How much do you hate it when you turn on the lights and see a lizard smirking at you from the wall? Honestly, they do walk around like they own the place. If you are looking for remedies to get rid of those slithery pests, look no further. Here’s a list of home remedies to keep lizards away. Sure, there are lizard repellents in stores, but they are full of harmful chemicals. They are a big no-no especially if you have small children and pets in the house. Wondering how to kill lizards and make your home creep-free? Without further delay, choose one of these superb home remedies from the following list and bid farewell to lizards from the house permanently.
- Egg Shells: You may have heard of this from your grandmother, aunts or close relatives. This is one of the most foolproof ways of keeping lizards away from your premises. Lizards are repelled by the smell of eggs. After you use eggs, keep the shells and strew them around the house, especially near doors and windows.
- Coffee Powder: This is a very effective method to kill lizards. Make your own lizard death-balls by combining coffee powder and tobacco powder and rolling them into small balls. Stick them on toothpicks or matchsticks and leave them around the house – especially behind shelves and cupboards where they hide. Lizards will die when they eat these balls.
- Garlic: This flavoured vegetable is appealing to human beings, but lizards hate the smell of it. Just hang a few cloves of garlic near the doors and windows to keep away the pests. You can also make a spray using garlic juice and water and spray it around the house.
- Pepper Spray: Pepper sprays aren’t just for creeps – you can shock the lizards with these homemade sprays. Just mix water, ground black pepper and chilli powder and shake well. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle and spray the spicy water around the house. Lizards will be repelled by the spicy odour.
- Onion: Want to know how to keep lizards away forever? Like garlic, lizards hate the pungent smell of onions as well. Hang them near doors and windows or place them in lizards’ hiding places. They will leave the house as they cannot stand the smell of it. Alternatively, make a mixture out of water and onion juice – spray this around the house to drive away lizards.
- Naphthalene Balls: We know that naphthalene balls are good for keeping bedbugs and cockroaches away from our homes. They work on lizards as well too. The pungent smell repels these slithery beings. Place them in cupboards and shelves to keep lizards away from the house permanently.
- Flypaper: This handy thing can help you trap lizards around the house easily. Stick these on the walls especially around the places where you frequently see lizards – like corners of the walls, near light sources, etc. They will get stuck to the flypaper and then you can get rid of them.
- Cold Water: Lizards are very sensitive to temperature – they become immobile when they experience a sharp temperature change. When you see a lizard on the wall, immediately splash ice cold water on it – while it stays in shock, kill it or collect it in a dustpan and throw it out of the house.
- Tabasco Sauce: This is a variation of the pepper spray. Mix Tabasco sauce or hot sauce with water and shake it well. Store it in a spray bottle and spray it behind cupboards, shelves and wardrobes. The spicy mixture will repel the wall-crawlers and they will flee from your house.
- Bird Feathers: Birds are natural predators of lizards. Hang a few bird feathers around the house – lizards will be scared, thinking that there are birds in the area. You can even make attractive wall-hangings with the bird feathers for an added plus!
- House Cat: If you already have a pet cat, then you are in for a win – not only do cats love to catch rats, but they also like to nab lizards! If you don’t have a cat, then you can consider getting one – they will catch you some lizards and are also very cuddly!
- Electric Repellent: Though this is not a home remedy, it is not harmful to human beings. There are electric lizard repellents available in shops. These emit sounds in ultrasonic frequencies which are intolerable for lizards. The creepy crawlies won’t come near your house forever, if you have this installed in your house. There is even an Android app of this on Google Play, which you can download for free!
- Mouse Trap: We all know that mouse traps are a very good way to get rid mice and rats. It turns out to be effective against lizards as well! If you know exactly from where the lizards are entering your house, you can place the mousetrap near the entryway – that’s it! You will have a dead lizard to get rid of!
- Phenyl Tablets: We use phenyl in our bathrooms to keep them clean. You can also use them in tablet form; not only do they spread good smell in the house, but they also help in driving away lizards. Keep some of these tablets around the house to repel lizards.
- Cardboard Box Method: If you are against killing or harming insects and reptiles, this is the most harmless method which will be to your liking. When you spot a lizard, try to corner it and trap it inside a cardboard box and cover it with the lid.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
