Monday, December 8, 2008

Pesky Geckos

I hate geckos.

When I first moved into my house there was a gecko which lived at the front door. We called him Gordon.

He was a guts. His tail was fatter than his body (that's where they store their food reserves). He was a porker. He was dark, too. My house is made of lovely dark bricks.

After a few years there were more geckos. They don't make noise, unlike some of the ones from up north, like Darwin. Or Townsville. These ones are silent.

Why do I hate them?

They crap down the walls. It's annoying to clean up. Soemtimes you can't reach and have to use the stepladder. It's like bird-poo.

My sister-in-law (SIL) subscribes to a "Green" pest control mob. Recently they sent out a newsletter to her, which she kindly decided to share with me, knowing how much I hate the geckos.

The solution.... read on:

We need only to look to some of our nearest neighbours to see that geckos have been a problem for many years in several south-east Asian countries. Solution? Scorpions like to eat geckos; so filling your house with scorpions works a treat. We can provide you with a box of 50 scorpions for $100. Just put them under your lounge furniture and in the end of your bed. Obviously, you will need to remove them before going to sleep at night.

Some of you are probably thinking, "Surely he can’t be serious. He must be joking?" so I will confess (with a chuckle) that the answer is, wait for it… of course I am.

The actual solution, (no kidding this time) is to strategically place sticky flypaper in areas where the Geckos are known to frequent. Attach the flypaper to vertical and horizontal surfaces around window frames, door frames, and inside wardrobes and cupboards where geckos tend to hunt for their food. The other obvious place to use the sticky paper is wherever you see regular build-ups of their droppings. A word of caution – the paper may damage the paint surface that you attach it to later on when you remove it, so test it somewhere inconspicuous first.

This method is quite laborious and you will need some patience. Alternatively you have two other choices; learn to put up with them or I have some scorpions….
I'm glad he was joking about the scorpions!

Flypaper?

7 comments:

Boy on a bike said...

They will eventually disappear if you cook and eat them all.

kae said...

Boy, have you ever tried to catch one of those little buggers?
They go like ROCKETS!

Minicapt said...

Wait till they slow down for a corner ...

Cheers
JMH

kae said...

Mini, they just don't slow down!
Hey, I saw a Canadian birth certificate today. How cool is that!
Printed on the same stuff as Aus money (and university transcripts).

kc said...

We had geckos in Hawai'i - they 'clicked' & were supposed to be good luck if you had one living in your house...and I did. The ones here don't click & there are (what seems like) thousands on the property. Not so often in the house, though I wouldn't mind one or two. The little cat, Wylie, is a Great Hunter, & she often brings a part of one to the door.

Anonymous said...

In India they say they are poisonous if eaten.

So it's a versatile explanation for anyone who dies mysteriously - Must have accidently swallowed a 'tik-tikki'.

And 'tik' - the clicking sound they make, means 'True!' in Hindi.

kc said...

Oh, I hope I can remember that, Bruce! Thanks!