Maybe it's because I grew up in the north where there are no lizards, but Ive never understood squeamish reactions to them. I get it for insects, and spiders, and snakes, and even fish, but lizards have always just seemed like chill happy bros to me.
Except that one massive iguana that chased me, all the rest of have been chill.
... I want to hear this story of 'that one time I got chased by a massive iguana.'
But I don't get or really understand the squeamish reaction to... any of those things you just mentioned.
Like, I know they are common in other people, but none of that ever made any sense to me, seems like irrational phobias.
I grew up in the WA PNW with a lot of outdoor and wild life activities... basically in an exurb bordering the boonies on one side , farmland north and south, fucking swamp/estuary on the other with a highway bridge going over it into a bigger town.
Any time I went anywhere new, some new biome... I would just learn about the local wildlife first, learn what is harmless, mostly harmless, and the few things that are actually dangerous.
Far more often it was the case that various damned plants with either barbs or some kind of skin irritant would be the main concern... or just mosquitoes, or sand fleas and mites... don't try to pick up a dead, decaying jellyish...
I used to just play with newts and garter snakes, caught and released different bugs for fun.
Only snake I've ever been 'squeamish' around was a goddamned actual Northwestern Rattler, which I happened to get tooooo close to by accident once, out on the eastern side of the Cascades.
By too close, I mean, I am trudging through shrubland on a hike on a friend's property, and suddenly, from somewhere, yep, can't see it, but I can definitelt hear a persistent rattle, time to freeze, figure out where it is by ear, and back away very, very slowly, hike is done for the day lol.
... I want to hear this story of 'that one time I got chased by a massive iguana.'
It was the first time I was in the dominican, and it was a resort, and I was 18 and hungover and thought I was super cool, and then I only barely held in high pitched squeals as I got chased across half the resort by a giant man killing dinosaur, and everyone praised me for how brave and strong I was... iirc.
What's wrong with lizards?
I dunno, people are weird.
Unlike us lizards.
if anything i'd have a less averse reaction to a lizard in my house than any sort of mammal
Look at these cute bastards, how can you not love them.
In Texas here, I love the colonies of green & brown anoles in my back yard. Regularly go out there just to spot them sunbathing or hanging out in my plants. Also never heard of anyone hating lizards.
Alternative...
Lizard shedding its tail rather than getting anywhere near me.
Me: 🥺
On a similar wavelength:
This is why you generally don't just stomp the shit out of any indoor spider you see ... unless you very specifically live in an area where there are actually human-dangerous spiders.
https://www.thespruce.com/why-spiders-are-good-8690795
Unless you live way out in the boonies, or you really have not been in your basement or attic in a while...
(and lets be real, we're almost all urban renters now, nobody has a basement or attic rofl)
... chances are, any spider you see indoors is actually only really capable of living in or very near a warm building, and when/if you do see them, it is hunting actual pest insects, and is just shy of totally harmless to you as a human.
Just learn what black widows and brown recluses look like, and if it isn't one o' those, you're fine.
Mmmm, how very mammalian...
Serious question: as someone who really, really hates bugs, are there any lizards I can just let roam my apartment? I feel like it'd be really chill to have a big scaly friend who could snack on the occasional spider or fly in my apt between meals.
I know this isn't what you want to hear, but the real trick to managing pests in your home, is to allow the right predator pests to exist. The best ones are spiders and centipedes. Centipedes are especially the best because they won't ever hurt you, they mostly stay out of sight, and they don't leave webs hanging around. But when you do see one you will probably freak the fuck out. You just have to remember that they eat earwigs and mites and such and try not to kill them. Spiders are also great to keep around, but there should be a big asterisk about how I live in Illinois and most spiders are harmless here.
Yeah I know about the centipedes, I've had roommates that used some in the past.
The big issue is that I have really bad arachnophobia, so the bug I care the most about getting rid of is spiders. just seeing one causes me to freeze and start panicking. The spiders here are harmless, but try telling that to my dumb brain. It's not even like I see them that frequently, but seeing just one ruins my week because I get paranoid that there are more I'm not seeing.
I saw one guy on youtube that has a monitor lizard. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
In the mid south US, i've never seen someone dislike lizards
I also don't see them that often, especially in winter or spring
although there was one day I was in this courtyard for half an hour where I saw like 12 little skinks
I live in the southern US and I see them daily. They seem to be more common than squirrels. They run away from you though so they don't bother anyone. At my old apartment, there was a period of time somehow lizards kept getting inside my place. I kept trying to free them but I would accidentally kill them when trying to handle them. Another one I just tried to let live in my apartment, but he quickly died...presumably from not being able to find enough food and water. They are super fragile.
I only see them like once a month or less when it's spring or winter, and I've never seen one inside. I didn't know they were that fragile, but the ones I see are probably too fast for me to catch lol
I just had this conversation the other day with my wife. She loves nature and animals but will suggest nuclear force against any little lizard, of which there are many in our garden.
They are harmless and help control insect pests around our veggies.
