Batgung

Are geckos welcome at your house? Leave a window open in Hong Kong and eventually you'll find one pays you a visit. Height doesn't seem to be a problem - the one in this picture climbed up to see us and we're on the twentieth floor.

Some people find them creepy, or object to the little gecko-poop gifts they leave behind. I figure that each little present means a bunch less bugs & mozzies, and am happy to let them get on with their work. The most prolific present-giving gecko we ever had lived in the kitchen, at about the same time we had a beetle infestation. It turned out the beetles were coming from a pack of beans that hadn't been sealed properly, and the gecko had taken up residence near the box. It must have been gecko heaven, just lean over and snap up the next beetle that pops its head out of the box.

Plus they change colour in a chameloon-like way, and according to wikipedia, that climbing ability is even better than it looks. Most of the time they are only using a fraction of the sticking-power of their feet. If a gecko put the whole surface of it's foot in contact with a wall, it could support a 120kg weight!

Superhuman qualities aside, I do wish that:
- a: They didn't scurry so quickly, making me jump, and
- b: They'd stay out of the nooks and crannies

Point b probably works well in nature, keeping them away from becoming someone larger's snack. In the house though, it means they get squished. Usually you don't know about it until weeks later, when you move something and a dried-up, flattened gecko falls out. There was one gecko that went out in a more dramatic way however. He found a dark, warm place to stay, which was just fine until the next time we made toast. Clouds of smoke and a nasty smell alerted us to his demise. Gecko on toast anyone?

MrB

Facts, figures, & pictures of how the bridge was built here.