Lizards in the house

Question
Tonight when I opened the front door to take out the garbage, some lizards got into the house. I didn't see them, but based on my wife's description and research on my own, I believe them to be a skink of some sort (she described it as an overall dark color) and 2 or 3 smaller, spotted ones, possibly geckos (we've had those in the house before). How do I trap them before our two cats catch them so I can remove them from the premises without harm to either lizards or cats? We live in north Dallas County (but are originally from Wichita Falls!).

Answer
What you probably have there is Mediterranean Geckos. It's unlikely that one of them was a skink, but if it was it would have been much larger than a gecko. You will simply have to watch for them on the walls in the house and catch them as you can. I would recommend keeping the cats out of any room you know the lizards to be. Mediterranean Geckos are nocturnal, and tend to congregate near light sources to catch bugs. You may try turning off other lights in the room and leaving one light on, perhaps a standing lamp, shining a focused beam onto a wall, especially near a corner. There is a chance the geckos may come up the wall to this location in anticipation of insects. If you have a big window or patio door this would be even better, as bugs would actually be attracted to the light shining through the glass, and so attract the geckos.

You may also look behind furniture, against the walls and in corners. The problem is that these geckos are arboreal so they could be on the floor, or they could be on the walls or ceiling.

If you do find one, again, keep the cats out of the room completely. Catching them would have to be carefully done, as they are extremely fragile and their tails are easily broken. Despite it being able to grow back, the gecko may loose fat stores and is at risk for infection from the wound.

If you have a gecko on the wall, or floor, it is best to not attempt to catch it with your bare hand. You are simply likely to hurt it that way. Instead, if it is on the floor, place a container or paper bag directly in front of it and then touch it on the tail with a pencil or other utensil. The gecko will likely run straight into the container for safety. Use care to not injure it when you close the container.

If the gecko is on the wall, you may place the container behind the gecko and bring your hand in from slightly above and from the front, and encourage it to turn about and jump down into the container for safety.

If you have a small aquarium fish net, this may also come in handy, though again, I urge to place the receptacle in front of or behind the animal, rather than attempt to place it over the animal, which has a much greater potential the lizard will run and be injured by the object coming down on them.

Let me know how it turns out.

Thanks for caring!