Do you notice that there are a lot of lizards hanging out on your porch? If this is you, and you don’t want them there but also don’t want to hurt them, this is the post for you! We have researched several humane methods to keep those pesky reptiles off your porch without harming them.
If you see lizards on your porch, there are a very wide variety of methods you can use to keep them away without hurting them. Some of these methods are as follows:
- Sweep your porch regularly
- Turn off lights at night.
- Remove any water source.
- Keep your bugs in check.
- Eggshells
- Pepper Spray
- Peacock Feathers
If you are afraid of or dislike lizards, you probably want to keep them away from your porch and preferably out of sight. However, even people who like lizards dislike cleaning up the mess they leave behind after they’ve been on the porch. Other people would be okay with them on the porch if the porch weren’t a gateway to the house.
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Why Do Lizards Hang Around Your House?
Before we get into how to keep them off your porch, it’s important to understand why they are there in the first place. If you can eliminate the reason they are there, you can stop them from being there. One of these reasons is because there is plenty of food on your porch. Another is because the porch lights or lights coming from windows are attracting them.
If you have a concrete porch, it collects heat and makes for an excellent spot to warm their cold bodies in the mornings.
Are Lizards Good To Have Around The House?
Before deciding to get rid of them, it might be important to note that having lizards around your home is a good thing. In fact, they are seen as a sign of good luck in many places.
Although they scare some people, the ones in your yard do not pose any threat to you. In fact, they help keep insect populations down, which helps prevent diseases those insects could cause. Contrary to popular belief, they do not pose a threat to your house plants or gardens but rather can save your plants from being devoured by hungry insects.
Now that you know they could be beneficial to keep around and why they like your porch read on to learn methods to repel them humanely.
Sweep Your Porch
This first method is extremely straightforward: clean up your porch regularly to avoid food crumbs that might attract bugs. Lizards enjoy bugs, so if you have crumbs that tempt insects, those insects will tempt reptiles. After eating on your porch, don’t leave out dishes or leftover food. Immediately take leftovers in, sweep the porch, and wipe off your patio furniture.
You also need to keep your light fixtures clean and your window sills free of any dead bugs that might attract lizards.
Turn Off Your Lights At Night
Reptiles enjoy the warmth of sunlight because they are cold-blooded. The warmth allows them to start up their bodies. If you leave lights on at night, they may confuse the lights with the sunlight and come on your porch for some much-needed basking.
In addition to wanting to bask, light attracts moths and other bugs. At night, lizards might see the bugs gathering around a light source and head over for a feeding frenzy. So, to avoid this, simply leave your porch light off when the sun goes down.
Remove Any Water Source
If you are having problems with lizards on your porch, find out if you have any water available for them. If you have a pet bowl, fountain, or a place that catches water nearby, you might accidentally attract lizards. Even potted plants can gather standing water that attracts lizards.
To use this method, move any water sources away from your porch. Consider moving the dog bowl inside or to another location in the yard. Drain or move any fountains away from the place you don’t want reptiles. Ensure your sprinkler systems aren’t putting out more water than necessary and that there’s nowhere in your yard collecting water.
Keep Your Bugs In Check
If you constantly have tons of flies and other insects on your porch, consider having an exterminator over or using other methods to get your porch bug-free. Once you can lower your bug population, make sure to clean up any dead bugs around, as these will also attract lizards.
Some methods to keep your bugs in check include using poison to kill them, citronella torches to repel them, or using essential oils like lavender or eucalyptus as a repellent.
Eggshells
For this method, put cracked eggshells on your porch. The eggshells will trick lizards into thinking that other animals occupy the space. Birds eat lizards, so lizards will avoid areas they think house birds.
The downside to this method is that eggshells can start to stink over time, and attract unwanted attention, so it’s important to replace the shells frequently and use methods to repel animals that may be attracted to the shells.
Pepper Spray
You can make your own homemade pepper spray that will deter lizards. To make this spray, boil hot peppers or cayenne in a pot of water for 20 minutes. You can add jalapenos, garlic, and onion to make it more effective, but this isn’t necessary. The amount of pepper doesn’t matter, as long as you boil it for 20 minutes with a fairly decent amount of peppers.
After making your pepper spray, strain it, put it in a spray bottle, and then make a barrier around areas you don’t want lizards.
Peacock Feathers
Peacock feathers work in a way similar to the eggshells. Because peacocks are natural enemies to lizards, lizards naturally avoid areas they see feathers. In addition to being a bird feather, peacock feathers also have a spot on them that looks like an eye that is very effective at scaring away pesky reptiles.
To use this method, put peacock feathers on your porch where lizards are usually found. This method looks better than the eggshell method and won’t attract pests.
What Plants Do Lizards Hate?
There are certain plants that you can grow or plant oils you can use to deter lizards. Peppermint, eucalyptus, garlic, onions, and lemongrass are just some of the plants that work as lizard repellent.
Garlic and onion have a powerful smell that lizards and insects do not like. If you hang onions near your porch, lizards will usually stay away, and so will bugs. If you crush 6-7 cloves of garlic and add it to a gallon of water, then put in the sun to steep, it creates a potent mixture that can be sprayed around your home to repel reptiles. However, some people also hate the smell of garlic and onions, so it may keep other people away as well!
Lemongrass or lemongrass essential oil also smells bad to reptiles, but it tends to be more pleasant for humans than onions or garlic. You can spray the oils on your porch or leave a bowl of lemongrass tea leaves in problem areas.
Peppermint and eucalyptus plants also have a smell that disgusts lizards. You can either grow eucalyptus and peppermint on your porch or make a spray with essential oils to coat your porch with. To make a spray, fill a spray bottle with 8-16 oz of distilled water and add 15 drops of either peppermint or eucalyptus oil. Spray this around the edges of your porch, and anywhere else you want to create a lizard barrier.
Will Bleach Kill A Lizard?
Yes, bleach will kill a lizard. However, it is a very inhumane way to do it, causing burns and excruciating death. Bleach is poisonous to the surrounding area and can poison any animals that might eat the lizard before or after it dies. For this reason, it isn’t recommended to use bleach.
Can Lizards Be Killed By Cockroach Spray?
Cockroach spray will kill a lizard. However, it will not kill a lizard instantly and takes quite a few sprays to down the reptile. This type of poison will cause the lizard to feel really bad and run to hide somewhere. Then they won’t be able to breathe and will slowly suffocate.
This method isn’t recommended because it is extremely inhumane, and it takes a lot of the product to result in death. If you do try this method, make sure you properly cover your mouth and nose as inhalation of the product can potentially cut off your airways and kill you as well.
Final Thoughts
This post explains how to humanely repel lizards from your porch and answered questions about some less humane methods. So, keep your porch free of insects, water, and light, and maybe pick some new plants. If you try these methods, you won’t have to kill the lizards, and they won’t bother you anymore.
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