House Lizards: Why They're There, And How To Get Them Out

A new mother decided to make her home lizard free, for the health and safety of her child. So she dug up some information and some easy-to-do tips.

Before getting rid of them, here’s what house geckos do in a Singapore flat.

They eat mosquitoes and cockroaches.

A house gecko is a small, free, working part of your household pest control, and in a country where Aedes mosquitoes are a genuine health concern, an animal that eats them isn’t obviously your enemy.

They don’t bite, they aren’t venomous, and they pose no meaningful disease risk to people. Wash your hands after touching one or its droppings, as with any animal, and that’s the whole precaution.

None of which means you have to live with them. But it does change the calculation, and it means the first question isn’t how to kill them but why there are so many, which has a straightforward answer.

Why they’re there

Lizards follow insects. A flat with a lot of geckos is a flat with a lot of insects, usually attracted by light. Deal with the insects and the geckos leave on their own, because the food has gone.

Reduce outdoor lighting near windows and doors, or switch to warm-toned bulbs, which attract far fewer insects than cool white ones.
Close windows at dusk, when insects and geckos both come in.
Fit and repair insect screens.
Keep surfaces and floors free of crumbs, which brings ants, which brings everything else.
Deal with cockroaches: a gecko population is often a signal about them.
Seal gaps around pipes, air-conditioning conduits, window frames and under doors.

What not to use

Don’t use naphthalene mothballs. This is the most commonly recommended household remedy and it’s a bad one. Naphthalene can cause a serious breakdown of red blood cells, with substantially higher risk in people with G6PD deficiency, screened for at birth in Singapore precisely because it isn’t rare here. Mothballs also look exactly like sweets to a small child.

They’re also not particularly effective against geckos.

Glue traps. The animal dies slowly over days, which is unpleasant, and children and pets get stuck to them. Not a good idea.
Insecticide sprays aimed at lizards. They aren’t insects, so it mostly disperses chemicals around your home to no purpose.
Eggshells, garlic, pepper spray, coffee grounds. Widely recommended, no good evidence, and harmless enough that you can try them if you enjoy that sort of thing.

Getting one out

Open a window or door and shut the internal doors so there’s only one route.
Turn off the lights in the room and leave the light on outside. They move towards it.
To catch one: put a box or cup over it, slide a stiff piece of paper or card underneath, and carry it out. Don’t grab it by the tail.
Tails come off. A dropped tail wriggles for some time afterwards. This is a normal defence mechanism, the lizard is fine, and the tail regrows. Explain it to a child before they see it.

The reasonable precautions

Cover food and store it sealed.
Wipe surfaces where droppings appear, with detergent.
Discard food a lizard has been in contact with, or that one has fallen into.
Keep them out of the kitchen by sealing gaps, not by chemicals.
Wash hands after cleaning droppings.

If your child is frightened

Very common, and something to handle deliberately instead of brushing off.

Don’t mock the fear or make them touch one. Forcing it entrenches the fear, it doesn’t cure it.
Don’t perform your own fear either: children learn what to be afraid of by watching adults. If you shriek, they will.
Give facts. It can’t hurt you, it eats mosquitoes, it’s more frightened of you.
Give them a role, holding the door open while you carry it out. Agency reduces fear better than reassurance does.
Books and videos of geckos, at a distance and on their terms.

Frequently asked questions

Are house lizards dangerous?

No. House geckos don’t bite, aren’t venomous, and pose no meaningful disease risk. Wash your hands after handling one or cleaning droppings, as you’d with any animal, and that’s the extent of it.

How do I get rid of lizards in my home?

Remove their food. Lizards follow insects, so reducing outdoor lighting near windows or switching to warm-toned bulbs, closing windows at dusk, fitting insect screens, keeping surfaces clear of crumbs and dealing with cockroaches will thin them out on its own. Then seal gaps around pipes, window frames and under doors.

Do mothballs get rid of lizards?

Not effectively, and they shouldn’t be used. Naphthalene can cause a serious breakdown of red blood cells, with much higher risk in people with G6PD deficiency, which is common enough in Singapore to be screened for at birth. Mothballs also look like sweets to a small child.

Are glue traps a good idea?

No. The animal dies slowly over days, and children and pets get stuck to them. Catch and release with a box and a piece of card is quicker and easier.

Why did the lizard’s tail come off?

It’s a normal defence mechanism. The dropped tail wriggles for a while afterwards, the lizard is unharmed, and the tail regrows. Explain this to a child before they come across it.

My child is scared of lizards. What should I do?

Don’t mock the fear or force contact, and don’t perform your own: children learn what to fear from watching adults. Give facts, give them a role such as holding the door while you carry one out, and let them look at pictures on their own terms.

What to remember

They eat mosquitoes and cockroaches, which in Singapore is worth something.

If there are a lot of them, you have an insect problem. Fix the lights, the screens and the crumbs, and the geckos follow the food out.

No mothballs. They’re dangerous, especially with G6PD deficiency in the family. And no glue traps. A cup and a piece of card does the job.