Five Reasons Why We Dislike Lizards

Lizard tails can drop off as we battle with them

As brutal as it may sound, where there are instances of cockroaches losing their head, lizards can lose their tail as well. Their tails are detached from their body as they engage in self-defence against predators or when in severe distress. Leaving a piece of their body parts behind, predators may be confused about their presence and allow the lizard to take cover. Called as caudal autotomy, lizards will grow back with a new tail over time (usually within six months to one year, and the tail shedding process does not result in any blood loss. When the new tail is grown, new muscles will support around it while allowing proper functioning.

Leaving behind poops and droppings around

One of the most obvious signs of a lizard infestation is the presence of poops and droppings left on the wall, above surfaces and within cabinets or among appliances. They have a white tip that is made from their urine (uric acid) and a pellet shape outlook that is different from other pest poops that is usually black or dark brown in colour. Besides ruining your home aesthetics with the dropping deposits around, they carry harmful disease-causing bacteria such as Salmonella. With their droppings contaminating onto your food and drinks, food contamination symptoms including diarrhoea, vomiting and stomach cramps may occur. For pests such as cockroaches that feed on decaying matters and faeces, these lizard poops can also invite another home problem that is cockroach infestation.

Unable to get rid of lizards effectively

Everyone is stressed on the success of getting rid of pests effectively especially among individuals who developed a phobia for lizards, the need and urgency for lizard eradication is high. Unfortunately, most self-help methods in pest eradication have gaps and lapses that compromise efficacy level. Lizards for example can hide efficiently among your many items at home and could be nesting somewhere by producing more lizards. Worse of all, is to experience more geckos crawling around the home, falling down from the ceiling or leaving unsightly poops around. Unless professionally trained in pest control, we do not have the knowledge and expertise to determine which baits, traps and insecticide to use and locations for applications.

We also may not know how often to carry out the process and where lizards lay their eggs in order to eliminate root sources. More importantly, they move really fast and make chasing after lizards with tools a lot harder.

Develop a phobia for lizards – Herpetophobia

Unfortunately, some of us have developed a phobia for lizards, also called Herpetophobia. It is a fear for reptiles and may see similarities of people having a fear for both. In such instances, the fear may extend to questions regarding the possibility of lizards crawling onto our bed when we are asleep. It can be nerve wrecking with the thought of it. However, it is possible for them to lurk on the bedding when there is a heavy infestation or high lizard population. There is no need to really be afraid of lizards. This is because they usually need space and do not really come forward attacking humans. They seem to be afraid of humans; they will run away from predators if they feel threatened. One way to manage your phobia is to take action to ensure your home is not attractive to lizards.

Firstly, ensure home is free from water and moisture and all pests including lizards require fluids to keep surviving. Secondly, they feed on insects and work as an additional “pest control” support in the home, so why not ensure your pest management is in place to remove physical pests around. Thirdly, they feed on fruits and plants and homes with lizards, balcony and garden may be a higher risk of lizard infestation. In summary, be sure to maintain good housekeeping by keeping your home clean from food sources while performing regular plant maintenance and landscaping.

Producing the clicking sounds that we loathe

Yes, some people describe clicking, squeaking or ticking sound, but lizards do produce signs of presence by generating these sounds. Pests do emit sound for various purposes. For instance, rats scratch surfaces and items and usually are above the false ceiling. Termites also vibrate and create “head banging” sound to communicate and alert on the potential danger. Buzzing sounds coming from flipping wings and movements like mosquitoes and flies are again another type of sound coming from pests. Lizards emit sound to serve different purposes. These include mating and attracting, to alert on warning, fear and defence against predators and communication to members. Besides sound, pests leave other kinds of traces of infestation evidence including sight and smell. For example, the kind of smell or stench they produce the droppings and poops they leave behind and even marks and stains from their urine and blood.

Lizard prevention tips to apply at home

Lizards in Singapore are one common topic of interest when it comes to eradicating them. They may seem less critical and harmful and to some extent, they help reduce the flying insect population. Yet many are struggling to understand what attracts lizards to the home and do pest myth around work. More importantly, are there any useful lizard prevention tips to apply. In this section, Rentokil shares some useful information on how to get rid of lizards in your home.

What attracts lizards to an environment?

• Presence of other pests and insects and lizards feed as their main source
• Openings that allow passing-by lizards to crawl in for food, water and shelter
• Messy home with filthy conditions that lizards can hide within, nest and feed
• Climate conditions such as warmer temperature that attracts lizards
• High level of humidity and availability of water and moisture that they need
• Clutters and overly-placed items and furniture that lizards use as hideout
• Places with plants or uncovered food items including fruits and vegetables

Debugging lizard pest myths that may not work

Ever heard of the lizard myths that eggshells will scare them away. Yes, there are practices of placing egg shelves in areas you think lizards will crawl into to serve as a fear barrier among lizards. It is said that lizards do not like the smell and the visual of it scares them like a predator. Other lizard home remedies include the use of spices (onion, garlic and pepper), strong and distinctive smell of coffee beans and tobacco, essential oil and even mothballs or silica gel. For the more adventurous, they will improvise baits with sticky lizards to lure and trap. The most common way to flush pests away is by using water.

Firstly, these myths do not have proven scientific study to show the control efficacy in eliminating lizards. Secondly, most of these remedies serve the purpose of deterring rather than eradication especially if there is a nest breeding more lizard offspring. Thirdly, some of these items may be harmful and hazardous when applied in a misappropriate manner especially for combustible components. Finally, specific acts such as using water and food ingredients can actually promote other pest infestation. These are food sources for cockroaches, ants and rats to name a few.

Useful lizard tips for your home

These pest myths may not work or in fact worsen the condition. However, you can adopt some recommendations to prevent lizards from infesting your home.

• Keep your home temperature cool with air-conditioning or a fan
• Remove at spills, leaks, moisture and standing water
• Reduce the humidity level of your home with a dehumidifier
• Do some spring cleaning especially with the clutters, junks and cartons
• Apply proofing to gaps, crevices and openings with filter and insect screens
• Cover all food sources especially fruits and vegetables that lizards like
• Maintain your plants and do regular checks for pest presence
• Engage pest control company to eliminate any existing pest population

You may also like: Find out the ten interesting lizards’ facts you must know

Lizard Control Singapore

Firstly, take the first step to engage in professional pest control services. They assist to perform a thorough premise assessment and identify the type of pests and lizard species in your home. Secondly, the pest control specialist will recommend the best treatment that suits your home condition and level of infestation. They will consider several factors. These include the number of treatments required, application mode and active ingredient used and intensity of the treatment.

Thirdly, you will be advised on what to do before they arrive for the service. Some of the preparation checklist includes covering essential items relating to food safety, sensitive or valuable belongings and clearing of clutters. This allows for an efficient treatment and pest detection. For your safety, you are also encouraged to vacate the premise until the treatment is complete. Ventilating the environment thereafter is also recommended. Fourthly, professional specialists will also monitor the effectiveness of the pest treatment. They do so by observing any recurring lizards or presence of infestation signs.

Finally, depending on your frequency and package type, the specialist will return for follow-ups and service. Different package types can range from one-off treatment to monthly or bi-monthly contract service. Above all, the price of pest control ranges and vary depending on factors including coverage size, how frequent are treatments required, are the services covering other pest types as well and type of active ingredient or solution to name a few.

Give Rentokil Singapore a call today to book an inspection or find out more about our pest control services at (65) 6347 8138.