Lizards in the bedroom!!

Penmac

Mouseketeer
Joined
Mar 31, 2017
Last week, we stayed in a 4-bedroom home in a gated community near Disney. The house and decor were a bit dated but rugs and rooms very clean and the owners/management company were great- very easy to work with. We had a small issue night one with the toilet running and they came and dealt with it the very next day. We loved having a pool to ourselves and my kids loved the onsite amenities.

Toward the end of our stay, a small lizard (not sure the of the name- tons of harmless ones running all over the area) made its way into our bedroom and I found it, which was the least ideal situation. Being from the Northeast and uncomfortable around any lizard or snake-type animals, I was so freaked out. My husband was completely reasonable about the whole thing since they are harmless. He caught it in a Tupperware container and released him in the yard. He kept saying how freaked out the little guy must have been. 😂 If it had been him to find the critter, I am sure he would have adiosed him quietly without me even knowing and all would have been fine. I would have been none the wiser!

But needless to say, I was so on edge sleeping in that room, even after making him do a full sweep of the house. I tried to keep my worry on the DL from the kids but they definitely picked up on it and my 10 year old ended up sleeping with us that night. We were tired and the whole situation just put a damper on the end of the trip.

Just how common is this? My husband says totally normal in FL. We had briefly talked about purchasing a condo at same complex and renting it out most weeks and maybe using annual passes a couple times a year since we are frequent visitors to DW. We own rental property at home and my husband is an experienced landlord- the rental income has been helpful. BUT, this literally put the breaks on the whole thing since clearly I can’t handle a tiny lizard, and he thinks this is run of the mill.

I guess I am wondering if there are reasonable steps to take to prevent this kind of thing as a condo/home owner, or renter for that matter since we will likely rent again in the area. I saw the lizards running around the pool area and told my kids to keep the doors closed all the time. But, I did notice gaps of sunlight peeking through certain parts of the sliding glass doors while closed (they were a bit dated looking), and also under the garage door which had been repurposed as a game room. I guess I just thought it was odd that there were not any screens on doors and the weather stripping around the ground area seemed a bit lax considering all the wildlife. We also found a very small dead lizard on the indoor track of the sliding door to the pool area, and several small worm-like looking insects dried up in the same area. I didn’t notice these at first but once I started looking closely... they were there.

I am not totally clueless. I know Florida is a natural environment for these animals.
But, I just keep thinking if it was a snake
I found in the bedroom and not a lizard I would have lost my mind. I’m not saying it’s rational, but it’s me. I never reported it to the owners or management because my kids very well could have left the door to the pool area open just long enough for a critter to make its way into our bedroom undetected. I left the inside door from house to the garage open for a few minutes here and there while I did laundry (machines were there) and maybe it happened then?

Bottom line- was this house just ill-equipped or do we always have to be so vigilant? We did food shopping a couple times throughout the week and as we were carrying shopping bags inside, I kept yelling to my kids like a drill seargent to shut the door to the house between each run to the car. It felt excessive and like a chore tbh, but with no screens and lizards running all over the property, it seemed so easy for them to get in. And get in they did!

The idea of owning a rental and being able to visit our favorite vacation destination once or twice a year would be great, but maybe I’m not cut out for southern living!! I’m thinking maybe we would be better off with a high floor hotel situation during future trips. Maybe the rental situation, yard and ground level scenario is too stressful for my northern bones. 😟
 
Lizards occasionally getting inside is completely normal in Florida.

Being freaked out about lizards occasionally getting inside is also completely normal.

I moved from Minnesota to Florida in 2001. For the first few years I lived in Orlando. Now, I'm in Fort Lauderdale. Florida is a subtropical climate that presents a different set of challenges when compared to up north.

No matter how vigilant you are, sometimes creepy things like lizards and large bugs are going to get inside. One of the reasons this happens is because of the way many buildings are constructed. Since it's hot 9 or 10 months out of the year, it's critical that buildings here are able to "breathe" via openings (soffits) along the roof. If a building were completely sealed, the heat and moisture of our climate would result in mold in the attic and walls. Although barriers are used, lizards and bugs can still sometimes get inside.

And as you noted, it would not be crazy for a lizard to slip inside whenever a door is open.

Living in Florida (even as a part-time vacation residence owner) isn't everyone's cup of tea. But if it helps, I really only get unwelcome intruders inside a few times each year.
 
Anole lizards are all over Florida and are harmless. Yes, they sometimes get into the house, when doors are open from people going in or out or from being unseen on an object left outside that is brought in. Your husband did exactly what most of us do to get rid of them--catch and release via Tupperware, unless we have children who don't mind catching them by hand (my son removed a baby gecko from our entryway just last night).

And if lizards freak you out, maybe being a Florida property owner isn't for you. Because we also have Palmetto bugs that occasionally get in the house. You don't invite them and they don't stick around, thanks to Raid or a well-placed shoe, but they live here, too, and occasionally pay a visit.

Ah, Florida living. At least the gators don't usually find their way inside!
 


I have never found a snake in my house, although I have seen them outside, and even had one short out my AC system a few years ago.

Lizards, I probably get an average of one per year that finds its way inside. I don’t mind them because they eat bugs. I would rather see a lizard in the house than a palmetto bug!

I also got a frog in the house once and a few times I have had a wasp in the house. I don’t like either of those although I know frogs are harmless like the lizards.

You just do the best you can with weather stripping and watching when you go in and out the doors.
 
Lizards getting the house in FL is totally normal. I was bringing in the patio furniture yesterday getting ready for the hurricane and a little tree frog hopped into my living room. Little guy is still here because I’m not as fast as I used to be. I put a little bowl of water out hoping to lure him out. Told my mother and she said I should name it Dorian. :p
 


Just how common is this? My husband says totally normal in FL.

Yes, it is very common. We find geckos in our snowbird home frequently. The little ones used to sneak through the gap in the weather stripping in the front door. We recently had all of the doors and windows replaced and that seemed to lower the frequency. They are also very fast and I swear that they will wait for the door to open and run in. They seem to hang out in the front entry way. I have learned to pause opening the door and check before just swinging the door open. If you are going to spend time in Florida be prepared for the occasional visit.
 
Anole lizards are all over Florida and are harmless. Yes, they sometimes get into the house, when doors are open from people going in or out or from being unseen on an object left outside that is brought in. Your husband did exactly what most of us do to get rid of them--catch and release via Tupperware, unless we have children who don't mind catching them by hand (my son removed a baby gecko from our entryway just last night).

And if lizards freak you out, maybe being a Florida property owner isn't for you. Because we also have Palmetto bugs that occasionally get in the house. You don't invite them and they don't stick around, thanks to Raid or a well-placed shoe, but they live here, too, and occasionally pay a visit.

Ah, Florida living. At least the gators don't usually find their way inside!
Ughhhhhh....oh dear God, Palmetto Bugs. We spent a year in South Carolina (from Minnesota), and those bugs were enough for me. I still have nightmares about them, ha.
 
Hasn't happened to us in Orlando yet, but we travel to Mexico a fair bit as well and like having a resident lizard in our room. Just give him a name (Hervé is the usual name we give, have no idea how that got started) and he will seem much less intimidating. Or her, not sure how you would tell with a lizard. Anthropomorphizing things makes them much friendlier to us.

The only annoyance we had was one MX trip our lizard would hide behind the curtain and let out a high pitch squeal every morning when the sun first touched him. No one wants an alarm clock on vacation. We evicted that one after a few mornings. :)

In MX I worry a lot more about scorpions, but so far have not yet had an encounter.
 
Think very common in Florida. I've stayed at Best Westerns in Orlando and had them in the room. I've stayed with family near Titusville and lizards are always in the garage and climbing up the side of the house. Like others mentioned, they are more terrified of you. But I hear you re the creep factor and wouldn't want them in my house. Ever.
 
Two weeks ago we arrived very late to our one night stay at All Star Sports to find it was already occupied by this guy. 7F182890-F4B7-48D3-BBAF-CD8216C62F9A.jpeg

We were moving to Beach Club Villas the next day and requested any room not on the first floor.
 
Two weeks ago we arrived very late to our one night stay at All Star Sports to find it was already occupied by this guy. View attachment 431128

We were moving to Beach Club Villas the next day and requested any room not on the first floor.
I wondered if requesting a higher floor would cut down on these visitors. I’m thinking it has to, right?
 
Make peace with them. Reptiles happen, not just in Florida. I live in New England, and I sometimes get snakes in my house. Sometimes we’ll see the snakes themselves, and other times come back from a few days away to find a shed.

The first time I saw a snake, I freaked out a bit. Then I rationalized that if it could find its way in, it could find its way back out. And when I went back to my bedroom, it was no longer under my bedside table.

We are in CT, so they’re all harmless - black rat snakes mostly, with the occasional ring-neck or milk snake. But in my experience, most reptiles don’t want to be around people and will skedaddle on their own when they see you.
 
New England here, too. We have mice in the basement - except that year a snake wintered over behind the water heater.
Hubby told him he was welcome back any time, but one spring day he was gone :)

Lizards I can deal with. Palmetto bugs... Y'all can keep them things <shudder>
 
New England here, too. We have mice in the basement - except that year a snake wintered over behind the water heater.
Hubby told him he was welcome back any time, but one spring day he was gone :)

Lizards I can deal with. Palmetto bugs... Y'all can keep them things <shudder>

Yes! You’re my people!
Mice in my house gross me out! I would so much rather have snakes - welcome any time. (Though I do typically prefer them in the walls and basement rather than my bedroom)
 
If you want to buy in FL you have to learn cohabitation. With lizards (they are all over our screen porch and can easily come inside), palmetto bugs (HUGE, scream worthy) and any other critter outside. Snakes ... everywhere and was my big adjustment. My whole life a snake meant screaming and running through air to get away. Gardening I've had a black snake and green snake slither over my foot (about 4 footers), a brown snake in a hole I had to evict and walking to beach one day a big rattlesnake coiled on warm sidewalk. My pond in back yard full of turtles, some big, who get out and walk in my garden.

Florida = wildlife and sometimes they come inside.

Higher floors can help with animals but don't necessarily stop reptiles and bugs. Snakes, lizards ... can climb walls quite easily.
 
New England here, too. We have mice in the basement - except that year a snake wintered over behind the water heater.
Hubby told him he was welcome back any time, but one spring day he was gone :)

Lizards I can deal with. Palmetto bugs... Y'all can keep them things <shudder>

Do you ever get those "cave crickets" in the NE? Those are freaky.
 

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