The Wall Gecko, also known as the common (or Asian) house gecko, is a small, nocturnal lizard with soft skin. It measures up to 15 cm in length, and is usually grey or light brown to beige in colour. It’s native to south-east Asia, though it’s now found across the world, including large parts of Africa.

These small geckos are non-venomous and not harmful to humans. Most medium-sized to large geckos are docile, but may bite if distressed, which can pierce skin.

In Africa, there is a popular belief that wall gecko lizards aren’t harmful to humans and shouldn’t be killed.

In some cultures, it is forbidden to kill them. But sadly, recent stories read via the internet have made wall gecko lizards an enemy.

Some people are always uncomfortable at the sight of wall geckos in their houses; this is because their appearance may be queer and fishy to a lot of people, which is the major reason for the dislike of this kind of reptile and some species of wall geckos appear only at night and hide in the day. Hence making them to be seen as being a suspicious creature.

Another odd fact about wall geckos or house lizards is that they are a group of reptiles that are only seen on the walls of our buildings and houses, unlike the normal lizard.

Here are a few tips that can help you eliminate or repel wall geckos in your apartment:

• If you have mothballs, you can place them around to repel geckos.

Mothballs are small balls of chemical pesticide and deodorant, sometimes used when storing clothing and other articles susceptible to damage from mold or moth larvae (especially clothes moths like Tineola bisselliella).

• If you have garlic cloves, you can use them to repel geckos with the odor.

Each segment of a garlic bulb is called a clove.

• If you have eggshells, you can place them around your home to scare off geckos.

• If you have onions, cut some up to keep geckos at bay.

• If you have coffee and tobacco, you can make a gecko poison.

• If you have cayenne pepper or Tabasco sauce, you can make a homemade pepper spray.

Bye!