Standing water, heat, and humidity are just the right ingredients to breed pesky mosquitos. The summertime is just the right time for the mosquitoes to break out of their eggs and start flying around your head, biting you, spreading disease, and cause red, itchy bumps on your skin.
There is nothing worse than mosquitoes being outside whenever you walk out, swarming like they do. However, as soon as they start infiltrating your house, mosquitoes become a much bigger problem.
Is there any way to get rid of a mosquito swarm in your home without running around with a shoe trying to kill them?
Where Mosquitoes Thrive in the House
Like mentioned above, mosquitoes love any standing water where the temperature is relatively warm or humid. While you might not think that you have anywhere for mosquitoes to breed inside your home, you would be surprised to find how many locations they love to call home.
One of the biggest culprits is the stagnant water that often sits in the bottom of a potted plant. That’s right. When the water drains off your plant and into that saucer, the stagnant water is just sitting, making it the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Another major culprit is a fish tank, especially if you don’t have the right fish inside. Goldfish and even guppies love mosquitoes.
Sometimes, mosquitoes breed right outside the home, making their way inside to find nutrition, and while birds and bats often eat the most mosquitoes, the ones in the home are often extremely hard to get rid of. What is a person to do?
What About Insecticides
While they might seem effective at killing off the mosquitoes, insecticides can also kill other insides like spiders that eat mosquitoes and other pests. Insecticides can also be dangerous to insects that are outside, especially if an insect brings the poison outside or it is sprayed outside.
Insecticides can be dangerous to indoor pets and even small children as well, which is why many people choose to avoid this method of mosquito prevention and elimination. Instead of using insecticides, many people have resorted to a less conventional but efficient method.
Geckos
You’ve probably seen that commercial on TV with the green gecko that is trying to sell you car insurance from his company. Well, geckos are actually beneficial in helping eliminate certain things in your home like mosquitoes.
Geckos, if you didn’t know, are a type of tropical lizard that lives in tropical countries. They are often found in many people’s homes, which might seem strange at first. However, these lizards are beneficial.
The geckos that live in the home will climb the walls, clinging to things like the walls or the ceiling, and they feed off of insects like mosquitoes. In fact, they are so useful at devouring these pests that the members of the Singapore Zoo use geckos in their classrooms to keep the pests away.
The thing that is so special about geckos is their ability to cling to the walls and ceiling to find their food. The gecko has something called a footpad that is covered in a velvety type surface, and it gives their feet an incredible ability to cling to virtually any material or surface.
Many scientists have tried to mimic this ability through experimental materials. Their footpads act like a glue, but there is no adhesive involved. The same can be said about these experimental materials.
However, their footpads are not the only amazing things about geckos. Unlike many other species of lizards, the gecko doesn’t have eyelids. They don’t need them, luckily, because they are nocturnal animals, and they do most of their feeding during the nighttime when everyone is asleep.
Other Benefits of Geckos
Not only are geckos valuable for eating and eliminating mosquitoes, but they also have other benefits when you choose to keep them as house pets. Perhaps one of the biggest reasons why people enjoy having geckos as a house pet is because they are rather easy to care for.
Since geckos are nocturnal animals, they do not require the same UVB full spectrum bulbs that other lizards might require for care. This also means that geckos are a bit cheaper to care for than traditional lizards like bearded dragons.
Geckos have been known to be rather moody when it comes to lizards, but they are not nearly as moody as other species of home lizards. They are cute lizards, easy to care for, and they love to eat all those pesky insects in your home. What’s not to love about them?
Conclusion
Mosquitoes are inevitable. Some years they are worse than others, but mosquitoes are always going to be out there swarming and feeding on you while you try to enjoy your time outdoors. Sometimes, mosquitoes make their way into your house.
If you have standing water in a potted plant or a fish tank or another area, then mosquitoes are most likely going to stay in your home and bother you inside like they do out. While you could use insecticides to kill off the insects, that can have serious negative effects on your home.
Instead, many people are putting away the insecticides, and they are investing in pet geckos that are both adorable and beneficial for the home. These lizards climb along the walls and ceiling, using their padded feet to give them grip.
Once they are on the ceiling and walls, they feast on the nasty and pesky insects that find their way into your home. Since geckos are nocturnal, they are much easier to care for than other lizard types like bearded dragons.
Geckos are a great way to have a house pet that is easy to care for, and they can help prevent those pesky mosquitoes from finding a home inside your home. You should always visit your nearest pet store to get your very own gecko.
An adorable addition to your home, geckos are both cute and beneficial to preventing mosquitoes which can be annoying and dangerous should they be carrying diseases. If you have a swarm of mosquitoes in your home, you should consider getting a gecko as your very own mosquito exterminator.