Thread: Rust courtesy of geckos

On paper drawings one can use a spray fixative. It stops smudges, oils and water from getting on the paper without changing the surface usage.

Perhaps you could try this on the metal surface?

https://www.artscene.com.au/Shopping...fixative-spray
Fixatives for Charcoal and Pastels - Art Supplies at BLICK art materials - Art Supply Store
https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/...-450g-mipca045

I have to cover my projects with cardboard every night to prevent gekos from creating a problem on my work pieces. Although I'm pleased to learn that geko Club Med is further north.
I'm not confident that I should discourage them too much because I hate insects far more than any gekos.


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Just for clarification, when we first built on the block in the '80's it was a bush block just out of town. We had heaps of native geckos including the leaf tailed gecko, they stayed outside on the windows and soffits and did a great job on the insects and spiders. They did a great job, were amusing to watch and would very rarely come into the house.

Over the years these have all disappeared and been replaced by the Asian gecko which comes and goes as it pleases inside and out, they are also noisy and make like a barking/chirping sound. They do eat some insects but avoid spiders and leave them alone. They seem to prefer inside the house especially hiding behind pictures and paintings. A sparkie mate of mine has also told me that they love the inside of air conditioning units and have caused a fortune of costs shorting out electronics and motors.

Originally Posted by Bob38S

Just for clarification, when we first built on the block in the '80's it was a bush block just out of town. We had heaps of native geckos including the leaf tailed gecko, they stayed outside on the windows and soffits and did a great job on the insects and spiders. They did a great job, were amusing to watch and would very rarely come into the house.

Over the years these have all disappeared and been replaced by the Asian gecko which comes and goes as it pleases inside and out, they are also noisy and make like a barking/chirping sound. They do eat some insects but avoid spiders and leave them alone. They seem to prefer inside the house especially hiding behind pictures and paintings. A sparkie mate of mine has also told me that they love the inside of air conditioning units and have caused a fortune of costs shorting out electronics and motors.

I can confirm that. One lived for a year behind the aircon in our lounge.
I don't know how to discourage them but I hope the brochures make it clear their club med is a further up the road.

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Bob, I like your idea of Penetrol. Somewhere or other I read about a guy in the US that was using water based polyurethane with excellent results. He had a bunch of sawplates that he used varying protective finishes on, and the PU killed all the others stone dead. I have also used PU on my shed floor (water based) and can confirm that it is very very durable, so very suitable for a jointer/thicky table.

I suspect that Penetrol probably isn't as durable as PU, but I do know from experience that it stops existing rust in its tracks - suspect that PU will do the same as it will starve it of oxygen (and moisture).

A aircon guy I knew, said to put double sided tape around areas you don't want geckos to access.
They don't like it AT ALL!
Then you don't have worry about clean up, or fried circuit boards in aircons.

Originally Posted by graham.murfett

A aircon guy I knew, said to put double sided tape around areas you don't want geckos to access.
They don't like it AT ALL!
Then you don't have worry about clean up, or fried circuit boards in aircons.

Sounds excellent. So if I put double sided table around the table legs would that work or do they jump from ceilings to tables?


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Sounds a bit like a mini version of 'rat glue'..

Just an update.

See post 19 with regards my sparkie mate.

It’s getting a little warm here in QLD, time for some AC while we give the Poms a cricketing lesson. Unfortunately, no AC. You can probably already guess where this is going....., to cut a short story long, called sparkie, took the cover off the outside AC unit and surprise, there under the CCT board was a fried Asian gecko. The only positive was that the little barsteward was toast and won’t be doing it again. The technical term for the CCT board was “stuffed”. Called the AC repair bloke, hopefully he can get the part and even more hopefully can get the “possibly” $300 repair done sometime in January.

I’m a little lost for words to describe how much I “love” this imported wildlife as well as the design of the internals of the major, well known AC manufacturer who have designed their unit with such easy vermin access.

I have a southern leaf-tailed gecko in my workshop for many years (probably quite a few really). The barking variety. I rarely see him and leaves no mess I've ever found. Just yaps a tiny little bark if I go too close.
Here he is behind my wood lathe right now:
IMG20171213200904_crop_518x648.jpg

Obviously tons of the little buggers (or other gecko types) would be less harmonious!
V

Bob, i’m based in Cairns so know all about the issues geckos can cause. But i’m very keen to hear how you would completely seal an air-con unit, designed and requiring high volume of air and heat transfer, from gecko ingress. I could make more money from that idea than I do having my technicians repair AC units.

Vaseline is another rumoured fix, spreading across any areas of access to the pcb’s.


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Originally Posted by Bob38S

I’m a little lost for words to describe how much I “love” this imported wildlife as well as the design of the internals of the major, well known AC manufacturer who have designed their unit with such easy vermin access.

I feel for you. I'm about 4 hours down the road from you and those Asian gekos are always present. The biggest problem I've had so far is that I always have to cover work in progress which is not always possible. They also gradually make any shelf filthy. However you seem to have an actual infestation. There must be a biologist at a university who can advise on population control.

I dream of one day having AC in the shed.

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Thanks for the comments.

We we used to have heaps of native geckos with a variety of body coverings and tail shapes, as previously stated they were never a problem and it would be a rarity to find one inside, never heard a native one bark and it is my understanding that it is the imports that do the barking/chirping. It is, in my opinion, that somehow the imports have driven out/wiped out the natives as we and our neighbors haven’t seen any for at least a couple of years.

As to trying to completely vermin proof an AC unit, I also do not see how it would be possible. My issue with our units is that the CCT board is totally open inside the unit. It sits up, on 4 small flexible plastic pegs at a height of approx 10mm, just perfect for the vermin to run under a get zapped. I would have thought that the CCT board could be enclosed in some way so as to keep things out but with sufficient ventilation for cooling.

With regards Vaseline, camphor, sticky plates etc, according to what I have been able to find out is that they would only be a temporary short term fix as the camphor soon disappears and the vaseline and sticky plates quickly get a layer of dust making them ineffective.

Has anyone come up with some sort of effective trap or even a pesticide? I’m getting a little desperate.

We have a screen product called "hardware cloth." Essentially a galvanized 1/4" mesh screen.
I've seen it installed with pop-rivets & plastic washers ( mice & voles).