Tiny lizard keeps getting in our house >.>

[MaggieTheCat]

We have these tiny little lizards that live all over the place down here. We call them geckos, though I don't know if that's actually what they are. They mostly come out at night, especially if we leave a light near a window on; it attracts bugs, and the geckos hang out on the windows to catch the bugs.

Lately, they've been coming in the house. They seem to like to hang out directly outside our front door during the day, and if I open it, they dart inside! We normally don't go out the front door (we have a connected garage so we normally go out through there) so it isn't really a problem unless we order something and get it delivered, in which case we open the front door to get the delivery.

Last week was the first time I saw one in the house. I actually saw it come inside when I opened the door to get a delivery, and I was able to watch where it went, so it didn't take me too long to catch it. The cats were pretty disappointed when I let him out, though. Last night we had another one. I didn't see it get in but I can guess it got in when I opened the door to get another delivery. I did see one right outside when I opened the door, but it ran in the opposite direction so I didn't think it got in. But, later in the evening, one of our cats was batting at something in the corner of the kitchen. I went to see what it was (because they get into things they shouldn't all the time) and the thing he was playing with was moving! Poor little guy was scared half to death. He'd already dropped his tail by the time we caught him and let him out; we found it pretty close to where the cat was terrorizing him.

I don't mind them at all, they're very tiny (only about 1-2" long) and very cute. I just don't want them in the house 'cuz I don't want to clean up gecko guts if one of the cats finds them before we do...

[Treasure]

nothing you can do - we have them all over the house too - and they get inside, and the cats used to play with them (before kitties passed away) and the dogs -- well they play with frogs, so i'm not sure what they'd do with the geckos

just kinda talk to the geckos, tell them you appreciate them eating the bugs, and you'll gladly leave the lights on but they need to stay outside, or the kitties will eat them... *** you're actually more talking to the air - and hoping the message will be delivered***

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Yeah, I get green anoles all the time. Those suckers are hard to catch. And tree frogs sometimes.

My mother in law gets snakes in her kitchen.

All of the above are better than roaches, so I'm not really complaining.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Awwww! What an adorable problem to have! :3 Tiny lizards and snakes (so long as they aren't poisonous) are Teh Qte. I _love_ lil' garter snakes and itty bitty lizards!
Guts from said reptiles, not so much.

[MaggieTheCat]

I'm not so sure that I'd be as appreciative of the snakes, unless they're tiny. Although I do agree with RK that roaches are horrible. We've only seen a couple in the house this year *knock on wood* so hopefully they'll stay away.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Well, down here, they get everywhere. Not so much cockroach type roaches, but waterbugs. I live in near pine trees with water nearby, so, "waterbugs" are a problem.

I am not overrun with them, but to me, a single one is a problem.

They get pretty much anywhere, it doesn't mean it's dirty. It's just a problem of living in the southeastern states.

[TheMike]

probably Anoles http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...00px-Yumi1.jpg
saw lots of them at my in-laws in Fla. they can fit through almost any crack to get to a warm place. check your window frames etc.

[draggar]

probably Anoles http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...00px-Yumi1.jpg
saw lots of them at my in-laws in Fla. they can fit through almost any crack to get to a warm place. check your window frames etc.

I was going to suggest the same. They could also be geckos (the two look extremely similar and we have both here in south Florida). There are also curly tailed lizards that are larger but are still small.

[zombiequeen]

We get blue-tailed common skinks in our woodpiles all the time. My brother keeps catching them when he is splitting logs, he'll split it and out runs a lizard! That's how he got his pet one, because he got her with wasp spray first (he thought her nest was an ant's nest so he sprayed it ), she was really sick that's why he kept her in a cage, but now she's healed up and too tame to be let go.

I've seen tiny geckos before, and my mum remembers seeing them and anoles in Texas when she lived there, so I bet it's one of those. They both can climb up glass and stuff.
At least it's not a bull snake, that's what used to live in my grandma's barn. She says he was a much better mouser than all of the cats she's had.

Maybe catch one, tell it about how the cats are lizard-vores and will eat it, then let it go? It's wishful thinking, but maybe it'll learn.

[MaggieTheCat]

It doesn't really look like the anole pic that was posted above. Maybe it's a different kind, if it is an anole. Their tails are quite a bit shorter and the ones I've seen have either been light brown or kind of golden yellow with darker brown markings on them.

So, now I've found another critter. Not in the house, thank god, because if I saw this thing flying around in my house I think I would be hiding under the covers in bed until my husband got home. >.> It is some big-ass bug. It's been bouncing against the window that my PC desk is in front of pretty much all day (at least every time I sit down at my desk it's been there.) It's bigger around than a quarter, has really big wings, and 6 legs (that I saw.) I didn't get a look at it's wings or back much 'cuz the few times it landed on the window, all I could see was its belly and legs. It's huge, for a bug. It's much bigger than the tiny geckos we get. It's at least as big as the big cockroaches we've seen a couple times in the house.

[Micer]

Mediterranean Gecko maybe?

http://geckoweb.org/profile/hemidactylus-turcicus

I know there's tons of the little guys in my neck of the woods, anoles in the day and geckos at night. Cute lil guys, least rather have one of them in my home instead of a palmetto bug.

[MaggieTheCat]

Yeah, the ones we get look pretty similar to that pic of the Mediterranean gecko.

[Cat]

I love the lil anoles that live near my g-parents in FL. So cute. I used to have one as a pet (but it was an anole I bought in a store)

One of my cats killed a snake in my basement....I was half asleep and thought it was a toy snake....it wasn't!! It had the markings of a copperhead, good thing the kittehs didn't get bitten.

[MaggieTheCat]

There are two little geckos on (the outside of) our kitchen window tonight. Ash (same cat who found the gecko in the house yesterday) was having fun pawing at the window trying to get to them. Both of them had their tails, so they weren't the one we found last night...hope the little guy pulls through okay!

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I got millipedes again.

It's like they are part of the decor at this point.