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Wednesday, 19. August 2026
Readers writing for readers

Three centimetres of gecko keeps a bedroom free of mosquitoes

One of our readers shares his bedroom with an uninvited lodger that hunts by night, works its way along walls and ceilings, and has cleared out the flies and ants as well. His advice to anyone who finds one at home is to leave it be.

Von Thomas Koch

The little monster I’d like to tell you about only devours live prey. It also invades human dwellings uninvited and makes itself at home there. My bedroom was simply taken over.

The intruder is a gecko. And as it’s a mere three centimetres long, I’ve christened it ‚Geckolinchen‘. During the day, my gecko lives on or behind my wardrobe; at night, it’s time to hunt.

It’s fascinating to watch a gecko creeping up on its prey. It makes no difference at all whether it’s stalking its prey on the wall or on the ceiling. In a flash, it moves a few centimetres towards its prey, then remains motionless before moving forward a few centimetres again after a while.



A gecko on Tenerife: the perfect pet

This goes on and on. Until, at some point, the gecko has crept so close to its prey completely unnoticed that it can snatch it up in one go.

Ever since ‚Gekolinchen‘ moved in with me, I haven’t spotted a single fly in my bedroom. And, best of all, there are no more mosquitoes.

Late at night, my gecko goes hunting on the floor too. That’s a nuisance, as I’ve nearly stepped on him. But the ants find it even more of a nuisance. Because I don’t have a single one left in the bedroom.

My plea is this: if you’re lucky enough to have a gecko as a lodger, don’t react with ‚yuck, a reptile‘. Leave the little creature in peace. You’ll never find a better, chemical-free pest controller.

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