Gecko inside lanai
 

The little lizard doesn’t seem to know how to get out. Is there a gentle way to help him? He seems to have an anxious partner on the outside.

I let them stay when one comes in, they eat bugs.

I take a soft whisk broom and gently sweep him onto a dust pan and let him loose outside.

Little guy is ok and outside. By chance my pest control people were by and showed me how to help him out.

When we first moved here, a friend gave us a butterfly net to catch and release outside. Very helpful.

We use a butterfly net as well. I even bought a splatter screen from the dollar store so I could cover the opening to the butterfly net once we had caught him. Before, he kept climbing out of the net before I could carry him outside.

We used to try and catch them -- now we realize having big, fat anoles/geckos in our lanai means we will see far fewer spiders and other bugs. We welcome them!

They are good sautéed in olive oil and lemon juice.
LOL

I use a piece if Tupperware (clear) to "catch" the little guys, then a piece of cardboard to slide under the Tupperware, i then carry outside and allow to go into the grass.

Do what I did yesterday, throw a towel over it and reach under the towel, gently pick it up and put it outside. Trust me, it's a harmless creature that won't bite.

Yes, except they poop all over the place. If you ate a lot of bugs you would too.

You can put them outside, but they will be back. Always fun to watch.

Do they taste like chicken????

We have never noticed that at all. We used to try and get them back out. But we noticed that the same ones were getting back in somehow. Now we just let them be. We always have 2 or 3 and they never bother us. They do keep the little spiders and gnats under control. If I can ever figure out how they get in I will fix that so something less desirable doesn’t get in, but the geckos are harmless.

A small net is what we use

I throw a dishtowel over the lizard and gently scoop him up and let him go outside. Easy, and it doesn't hurt him.

Ohiobuckeye
 

Yes, that’s why the Geckos are in there, there’s bugs.

Just be sure not to grab him by the tail. Did that once. Their tails break off. The part you are left holding continues to reflexively twitch. You may have heard me scream.

:icon_wink: No! That's Snowbird that taste like chicken. :ho:

Yes, they don't bite but they do poop. You had better look closer because like any other animal what goes in eventually comes out and unless yours are housebroken look for the little tiny droppings almost like mice. Our come in to the lanai through the vinyl siding and the bottom corner of the screen door.

IF you leave them in the lanai, make sure you provide some water source so they don't dehydrate.

Pick it up gently with your hands and put it back outside. Indeed, be careful with the tail. You can do this with baby iguanas as well!
Y'all are pretty squeamish about handling lizards!😄

We took a large size empty Kleenex box, taped one end shut and left the flaps on the other end. You then put the flap gently under it, using your hand to guide it in, close the flaps and take it out for release.

That’s what I do,also. Someone said they don’t bite but actually they do; however, it dose t hurt. My Granddaughter likes to catch them and let them attach to her hand and see how long they will cling on.

We bought a butterfly net at Dollar Tree. Once we cover him, we slide a paper plate under him and send him on his way.

I grew up in the Virgin Islands.
As kids, we'd attach them to our ears as earrings.
No house was a home without a couple lizards running around.
They eats all kinds of bugs.

I take a wet washcloth and drop it on top of them. Easy then to pick up and put outside.

Yes, but they crap all over your lawn furniture! Not a pretty sight!

I have put a Glad travel container over them, keeping my hand on top to ensure it doesn’t lift too high and it escapes, I slip a piece of paper (I use printer paper, it is thin and large enough for this task) under the container to trap my little visitor. I make sure the paper is over the container as much as possible, then I lift it up, take it all outside, shut the door, put it down, and lift the container. The anole always scampers away as fast as it can. It does take patience to capture them, but I think The time spent is better than finding a dead anole. I had one who did not want to leave and I couldn’t trap. I put a jar lid on the floor with water, daily I checked the water and refilled when necessary. After about two weeks, I saw it on the floor heading for the door. I helped by opening the door. Away it went without even saying thank you.

is it possible it's toad poop you see? they're very large, almost as big as the toad itself

Wet a paper towel & put it over him...then gently pick it up & throw it outside!

Why would you not just grab it and toss it out the door ??? Also, if you lift up the bottom of the lowest course of vinyl siding, you will see the gap the little buggers use to get in. Load it up with caulking, put the siding back in place, and you will never see another one.

I use a broom, guide them gently towards open door
helps if two people room with a broom to help guide them out the door

My cat disposed of one last week.

They are harmless, and eat bugs. That's good enough for me. Poop or no poop.

Very helpful suggestions above. Thank you. Update: I had a bit of mold at the bottom of the screen of lanai and I cleaned it with vinegar. The vinegar also seems to keep the Geckos away.

They rub the bugs they catch on the vinegar to make them taste better!:icon_wink:

If the broom doesn't work, try throwing a towel over it and gently pick it up to release him outside.

Want to borrow my cat..she loves to catch geckos...she brings them inside to us to show us her trophy. She thinks they are a moving toy..but she will not kill them.

Just use a high power leaf blower. They can fly but the landing is tough.