Did you know our local lizards have a super power?

Officer Mansoor was recently dispatched to a home in Mission Viejo for a call regarding a lizard that was stuck in a piece of patio furniture

The lizard was safely and painstakingly removed and returned to the backyard without damage to the chair.

Lizards are good companions in our yards and gardens, as they help keep the insect population down by eating them. They also eat spiders.

What should you do with them? Just admire and appreciate them. They are of no danger to humans or pets. There is an added benefit to having a healthy population of lizards in your yard. Lizards have a protein in their blood that kills the Lyme disease bacterium in ticks. So, if a tick bites a lizard, it is cleared of the disease and can't transmit it to humans. 

If you want to encourage them to stay in your yard, reduce or eliminate the amount of pesticides you use, and build them some hiding spots using bits of broken pottery.

As a reminder, Mission Viejo Animal Services officers respond to calls regarding injured wildlife, but do not remove or relocate healthy wildlife.