you can also elect not to kick it out and use it as a form of natural pest control.)
7. Call Professional Help
If you do not want to have anything with geckos but still want to get rid of your lizard problem, then there is no better option than calling professional help to take care of the matter.
Also, not everyone is “lucky” to be dealing with only one or two geckos – gecko infestations are a thing, and that is something that is not so easy to handle for the regular Joes and Janes out there.
Look for gecko droppings, which are long and brown with a white tip and stains on your floor, carpets, curtains, or other fabrics, to see if you have one or many of these uninvited guests.
Besides that, geckos and other types of lizards carry the bacteria Salmonella, which can cause health issues if ingested by humans. The bigger the number of geckos in your house, the bigger the probability your food gets contaminated and the need to call professionals!
8. Limit Entry Points to Your Home
Now this is not a tip on how to get rid of a gecko from your house per se, but it is an important one so you do not get into this predicament again in the future.
No matter how well-built your home is, there are probably a couple of cracks or crevices that need to be sealed.
Realistically, there are many gaps that geckos can use as entry points to your home. We recommend you look around and identify those points. When you find them, you can use silicone caulk, mesh wire, or some kind of tape to close off the holes and limit the entry points for geckos.
You should also try to keep the doors and the windows closed for as much as possible, especially if visits by these small lizards are a regular occurrence due to the location of your house since geckos are known to make their way into our homes by using these “official” portals.
Conclusion
In this article, we discussed methods for getting rid of geckos in the house, such as trapping them with a towel or box, using glue traps, spraying or repelling them with scents they do not like, removing them with a broom or a stick, removing food sources and calling professional help.
We also mentioned how it is important to keep the number of entry points they can use to get inside your home to a minimum.
Are you currently having a gecko-in-the-house problem? If so, let us know how this article helped. Also, do not forget to use the comment section in case you have any questions!