A small, shiny lizard with yellow stripes and a bright blue tail darting across a wall or patio is quite a sight. If you've spotted one near your Guttenberg home, it may be a five-lined skink. These native lizards are harmless to people and help keep insect numbers down. So why call the pros? Not to get rid of the skink. A lizard that keeps showing up inside, or in the same spot along your foundation, can point to gaps in your home and insects it's hunting. Below, we'll cover how to identify five-lined skinks, whether they're harmful and when a professional can help. For sealing up the gaps that let animals and insects in, our home pest-proofing service is a good place to start.
What Five-Lined Skinks Are
The five-lined skink is a small lizard native to much of the eastern United States. Skinks have smooth, shiny scales that give them a polished look. Their appearance changes with age:
- Young skinks. Black or very dark brown with five bold cream to yellow stripes running down the body, and a bright blue tail.
- Adult females. Stripes usually stay visible but fade, and the blue tail often turns gray or brown.
- Adult males. Often fade to a more uniform brown or olive color, and their heads can turn orange-red during the breeding season in spring.
Like many lizards, skinks can drop their tails when grabbed. The tail keeps wiggling to distract a predator while the skink escapes. A new tail grows back, though it usually looks a little different from the original.
Where They Live And What They Eat
Five-lined skinks like spots with cover and sun. Outdoors, look for them around:
- Rock walls and stone foundations. Cracks and crevices make good hiding places.
- Woodpiles and logs. Rotting wood shelters both the skinks and the insects they eat.
- Decks, patios and steps. Warm surfaces for basking with gaps beneath for shelter.
- Garden beds and leaf litter. Good hunting grounds.
They eat insects, spiders, worms and other small invertebrates, including crickets, beetles and roaches. Females lay eggs in moist, hidden spots under logs or debris and often stay with them until they hatch.
Salamanders are sometimes mistaken for lizards. Salamanders have moist, smooth skin with no scales and no claws, and they're amphibians. To learn more about them, read our guide to the salamander vs. newt.
Are Five-Lined Skinks Harmful?
No. Five-lined skinks are not venomous and they don't damage homes, wiring or stored food. They may bite if you grab one, but they're more likely to run or drop their tail. There's a longstanding myth that the blue-tailed young are poisonous to people. They aren't. If anyone is bitten and the bite worries you, see a doctor.
Skinks are native wildlife and a helpful part of a healthy yard. Please don't harm, trap or try to keep them. If you have questions about native reptiles in New Jersey, NJ Fish & Wildlife is the agency to contact.
Why You Should Call The Pros
The skink itself isn't the problem. What it can tell you about your home might be:
- Gaps in your home. A skink that gets indoors found a way in. If a lizard can fit, so can insects and other pests.
- Insect activity. Skinks go where food is. Regular sightings near your foundation or inside can mean crickets, roaches or other insects are plentiful nearby.
- Moisture and clutter. Damp, cluttered areas near the house attract the insects skinks hunt.
- Correct identification. A professional can confirm what you're seeing and make sure nothing else needs attention.
What You Can Do
- Guide it out gently. If a skink gets inside, open a door and give it a clear path out, or carefully coax it into a container and release it outdoors nearby.
- Seal gaps. Close cracks in the foundation, gaps under doors and openings around pipes and vents.
- Reduce clutter near the house. Move woodpiles and debris away from the foundation.
- Fix moisture problems. Repair leaks and keep gutters flowing so the foundation stays dry.
Outdoors, there's no need to do anything about a skink sunning itself on a wall or patio. It's simply hunting for the same insects you'd rather not have around your home.
How EcoFusion Can Help
EcoFusion doesn't remove skinks or other native reptiles. Where we help is with the conditions that bring them close. Our NJ DEP-licensed technicians inspect your home, find the gaps and moisture issues that let pests inside, treat insect activity using EPA-registered, eco-safe products and seal entry points with pest-resistant materials. We follow Integrated Pest Management and offer free inspections with same-day and next-day service.
A five-lined skink is a harmless neighbor, and a sign of a yard full of life. If they keep turning up inside your Guttenberg home, sealing gaps and handling the insects they're after will keep both outside where they belong.