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Living overseas

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Original poster

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to get rid of gheckoes in the house?

25 replies

partialderivative · 26/04/2015 16:33

I know most of you will be thinking that gheckos are lovely things to have scuttling about. And that they keep down mozzies and other insects.

But my dd hates them to the point that I think she has a phobia I have a spider phobia, so I know this is not rational.

So, anyone have any ideas?

OP posts:

castlesintheair · 26/04/2015 17:07

I don't know how to prevent them coming in but mine tend to come in when I leave the door open, so maybe just be more careful about that? I don't mind them in the house as yes they eat all the bugs spiders but when the rustling sounds like a whole family of them has moved in, I just sweep them back outside.

Jebel · 26/04/2015 17:15

Our cats eat them!

Original poster

partialderivative · 26/04/2015 17:18

Thanks Castles, ours are always on the walls, and can escape through impossibly small cracks if chased with a broom.

My DP suggested (light heartedly) it may be easier to put dd through anti-phobic councilling (sp?)

OP posts:

MadamG · 26/04/2015 17:18

They can eat each other....!
Block holes up in windows / screens / doors and take them outside?

chloeb2002 · 26/04/2015 21:05

I'm with your dh. I think you will need to address dd's some what irrational fear.
Spiders at least can bite..

I'd completely ignore the issue, have you recently moved somewhere with gekos?

We name ours that come in on the roof. The loud noise they make is amazing?

Maybe visit a reptile house or adopt a blue tongue as a pet?

chloeb2002 · 26/04/2015 21:07

Just read... Your chasing them with brooms??? Doesn't that make dd believe they are a problem?

How old is dd?

BiscuitMillionaire · 26/04/2015 21:07

I don't know where you are, but in Singapore they sell lizard traps, and some kind of lizard repellant. I never used either, as although we had loads of house lizards, we didn't mind them too much (except when found in the fridge or food cupboards!).

MyFriendsCallMeOh · 27/04/2015 01:19

Keep them, they eat all kinds of mosquitoes and bugs....

somuchtosortout · 27/04/2015 06:23

Hi, we had this last year when we moved to Africa and my ddd were not used to geckos and lizards. My oldest would not even go in to a room if she knew there had been one in there the day before.

I'm afraid your dh is right and it might be easier to de-sensitise her rather than affirm her fear by trying to get rid of them, as they are harmless.

I did a lot of walking in to a room, chatting to the gecko and giving it a name and thanking him for eating the mosquitoes. Then going in the room with my dd, etc etc.

I would say get a cat, and yes they do sometimes eat geckos, but mostly they bring in half eaten lizards, half alive bats and all kinds of creatures so actually for your purpose I think they would be pretty counter-productive!!

Original poster

partialderivative · 27/04/2015 15:23

Thanks for all comments and suggestions.

We have been here (in the M.E.) for nearly 6 years, and she has been terrified of them from the start. We have tried to explain to her that they are harmless and they actually help keep down other bugs. We have not been chasing them with brooms for all that time!

For a long time we didn't see any, now two fairly large ones have appeared.

We are currently trying to duct tape round the a/c where it seems they come and go.

The suggestion about counseling was rather tongue in cheek, I really can't imagine anywhere round here offering that sort of service, and I really cannot see my dd wanting to go.

OP posts:

justonemorethread · 27/04/2015 18:52

I didn't actually mean send her to counselling!
Would silicone sealant fit around the cracks?

chloeb2002 · 28/04/2015 04:10

Trying to keep them out is absolutely futile.. What's more the continued efforts to remove them will fuel the irrational fear. No different to spider fears or snakes.
Geckos are very placid. They will run away from people.
Least said soonest mended, although I suspect this has gone on for too long to be undone quickly. She has learnt geckos are to be feared and they must be kept out, removed. Reinforces, repeats, exacerbates.

If it's interfering with your life, as it sounds, ( well if I had to chase something out the house that's harmless, tape up the house, it would interfere with my life) then I would get help. I don't see counselling or a bit of psychotherapy as too much.
The me recruits huge numbers of western medical staff sure there are psych staff too.

Original poster

partialderivative · 29/04/2015 09:38

chloeb2002 Your last post came across as a bit hostile, did you mean it to, or am I just reading too much into your words.

As I mentioned earlier, we have been here about 6 years, we have not spent that time chasing geckos around the place, indeed I have only raised a broom against them once, last week. I did once catch one in my hands and take it outside, unbeknown to dd.

We have spent a lot of time trying to reassure our dd that geckos are harmless and in fact are quite helpful in keeping down mozzies and other bugs.

I was only posting to find out if anyone had some old wives type method, along the lines of soak a potato in vinegar and hang it over the a/c (I just made that up, can you tell?)

OP posts:

chloeb2002 · 29/04/2015 23:01

Sorry not meant to be hostile.. I guess it sounds like it's affecting your life. Being it's irrational i guess in your shoes it would frustrate me if it affected my life

yearofthegoat · 02/05/2015 16:05

We have a gecko living behind a picture and another one behind the fridge freezer. It is impossible to keep them out so we just live with them. They start squeaking in the late evening and we joke that they are telling us to go to bed. They do leave the odd dropping which needs clearing up but other than that they are no trouble.

One got into the car venting system and fried a few years ago, the smell was horrendous. Luckily the car is rented so the clean up didn't cost us anything.

I think talking it through with DD and getting her to co-exist with the geckos is the way forward. They really are harmless.

TheoriginalLEM · 02/05/2015 16:22

i love geckos but i can imagine they appear from nowhere and make your dd jump. i think that's the thing with spiders is they APPEAR to move really quickly.

i used to be petrified of spiders to the point of tears. i had yo get used to them pretty darn quick when i worked in a lab full of tarantulas. So safely in their little containers i would look at them. i learnt some facts about them and now i think they are fantastic.

House spiders continued to put the fear of Christ in me, always appearing in the corner of my eye as they do. i got over this by giving them names. So any big spiders upstairs are called Gary, downstairs Malcolm. I am now comfortable enough to chat to them and they don't get evicted.

Do you have any friends with geckos? They are very pretty little things. Maybe if your dd could be around them in a controlled environment?

How old is she? if she is older i have heard that cbt is very good for helping with phobias.

Original poster

partialderivative · 03/05/2015 18:55

Thanks for the further responses.

DD was particularly unlucky when it came to whose school bag the gecko would chose to lurk under, so yes LEM they really did make DD jump on several occasions. (good grief! They mad me jump on one occasion when I got into the shower, pulled the curtain across and two of them jumped out at me! TBH, it may well have been a bit of a shock for them, but it had us all doing a merry dance round the bath I was standing in trying to get away from each other)

DD is just 14, this does not seriously affect our lives, it just adds to the tapestry.

OP posts:

monkeyfacegrace · 03/05/2015 18:58

I adore lizards. I'm jealous. I want little reptiles in my house too

chloeb2002 · 04/05/2015 08:13

14... She can chase her own geckos .. And tape her own room

JustHavinABreak · 04/06/2015 21:23

My heart goes out to your DD. I spent several years in Africa in my teens and before going, I had high hopes of finding myself a pet lizard. Very first night in my new bedroom and one of them ran across my pillow as I was dozing off to sleep. From then on I was completely terrified. I mean paralysed with fear, and whether a fear is irrational or legitimate, it feels the same. Sweating, crying, nauseous, unable to move. I was very lucky that my Mom and my brother would chase them off for me, but to this day I freeze up when I even see a picture. I can't be of much use but I really do feel for your daughter. She's very lucky you are so understanding.

yallahabibi · 06/06/2015 18:16

Recently I had a twitching in my chest whilst at work . There was , I much later discovered, a gecko in my bra . He or she was quite comfortable nestled under my boob for most of the day .

TheHappinessTrap · 06/06/2015 18:22

I have nothing new to add so am going to tell my gecko story. It's short.

I had screened bedroom windows and thin curtains. When I turned my light out in the evening my room would be illuminated by the street lights, which turned the tiny cute geckos clinging to my windows screens into giant wall art.

We also had one living with us for a while. We had a cat. We came home one day to a headless gecko.

JustHavinABreak · 06/06/2015 21:05

Oh God yallahabibi, that is a night terror for me

Isthiscorrect · 07/06/2015 17:13

Love the name yallahabibi.
We've always had geckos roaming around, they are meant to be the sign of a happy home lol. More likely just to keep you happy whilst they're in your villa. The first gecko was Gordon and since then they've Gordons's mate, Gordon's mum, etc. in the new villa Girdin is super tiny but very active, bless.
Tbf to the OP, I do feel her both her dd and her. It is a valid problem and I can't imagine what the solution would be. Maybe desensitising therapy? Although I have a hugely irrational fear of slithering hissy things and even seeing a picture would be too much, so I can't imagine she would want to go through that.

Sorry no real ideas to help you. Good luck.

marcopront · 08/06/2015 17:45

Ours is called Peter, then we had Peter's baby. We haven't seen them for ages but did a couple of days ago. The Monsoon is about to start though, does that bring them in?

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