Some of the BEST pest controllers you can have in your yard are reptiles. Yes, those things that might slither past your feet on the patio are REALLY GOOD for the garden. Lizards, skinks, toads, and snakes are all reptiles – cold-blooded animals that breathe with lungs, and have dry, scaly skin. One of the most common and beneficial types you’re likely to see in your yard is the western fence lizard. Active between April to October, they feed on insects, predominantly ants, aphids, beetles, grasshoppers, wasps, and spiders.
And while they’re great at eating bugs, they’re also the favored meal of raptors and other birds, carnivorous mammals, snakes, and even other lizards. They have a fragile, detachable tail, that, when threatened, they can drop. The off-loaded tail continues to wiggle, deflecting attention from the predators, while the lizard runs off to safety.
Learn more about these amazing creatures, and how to keep them around as nature’s pest control!