We came across the following post on Facebook:
According to the post, house lizards are highly poisonous, having caused numerous deaths by falling into uncovered food or drinks. The author also offers a solution for preventing lizards from entering houses, stating that mixing salt and garlic and placing them in different corners of a room will repel them from homes .
The house lizard, also known as the common house gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) is a gecko native to South and Southeast Asia. No doubt familiar to most Singaporeans, the house lizard is ubiquitous in warm, urban landscapes, climbing walls of houses and other buildings in search of insects attracted to porch lights.
When we did a quick search on the toxicity of lizards, we surprisingly found a peer reviewed journal articlefrom the International Journal of Basic and Applied Medical Sciences dedicated to what they describe as the myth of house lizard poisoning.
According to the article, aimed at “dispelling myth and instilling confidence”, the common belief that the house lizard or gecko is poisonous is negated by the fact that it does not produce any venom or toxin. Among reptiles still in existence, only two lineages are known to have developed venom delivery systems, the advanced snakes and the helodermatid lizards (Gila Monster and Beaded Lizard).
Salt and garlic to repel lizards?
Moving on to the second part of the claim, that salt and garlic can repel lizards from a home, we found an article from West Africa based fact-checkers Dubawa looking into this claim.
They found that while using a salt and garlic mixture does have the intended effect of warding off house lizards temporarily, biologists have warned that natural or human disturbances have resulted in more eggs being laid by the lizards in order to safeguard the survival of the population. Using garlic and salt mixtures might cause the unintended consequence of house lizards multiplying more rapidly in the long run then, resulting in an even larger lizard problem in your home.
In conclusion then, the two claims that house lizards are poisonous and a salt and garlic mixture can ward them off are both false. There is no evidence of house lizards containing any venom or toxins. As for salt and garlic? Well, it would probably work better if you wanted to season a lizard before eating it.
