Trapping lizards
 

I have several Anoles (little geco-like lizards) living in my garage. They are smart enough to get in there but too dumb to find their way back out.

Does anybody know how to trap them for release? I don't want to harm them. They hide in dark places and under things, so snatching them up is impossible.

Yes, they eat bugs. But they also poop, and I paid a lot of money to have my garage floor finished.

I had one in the garage for about 5 weeks. Was going to start feeding him.
One day I had left a can with yard waste in there, and saw him in it.
Put the can outside for awhile and he escaped. :coolsmiley:

Try to get them out of hiding with a broom, then get them into a corner with no where to hide. Put a plastic bag over one hand and grab them and carry them outside. They are not that difficult to catch, but there are no traps you can use that wouldn't kill them.

I caught one little baby that was trapped on my lanai yesterday using this method. They will squiggle and try to get away, but they will be glad to get outdoors and back with their family.

Can you find where they are getting in? We have garage screens we keep closed when our garage is open.

Co-habitate
 

I don't think they are too dumb to find their way out. They have simply found a nice shelter and source of food, and are comfortable.

I doubt that you will ever have an Anole-free garage. Any time the garage door is opened is an opportunity for them to scamper in and hide. I don't know of any practical method of trapping them without harming them.

At my house in Tampa they even get into my tightly screened pool deck where the doors to the outside are seldom opened. I have learned to admire their tenacity and to co-habitate amiably.

Since they do not bite, harm furniture, carry disease or taste good (as far as I know,) I would not consider killing them.

Try this.

It's a kids butterfly net I picked up at Dollar Store.

I've been catching everything with it! Fairly strong too.



[img=http://s5d3.turboimagehost.com/t/18871862_net.jpg]http://s5d3.turboimagehost.com/t/18871862_net.jpg

Maybe I should add too that the geckos had been getting into the lanai until I noticed that they could push under the sweep at the bottom of the door leading out to the garden.

They do this often hiding from the black birds.

I finally had to screw on 1/4" clear rubber tubing to fill the gap behind the sweep. Now we are gecko free..at least in the lanai.

Carl in Tampa, I disagree...one latched on to my finger when I caught him in our lanai and stayed attached until I got him/her outside! No teeth, no damage! lol!

So he or she was not happy. I've handled a few and never been bit.

I meant no harm from the bite. When my kids were younger and had friends over to the house, the kids would often catch them and induce them to bite the kids ear lobes --- wearing them like ear rings.

I throw a dish towel over them and then carefully ball it up and take it outside and open it up and out they go.

Z

I also use a butterfly net which I bought at Market of Marion.

I think rn1tv's post was lighthearted.

I recently learned that these lizards/geckos are poisonous to cats (I don't know if this is true for dogs). I just know that my friends' cat got very sick twice, after eating them. They had to take it to the emergency vet. So hoping this doesn't happen to anyone else.

That's exactly the method I use.
As a matter of fact, I think I learned it from a post by zcaveman a few years back!

Cats that kill and eat anoles can indeed get very sick. The anoles eat bugs including cockroaches that have ingested pest-control poisons. Apparently it doesn't kill the anoles but it really does a job on the cats. Happened to my cat and she died.

Just leave a small plate with a little wine on it. The next day just pick them up and take them outside.

Oh, my! I'm so sorry. Thanks for posting this warning.

what, no wine, music or dim lights.....

Love this...must try it next time I catch an angry one!:mademyday::a20:

I use a gold fish net to capture anoles . They can and do enter our lanai/bird cage right under the bolted framing where there is an opening.

I wanted to caulk the bottom frame but then it would prevent rain water from draining. so I have a round up periodically. Those critters are fast and very elusive

When you do............take a selfie.

That's really sad, so sorry about your cat jblum. Thanks for sharing.
Hopefully it will help save another cat's life.

I wonder if small dogs are similarly affected.
I would never allow my dog to eat a gecko on purpose.
But he is crazy for them.
And sometimes he is faster than I am.
Luckily they usually find a hiding spot under the door threshold.

Or......wait until it's cold out. It paralyzes 'em and you can very easily pick them up.

Always amazed by how fascinated some people are with lizards here in Florida.

As kids, we used to buy them at the Allentown Fair in Pa. They would come with a little leash around them and the other end had a safety pin to pin to your shirt. They never lived that long. We would try to kill flies and feed them.

I promise I will:loco:! I love the little guys and would love to add them to my jewelry collection:1rotfl:.

Yes! I use one just like that, and it works!

Yesterday morning my pup vomited. She was fine afterwards and I forgot about it. I just now took her out and she pooped a lizard. Don't know if she was sick from the lizard........YUCK!!!!!!

She pooped a lizard???? OMGGGGGGGGGGGGG!

I've watched birds try to catch lizards in my bushes. The bird would disappear into the bush and emerge with a lizard in its beak.

I get them In my lanai if my door does not shut. Here is how I catch a release. I keep a Tupperware type container and a piece of cardboard in lanai. When I see a critter hanging on the screen a drop the container over it then slide the cardboard under it. Since the container is opaque I know I captured it .I carefully flip the whole thing and take it all outside and open to release. Works well.

trapping leaping lizards
 

Having lived in Florida for 16 years, I have devised a system that works for me. I use a clear plastic microwave cover and a circle cut out of card stock paper that is larger than the cover- stiff but still slips under the plastic cover. I plop the cover over the critter and then I slide the circle under the cover, flip it over, making sure there are no gaps for it to jump out and then deposit the little one outside.