A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2004 Lizards

Lizards :p Is there any deterrents out there for them? In Orlando we get many salamanders, I think they're called. But, they're ruining my new project of turning my porch into a small Butterfly farm and have claimed two so far

The two that were taken didn't fly very well. They were in a small container. The reason I started this project is that I didn't like seeing them in such a small cage. So I re-did my porch, enclosing it with an extra screen-only door. I think because they couldn't fly well could have been the reason. Then again, they need to sleep at night and would be there for lizards to go after.

I'm ready to put on my Rambo gear and clear them out. Just wonder if there are any remedies or plants even that they stay away from. plants that they'd stay far from.

poor little butterflies. I'm sorry to hear that the lizards are getting them. I'm also sorry that I have no ideas on how to keep them out....except to make the enclosure more secure. Any idea where they are getting in? Maybe you can "plug up" those holes?

Oh boy ship those lizards here they eat spiders....lots of spiders....Whenever I find one I put it in the garage!! If the cats weren't in the house I would put them in the inside!!!! Great spider killers.

Don't kill the lizards....trap them and let them go down the road!!!!

After further research. It seems the Monarchs are toxic to the lizards and they shouldn't be eating them after a few of them die off. I noticed one that died in a milkweed plant. Hopefully that'll work out and they can both live in peace.

The other option is getting a cat. But, I don't think my Shepherd would appreciate that

This is going to depend on whether or not you have lizards or salamanders. Salamanders are amphibians, related to frogs, with a smooth skin like a frog. They are generally quite slow and tend to prefer moist areas. Lizards are reptiles. Generally, they have scaly skin and can move quite a bit faster. Both are opportunistic feeders, and both are very beneficial. Besides the butterflies, they eat almost any insect, including most pests. They salamanders also eat slugs. If there is a way to let these co-exist, please consider it. If not relocating them might be the best option, but you will be removing one of the best natural insect controls around. If they are salamanders, a low growing prickly, dense border will help repel them. Something on the order of stinging nettle but more controllable. You might also try a screen type barrier around the area, with the top unsupported and allowed to loop back to the outside, but not so much as to reach the ground. When the lizard climbs past the supported area, it folds back the way he came, effectively dumping him back on the ground where he started. A salamander won't be able to climb it. I wish I had more lizards and salamanders here.
Rick

Catlover,
The spiders are very beneficial too. Why kill them? In my garden, they are my first line of defense and we both go out of our way to preserve them. In the greenhouse, they are my only predator in the winter. I realize you have a few poisonous ones out there but most are harmless.

Rick: I only go after the black widows and one very icky lookin dark hairy tarantula looking spider that was in my succulent that scared the holly eebie geebies out of me!....I love my garden spiders and when they are in the way I keep knocking the side of the web and they move to another area out of the way. I have some brown really fast guys in the greenhouse and the lizards love to go in there and gobble them up! I just don't like spiders in the house....5 cats take care of them. I just transplanted a stinging nettle a couple days ago and there was a male and female black widow in it as well.....grabbing my bare arms under that long lush plant and then finding those crawl out after it was planted was not to cool!!!! I get tons of black widows....and whenever I find a lizard I move it right into my RV garage...it doesn't have a door so they can come and go as they please.

One thing I am not good at dealing with are snakes....we have many rattlers in our area....a very large Rottweiler next door to my sisters got bit and it killed the dog!!! As long as they are not rattlers I leave them alone...we also have black snakes and many gopher snakes.
Catlover

Catlover,
Black widows aren't common here so I don't have that problem. We do have a fairly large burrowing spider that looks much like some tarantulas but is a lot smaller, about 2-3 inches across the legs. Most of their burrows are around the edges of the garden. They do help with the grasshoppers. We also have an abundance of crab spiders and smaller jumping spiders. The crab spiders are my best cabbage moth control. I've had the privelege of having one take a cabbage moth out of my hand. Also had a small jumper take a fly from me. It was so cool. The baby crab spiders are really something. Those little guys are fearless. When I'm harvesting medicinal herbs or seed crops, they're often in the seed heads. I'll end up shaking them loose without even knowing they're there. Then I feel a very lite tough on the back of my hand, like being grazed by a hair or something. Then I see one of the baby crabs, sitting on the back of my hand, already back in a hunting posture. They're about the size of a pin head or slightly larger.
We have very few snakes around here and only one species of lizard. I'm too close to town to have a big variety. Wish I did have more. Do have a few large toads that make a home under wooden flats each summer. They really help with the slugs.
Noticed you have 5 cats? We have 7, several of which just kinda moved in and adopted us. The garden is their playground. They're not really a problem except in new plantings. Wouldn't be without them, the spoiled little brats.
Rick