Geckos are small lizards that eat insects. They do not bite and are non-poisonous. These lizards are even doing you a favor by eating insects like mosquitos, cockroaches, flies, and other bugs. They are harmless, not a threat to your life. However, once they start feeling at home inside your house, you might reconsider. Once they feel at home, you will find them chilling under your bookshelf, on your ceiling, and some under your bed, leaving their poop all over the place. Before they even begin hanging out inside your house, it is best to repel them. And what better way to do that than plants. You can repel geckos and bring life inside and out of your home.
Quick Overview
- Plants with a strong odor that repel geckos
- Plants that repel gecko food source
- Plants that can kill geckos
Plants with a strong odor that repel geckos
Geckos have an excellent sense of smell, sight, and hearing, and they use these to hunt for food. There are plants that gecko will avoid at all costs because of how they smell. These plants are very fragrant and even soothing to humans but not appealing to insects and bugs. These plants confuse geckos, thus used as a repellent.
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus has a soothing scent for humans, but geckos avoid them because the smell coming from the tree is too powerful for their sensitive noses. Eucalyptus has many uses as well. Aside from geckos, it is also used as a natural insecticide when in oil form. Eucalyptus oil has toxins that harm and kill insects as well. For humans, eucalyptus has proven medicinal values as well.
Garlic
Garlic also has a strong odor that geckos hate. You can place crushed garlic cloves into the area where you see geckos, and they will avoid it like the plague. You can also create a garlic spray by boiling crushed garlic and water together. You can plant garlic outside to discourage geckos from even entering your territory.
Onion
Just like garlic, onion has a strong odor that repels geckos. Chop up onions and leave them for geckos to smell. You can leave onion overnight when geckos usually roam around your house. You can also plant them in your garden to help repel geckos outside. Onion bulbs, roots, and leaves also have a strong odor even if not chopped.
Camphor Tree
Camphor tree also gives off a strong odor that geckos and other insects hate. As a substance, camphor repels many insects, including geckos. Light camphor while all windows and doors are closed, so the aroma spreads in the entire house.
Camphor tree still has a strong scent but is more subtle to the human nose. However, the substance is still irritating to insects.
Lavender
Humans have found many uses for lavender. As a plant, it brings color and beauty to a place. The scent of lavender also soothes and relaxes humans. But the odor confuses geckos because of their sensitive nose. As an essential oil, lavenders relax humans and at the same time repel various types of pests. If you have cats at home, do not put lavender near them as lavender is toxic to cats.
Japanese Mint
Another proven plant that repels geckos is Japanese mint. Japanese mint has a strong minty odor. Japanese mints can make a flavorful tea. Coincidentally, the aroma coming from the plant repels geckos.
Peppermint
It is no wonder that peppermint can repel geckos. Peppermint has a strong aroma that is essential for various things. Not only that, but peppermint also has many uses, including as a natural pesticide. It also kills insects and bugs that geckos eat. And since insects hate peppermint, geckos will avoid your house altogether. For best results, plant peppermint inside and outside your home. The plant will repel insects and geckos, and you can also nip peppermint leaves anytime to create a do-it-yourself peppermint spray.
Plants that repel gecko food source
Geckos are entering your house because of two things: food and shelter. And since geckos can also survive in the wild, they enter your home because of their food source. Remove the food source, and you remove geckos. And to do this, you will need help from plants. Aside from peppermint, camphor tree, and lavender, insects also hate chrysanthemums.
Chrysanthemums
Chrysanthemums are beautiful ornamental plants that are proven effective as a natural pesticide. It has a compound that is deadly to insects and bugs but is harmless to humans and pets. Chrysanthemums can add color and vibrance and repel insects as well. If you remove the insects inside your house, geckos will leave you alone. After all, who would want to hang out where there is no food and the smell is overpowering.
Plants that can kill geckos
Aside from the other two categories, some plants can harm geckos. Many plants can harm geckos, and here are some of them.
Azalea
Azalea is a beautiful flowering shrub in different vibrant colors. What we do not know is they are fatal to geckos. Azalea will need to be in a shaded part of your garden if you would like to plant them. They are a great addition to your flowering plants and will repel geckos.
Pencil Tree
The pencil tree is a small tree that has green branches that have pencil-like thickness. It branches out and can grow up to six to seven meters tall. Although it looks harmless and does not have thorns in its body, the pencil tree is toxic to humans and insects, especially geckos. The sap from the pencil plant contains toxins that can cause severe irritation and burning sensation to human skin in contact. Geckos will die if exposed to the plant because of the toxins.
Since pencil trees are very toxic to both humans and insects alike, it is best to wear gloves and an eye shield when handling them. It is not advisable to plant them if you have children that can accidentally touch them.
