Advice on lizards on lanai?
 

I have a screened in lanai and most often have lizards inside the lanai. I like that they help keep down other insects down, but don't like that I can't keep sliding glass doors to the house open (when the temperatures are right) as the lizards come inside. Any suggestions on how to control for that? Want to be able to keep the sliding doors open when entertaining and using the living room and the adjoining lanai space. Thanks in advance.

Our anoles are more polite and have never come into the house. They've stopped and looked but they just haven't ventured in.

Ants, get rid of the ants and anoles will go elsewhere.
Also, with the anoles gone, so go the snakes.

Our home watch always said, Anoles own your property, you are just the renter.

We never see them inside until we do spring cleaning and move furniture around. Find one or two petrified under beds, back of closet, under the couch.

Likewise. We have tiled floors and nothing near the sliding doors that might attract them in. Do you have house-plants or similar inside that they might be keen on investigating?

We put in a sliding screen door so that we can get the breeze but keep the lizards out.

Our cats use the anoles as play toys, I can usually catch them with a tupperware or similar clear container and some thin cardboard, then a quick trip to the closest door.

I've been successful removing a couple of anoles by putting a Solo plastic cup over them and "walking" them outside through the nearest door. One anole lost part of their tail during this adventure but happily scampered away when I lifted up the cup. Another anole looked shocked when I finally got him to the outside. The next morning that little guy was a gonner and I was so upset.

I like my anoles. With butter, garlic and parsley.

Glue traps on each side of lanai screen door and on each side of sliding glass door.

They like to crawl between the door jams and jump in the house when the door opens.

Better yet find where they are getting into your lanai and plug the holes? I had them coming in an opening in my screen door threshold. When the threshold was installed they did not cut the one end flush with the door. I used HVAC duct sealant to plug the hole. I have not had an issue since. They now clean the outside of my screens not the inside.

Glue traps are barbaric. Once had a frog get caught in one. Took me an hour to get him out. Cut the glue trap away but couldn't get it off his feet. So just cut it away so it looked like he had sandals. He could hop around but couldn't climb. He probably croaked anyway

Weird...when mine lose their tails, the tails grow a new body and the other body grows a new tail. So we get 2 for 1.

We enjoy having the cute little mosquito and ant-eating critters hanging around, and our dog likes chasing them. As already pointed out, using glue traps is cruel, and should only be used if they try to sell you insurance.

I just catch them with gold fish net and let go out in yard by my pepper plants so they can catch insects attacking them.

I honestly just don't get the concern at all. LTLO, they are not even a threat to anyone; we are a thousand times their size. What is really your issue?

Greg, I had a screen installed across my lanai doors. Can keep the doors open for a nice breeze, screens open to get into the lanai

We did two things to get rid of lizards in our lanai. First, we used parts of a steel wool pad under the threshold holes, as we were told that is one way they get in. Secondly, we got a heavy flower pot and put it against the outside door to get a tight seal of the door. After a few months we could remove the flower pot and the door continued to have a good seal. Of course, if you have gaps elsewhere then you need to close them with caulking or whatever is appropriate for where the gaps are.

GreggC69
 

Gregg, I had many newborn anoles in a plant on my lanai. I sprinkled cinnamon in my plants & no more anoles. I repeat every few months and they have never returned.

Leave them alone is by far the best way.:MOJE_whot:

For me just hearing them scurrying about in my bedroom while I'm trying to sleep gives me the creeps. They obviously leave a bunch of poop too.

The Issue
 

The problem is they poop everywhere, our Lanai , Porch, and Patio. The larger curly tails are even worse.

Good Advice
 

Lot's of good ideas here. I've had success with plugging the holes at the threshold with steel wool or even foil. You can gently puff them out the door with a leaf blower. In the extreme case, the glue boards will take care of the problem. They can be outside, but like you, don't want them in the house.

Get a cat
 

My cat keeps them away. 😊

Cat

Check your weather stripping
 

I found a gap in the weather stripping at the bottom of the access door. Shifting it to close the gap helped. Also on Amazon there are lizard repellents we placed at the threshold of the door. These do have a smell of moth balls but they are not overly offensive. Once we got rid of the lizards already in the lanai, there hasn’t been one since.

Freeze Anole
 

If you keep a spray bottle of water in the refrigerator and spray them they will stop in their tracks, long enough for you to capture them and escort them back outside.

Glue trap antidote
 

For those that use glue traps a quick spray of WD40 on the trap will instantly release the lizard or frog. WD40 is made from fish oil and is harmless to the critters.

Go on Amazon, they have a lizard repellant that is peppermint oil and they hate it. Works for us.

Rubber snake
 

Put a copy of realistic rubber snakes near the doors. Lizards don’t like snakes.

Plug up all small gaps around the lanai . If they are already in, capture them with a small butterfly net and move them outside.

I put a weather strip on my screen door and that has greatly reduced the number of anoles on my lanai. Those little lizards are harmless. If they get in your house they will hide and either you will be able to catch them or they will die somewhere in the house. They really are no big deal. I pick them up with my hands and put them outside. They do not bite and they don’t scratch, not slimy either.

Don’t do that. They will suffer!!!

open garage doors and they march in. too fast for me to trap and remove so unfortunately they ususally die.

Get a little net in the fishtank isle. Catch and release. It just barehand them like we did as kids and relocate them outside. They’re harmless and can’t even bite.

Lizards
 

If you have vinyl siding they come in under that. My cat loves playing with them and brings them in the house. When he gets tired of them, I just pick them up and bring them outside.

A definite no on the glue traps. I got a screen door for my sliders and front door and that solved the problem.

Same!

Glue traps are an abomination. It makes me sad that something that cruel is even sold, the idea of an animal starving to death makes me want to cry.