How do you keep salamanders out of your house?

Salamanders finding their way into homes is a common nuisance for many homeowners, especially those living in damp, wooded areas. While salamanders themselves are harmless, having them take up residence in your house can be unpleasant. The good news is that with some simple prevention and exclusion methods, you can humanely keep salamanders out of your house.

Why Are Salamanders Getting Into My House?

Salamanders are attracted to damp, dark places to hide and lay their eggs. Typical points of entry into a home include cracks in the foundation, gaps beneath doors and windows, openings around pipes and vents, and through the cracks and crevices of a crawlspace or basement. Salamanders may also find their way indoors if you have a lot of ground cover touching your home, giving them a path inside.

Some of the most common salamander species that make their way into homes include:

  • Red-backed salamander
  • Slimy salamander
  • Marbled salamander
  • Spotted salamander
  • Eastern newt
  • Red-spotted newt

Salamanders are most active in spring and fall when they are migrating and breeding. However, they may seek refuge in your home at any time of the year.

How To Keep Salamanders Out Of Your House

Here are some tips to prevent salamanders from entering and to remove any salamanders already inside your home:

Seal up access points

Carefully go around the interior and exterior of your home and seal up any cracks, holes, or gaps that could allow salamanders entry. Pay particular attention to the foundation, around windows and doors, and anywhere pipes or wires enter the house. Use concrete, mortar, metal flashing, copper mesh, caulk, expandable foam, plaster, or other sealing materials depending on the location.

Install door sweeps and draft guards

Install sweeps and guards along the bottom of doors and garage doors to seal the gap between the door and threshold. Make sure doors shut tightly and have weatherstripping around the sides and top.

Use sheet metal or hardware cloth

Cover vent openings, areas around outdoor faucets, and any other potential access points with thin sheet metal or hardware cloth to block salamanders while still allowing airflow and water flow.

Remove moisture sources

Because salamanders need moisture, eliminating any wet areas around your home helps make it less attractive. Fix leaky faucets, pipes, and outdoor hoses. Improve drainage and slope the ground away from your home's foundation. Extend downspouts several feet away from the house. And keep gutters clean and free of debris.

Remove hiding spots

Get rid of any wood piles, landscaping debris, stacks of rocks or bricks, and dense ground cover close to your home's perimeter. These become hiding spots and pathways for salamanders to get inside. Maintain a strip of gravel between your home and landscape plants.

Use chemical repellents

As a last resort, apply an EPA-registered pesticide designed to repel salamanders around the perimeter of your home. Follow product instructions carefully.

Install lighting

Add lighting around the exterior of your home, especially focused on potential entry points. Salamanders generally avoid illuminated areas.

Get a dehumidifier

Use a dehumidifier in damp basements or crawlspaces to maintain humidity below 50%. Salamanders require moist environments.

Set traps

Place sticky traps or funnel traps in areas inside the house where salamanders have been spotted. Or create temporary traps by placing damp cloths or sponges on the floor to attract salamanders overnight. Check traps in the morning and release any captured salamanders outdoors away from the house.

Bring in toads or snakes

Natural predators like shrews, snakes, and toads may deter salamanders from entering your home. You can purchase them from pet stores or sometimes collect them locally with proper permits. But be aware they can also get inside the house and cause their own problems.

How To Get Rid Of Salamanders Already In Your House

If salamanders have already made their way inside, here are some tips for removing them humanely:

Find where they are getting in

Try to locate how and where salamanders are entering your home. Look for them along walls, under appliances, around pipes, in basements and crawlspaces. Then seal up those access points so more don't continue getting in.

Create a capture container

Make a simple trap from a bucket or large plastic storage bin. Create ramps or slopes with boards leading up to the top of the container. Place damp cloths or leaf litter inside. The salamanders will enter overnight but not be able to get back out.

Use sticky traps

Lay sticky traps along walls and in corners where you've seen salamanders. The traps will passively catch wandering salamanders.

Use glue boards

Place glue boards (available at hardware stores) in areas where salamanders frequent. The salamanders will get stuck on the sticky surface when crossing over it.

Manually capture

You can capture individual salamanders by hand or use a trowel or spatula to scoop them up gently. Wear thick gloves if you want to avoid direct contact with the amphibian’s skin secretions.

Remove attractants

Eliminate moisture and hiding spots inside your home to make the environment less hospitable. Fix plumbing leaks, clean out clutter, and keep spaces dry.

Preventing Salamanders From Re-Entering

Removing all the salamanders you can find from inside your home is only half the battle. You also need to prevent more from getting back in. Here are some tips:

Seal entry points

Carefully seal up all possible entryways with caulk, expandable foam, hardware cloth, metal flashing, mortar, or other appropriate materials. Pay special attention to the foundation, doors, windows, and utility line penetrations.

Reduce moisture

Keep crawlspaces, basements, and other low areas of your home dry. Fix leaky plumbing, improve drainage around the foundation, extend downspouts, and use dehumidifiers to maintain humidity below 50%.

Remove exterior hiding spots

Clear away wood piles, landscaping debris, dense vegetation, and any other salamander hiding spots right next to your home's foundation. Install a gravel perimeter around the house.

Install barriers

Attach copper or aluminum flashing around the lower walls, foundations, and other exterior areas to physically block salamanders.

Use chemical repellents

Applying EPA-registered pesticides designed to repel amphibians along the outer perimeter of your home may discourage salamanders from re-entering once removed.

Employ natural predators

Releasing shrews, snakes, or toads around your home's exterior may scare off salamanders. But be aware these creatures can also end up inside and cause their own problems if openings are not sealed.

How To Get Rid Of Salamanders In Your Yard

Salamanders in your yard are usually not problematic. But if you want to discourage them from populating your property, here are a few options:

Remove wood and debris piles

Eliminate stacks of wood, brush, and other clutter near your home that salamanders use for shelter and nesting. Keep your yard free of places salamanders want to hide.

Create a gravel border

Install a 1-2 foot perimeter of gravel around the edge of your home. Salamanders are less likely to cross this barrier to get to your foundation.

Alter landscaping

Replace dense ground cover and mulch beds right next to your home with less salamander-friendly plants like turf grass, clover, or moss. Pull weeds and keep vegetation short and dry.

Use chemical repellents

Apply EPA-approved amphibian repellents along the perimeter of your yard to discourage salamanders from entering your property. Re-apply as needed.

Release predators

Consider releasing shrews, garter snakes, or toads in your yard. These natural predators may reduce salamander populations. However, verify local laws first and be cautious about introducing non-native species.

Trap and remove

Use funnel or pitfall traps to passively catch salamanders in problem areas of your yard. Then release the salamanders in a distant wooded location.

Conclusion

Salamanders can be a nuisance by entering homes, but they are generally harmless creatures. With some exclusion and removal efforts, you can discourage them from living in your house. Prevention comes down to sealing up entry points, reducing moisture, removing hiding spots, and maintaining an unfavorable habitat around your home's perimeter. Whenever possible, try to remove and relocate salamanders humanely without harming them.