How to free a lizard from a sticky trap

July here in the desert is hot and humid thanks to occasional rain clouds or even rains. It is hard to stay outside so we are really limited on outdoor activities during monsoon season. It is the only time of year when cicadas are so loud. There are lots of bugs in the garden and it's really a paradise for hungry lizards who are hunting under the cover of leaves in flower beds.

 

Talking of lizards, I just remember a very good tip I found online last year. There are a sticky pads offered by pest control companies to get rid of bugs and spiders. It is so sticky that you can not free yourself once you touched it. The lizards don't know this, so when they are going to eat the bugs on a sticky trap they can get stuck, too.

So, if it will ever happen, do not try to free the lizard by pulling it off the pad, EVER! Their skin is thin and fragile. Instead, get the sticky pad with a lizard to a flat surface in the garden, place a very shallow plastic container underneath. Pour some vegetable oil in a small container and have a table spoon ready. Wear a protective gloves if you want. Hold the sticky paper with a lizard a  bit up at the head area that oil would not get into the mouth or the eyes. With the table spoon, start pouring the oil on the paper at the lower body area first and continue until you free the animal completely. Lizard will run away as soon as it can so hold your paper next to the ground.

I found this tip very useful. Whatever we humans do, it has good and bad sides, so it's nice to know how to help to reduce the negative effect on nature.