lizards in lanai

[designdiva46]

Does anyone out there have a solution to keep the lizards out of your lanai? Help!!! :dontknow:

[billethkid]

I can't answer your question...only state they are good for the environment. They eat worms and bugs that find their way into the lanai and ultimately the house.
They don't bother humans or animals.
We just leave em be and do their job.

BTK

[Rokinronda]

I sealed all the spaces where the frame meets the slab and roof with a clear silicone sealer. If you have a utility room next to the lanai, you must seal that room also. Also, check door seals. Hope that helps you. I don't really mind when they get in, I just don't think they could survive long. Or open the door, let them in and have an indoor lizard terrarium.

[beady]

They seem to like door frames. We find them on the lanai quite often, never have found a dead one inside. Apparently they are clever and can find their way out as well as in.
Grandkids love to catch them. We insist they release them after the catch.
Really good and beneficial little dragons.

[Muncle]

If you have siding, you're not going to keep them out. When I first came to TV, I was fixated with them, convinced they would get in the house and do untoward things. After checking on them, I discovered they are anoles, not geckos as I had thought, and they are really good to have around. For one thing, they eat spiders and other tiny critters. And though they seem to have free run of the lanai, they almost never enter the house (let me keep believing that). During the 3 years, I've seen one indoors and he looked totally confused. BTK is right. Leave 'em be and they'll do their job. My only complaint is that they don't eat (enough) lovebugs --- not those :edit: are a different matter.

[Russ_Boston]

I have one suggestion.

Lizard Stew:
Ingredients:
one fresh lizard (not store bought)
ginger
garlic
lemon juice
salt
beer

Get out a beer. Open. Begin consuming. Clean your lizard being careful to keep the heart, liver, intestines, brain, tail, testicles, and tongue. They will be used in other recipes. Drink a beer.

Pound ginger and garlic in a spice-poundy thing. Drink another beer. Add lemon or lime juice and salt. Rub concoction all over lizard. Beer empty, good, it should be! Go get another.

Place whole lizard on low-charcoal heat making sure to turn him (or her) over several times. Maintaining constant beer drinking.

Sample bits of lizard to check quality and doneness and relieve beer munchies.

When lizard is golden brown, remove from charcoal, cut, and serve.

Suggestion: serve with lots of beer.

[SteveZ]

It's easier to name them and consider them pets. At lest the County doesn't require them to be tagged!

My dogs think they are great to chase, as the dogs have a prey drive and nothing else to target.

Actually, I'm more nervous if I don't see any. that may mean the bugs are getting bigger than the geckos and more trouble is in the offing....

[chelsea24]

Can't say that I've every seen a lizard on the lanai. However, my cats are out there a lot so maybe the lizards are much smarter then we think. I can hear my Lily going "here Lizard, lizard, lizard." They are cute little critters though.
http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/loungelizardf.gif (http://www.millan.net)

[redwitch]

Don't know if this actually works, but a friend swears by it -- fabric softener sheets along the edges of the lanai. Apparently the anoles don't like the smell. She says she puts them down about every two weeks for a day and hasn't had an anole on the lanai since. My cats live on the lanai, truly think it's the cats' meow so to speak, so the anoles do not come in mylanai at all -- just sit where the girls can see them and go crazy wanting to play tag with the little critters.

[uujudy]

My only complaint is that they don't eat (enough) lovebugs --- not those :edit: are a different matter.


I have heard about Love Bugs on other posts. What, exactly, are they? :dontknow: They're not VW Beetles... ;D

[swrinfla]

uujudy:

So far as I can tell, they're the only curse of Florida. Bugs who mate practically at birth and continue to do so. The name apparently derives from the fact that two of them copulate and remain attached until they die. They are prevalent in April/May and again in September. Harmless (don't bite, for example), but highly annoying, and everywhere.

They're very hard on automobile paint jobs. Folks advocate cleaning them off almost every day, or their remains will eat the paint away. Since my car is over 11 years old, I'm afraid that I don't worry that much.

SWR

[uujudy]

Thanks for the info, but.. ewwww! :'( How often do these love bugs come out? Do they get in the house? Do they get in your hair? How big are they? Do they swarm? :yikes:

[handieman]

Does anyone out there have a solution to keep the lizards out of your lanai? Help!!! :dontknow:

Clear throat and holler a resounding SHOOOO
That should do it :bigthumbsup:
Next question??
Handie :joke:

[redwitch]

Handie, you open your mouth when they're around? You're a better man than I, Gunga Din.

Judy, yes, they swarm. Mainly on freeways -- they seem to have a thing for asphalt. I smoke on my patio so they like to flit around bugging me when it's their season. They are a yuck factor but truly harmless. By week two of them you're ready to scream but afraid a pair will accidently fly into your mouth. They really don't land much and are not big fans of hair (had long hair last year and can't remember doing the "Get it out NOW!!!" dance).

Lovebugs are my pet peeve. I don't like them. They're innocuous but I. don't. like. them. Their saving grace is they're only around for two months out of the year.

[Sandy222]

We used some spray insulation in all the corners of our lania to block out the little creatures. Seemed to help alot!!!

Last night just before shutting out the lights in the dining room I saw a big!!! spider ---my husband hit it with a magazine and hundreds of little baby spiders spread in every direction...it was gross. We killed all the little spiders with some household cleaner. It was the grossest thing to see just before going to sleep.

[uujudy]

Handie & Red, you two are a scream! :a20: Seriously, how BIG are these love bugs? Are they like gnats? Box Elder bugs? (talk about annoying... they're everywhere here) grasshopper size bugs? Please, please, please don't tell me they're bigger than grasshoppers.... I'm OK with little bugs, but big bugs drive me buggy.

Sandy, (you'll be saying EEEWWW) I don't mind spiders. They're working animals. They earn their keep. :2cool: I practice spider catch & release. We actually (here comes the eewwww part) had a tarantula in our bathroom right after we moved in. I was terrified (see the part about big bugs) but got it into a giant plastic ice cream tub, poked holes in the lid, and my husband gave it to his secretary for her son. The son kept the tarantula as a pet for years. And yes, the secretary was fine with that :yikes:

Does anything eat the love bugs? Do the lizards eat the bugs? (trying to stay on topic) Maybe we could encourage natural predators to take up residence... as long as the predators aren't too big. ;D

[gonzy]

Unfortunately only birds eat their eggs in the larval stage once they hatch they have no natural enemies. They are a little bigger than a mosquito but since they are seldom found alone you can double that size. They are very acidic and can make a mess on car grills (you will see many cars with plastic covers over their front during the "season". I have noticed one thing that they don't care much for water so if you stay in the pool the entire month of may and september they won't bother. lol

[redwitch]

The two together are about the length of a regular fly (maybe a little longer) and wayyyy skinnier. They are not frightening in the least unless you have a serious bug phobia. They are annoying. So far as I can tell, they only have one natural enemy -- cars. And they do get their revenge on cars by pitting the paint job if not washed off immediately.

It is sooooooo much fun to drive down the freeway and all of a sudden a swarm comes out of nowhere and smashes into the front of your car. When that happens, whatever you do, do NOT turn on the windshield washers -- you'll go from barely visible driving to totally non-visible. Then you're stuck driving 5 mph with your head hanging out of the window and just praying the suckers don't go up your nose (mouth will be clamped shut).

Totally worthless bugs. Not even cute. No malice in the critters. Just horny (I think Handie's descended from them).

[uujudy]

Hahahaha! :a20: You guys are a hoot! 1rnfl Mosquito or Fly-size I can handle. Let me see if I have this right... For May & September we just stay OFF the freeways and IN the pool? I can do that! :bigthumbsup:

[Barefoot]

I love geckos, the more the merrier!! :bigthumbsup: Occasionally I have to save them from the dogs in the Lanai and release them outside. If you have spare geckos, please send them over to the Village of Belvedere. ;D

[redwitch]

BF, I'd send you some of mine but I don't think my girls would ever forgive me. I'm really enjoying sitting and watching them right now with their push ups and pouch puffing. Gotta love what all a male will do to attract a female.

[Russ_Boston]

Red - In TV i thought all a single male had to do was - be breathing and dance to attract a female?

[Barefoot]

Russ, the lanai lizards behave a little differently than the Katie Belles lizards. Cuter too.

[Taltarzac]

My dog-- a chihuahua/terrier mix-- loves to hunt anoles. He has got about 40 so far in the past 15 months we have had him. He just kills them and does not eat them.

My advice about controlling lizards on the lanai. Adopt a chihuahua. They seem to love hunting these anoles. Or, maybe, it is the terrier in him that lives to hunt small critters.

[The Great Fumar]

If your trying to catch them. use your vacume cleaner hose and suck them up and turn them loose in the yard................However if your trying to harvest them , then try a fondue of chocolate ....they are really quite tastie...

chef fumar

[Rokinronda]

Fumar, Oh my, our vacuum has tornado action. The poor an-oles would be sent to OZ!!

[The Great Fumar]

Rockinronda
I think your misspelling OZ....... Its AAAHHH'S ......
as in "their gone"...

anti little dinosaurs fumar

[designdiva46]

Thanks for your suggestions. I don't want to kill them. Just keep them from entering my house as they are impossible to catch. They are fine outside, I just don't want them in my house!

[zcaveman]

If you get an anole in the house try not to disturb him so he does not run. Get a dish towel and drop it on top of him. Then you can pick him up and take him outside and let him go. The wife does not want me to kill them so this is my procedure.

If they have the run of the lanai, you will find little anole droppings all over. Just sweep them up. you will also find dead anoles under the seat cushions. Either vacuum them or pick them up and throw them out in the yard.

if you keep your grill outside, be sure to open the lid and give it a few sharp raps with a handle or something to get them to leave before you turn the grill on. If you don't, be sure to remember Russ's recipe for lizard stew. Or have some melted chocolate or dipping sauce.

Z

[samhass]

Z- I haven't tried them with the chocolate dipping sauce. How are they?
(And you can't answer "tastes like chicken")

[Russ_Boston]

Taste like chocolate covered frogs. Oh wait frogs taste like chicken. Never mind!

[punkpup]

1rnfl 1rnfl 1rnfl 1rnfl 1rnfl You people are SICK!!!!! :a20:

All this nonsense has made me hysterical. My little jack Russell's are gonna have a ball lizard hunting which will make me even crazier than I am already cuz the poor little lizards will probably croak from fright! The dogs won't eat them but the cat, well he's a serious predator!

One saving grace for the lizards; I don't think they taste very good so the first bite is liable to be spit out. lol

[Sidney Lanier]

We like 'em! Our son, who's infinitely more observant than we are (in my case because I'm busy painting and my wife is busy on TOTV chat!), noticed that they are actually living in the bottom of the door frame of our lanai. He said it looks like a duplex as there are two entrances and they come and go. One actually hopped into the house and our son got down on the floor and got close enough to it to actually pet it. They don't bother us at all; we enjoy watching them and know they keep the bug population down. They get out on their own just as they get in; not to worry!

[The Great Fumar]

designdiva
Sucking them up in the vacuum hose doe not hurt them.....just take them out into the yard and dump them out , I do it all the time when my freezers full..................
PS Don't let your dogs eat them as over time they will poisen them...if you don't believe me , talk to my neighbor who had to put down a dog or call a vet...............

[The Great Fumar]

PS
Saw a great Japanese sci-fi Movie.............

LIZARDS IN THE LANAI
starring Sushui Hiakawa (Tom Cruise)

[Barefoot]

Don't let your dogs eat them as over time they will poison them...if you don't believe me , talk to my neighbor who had to put down a dog or call a vet..

Awww Fumar, this almost sounds like you like dogs. :dontknow:

I don't let my dogs eat anoles, simply because I like the little lizards a lot. I did not realize they were poisonous to animals. Thanks for the information!!

[zcaveman]

Z- I haven't tried them with the chocolate dipping sauce. How are they?
(And you can't answer "tastes like chicken")


Unfortunately since it is a reptile, it DOES taste like chicken just like rattlesnake tastes like chicken.

But the chocolate dipping sauce does sweeten it up a bit.

[gfmucci]

...is this thread related to Bats in the Belfry?

Here is the Bats In The Belfry Lyrics... Can someone adapt this to "Lizards in the Lanai?"

old man river said
you can go your own way
if you just leave him alone
do not deliver all your things today
we are going home
oh mama we now so hungary

CHORUS:
I got bats in the belfry
I'm in the kitchen, boiling society
I'm in the open catching all the leaves
we all see what we want

old man river...
oh mama we now so hungary

CHORUS

I have a crazy idiosyncrasy
it's affinity to serendipity
and in this eternal epiphany
no hypocracy or duplicity

oh mama we now so hungary