Chingchok

These little opalescent creatures - geckos - or chingchok in Thai, or chikchak to us as children growing up in Malaya, are most welcome in my flat; whatever the language, the name for them is onomatopoeic. They tend to appear at night and can sometimes give you a start, if you enter a room and turn on the light. They are not always in view, but I do consider them an environmentally friendly form of pest control. They eat ants and other unwanted flying objects. With our windows and doors closed most of the year because of the airconditioning, and to prevent mosquitoes, the main diet is ants. Even these have a tough time, with a regular monthly pest control service, (of the less than environmentally friendly variety). But they are persistent, and once you have eliminated one trail, another one pops up. Currently we seems to have diverted the flow, but it will only be temporary.

Their constant presence means we never leave food or unwashed utensils lying around. But that disincentive and the fact that we're more than 30 stories up does not seem to deter them. 

The geckos seem to enjoy a drink of water and I can sometimes find one in the kitchen sink in the morning, where it has gone to refresh itself from the residue of water. Unfortunately they seem to have difficulty climbing out of the metal sink, and I have to find a sheaf of paper to scoop them up and let them scuttle off to where ever they usually hide. I don't know whether it's more stressful for me or for them.

This diamond encrusted gecko with its emerald eyes is for sale at auction, and seems an unusual subject matter for a brooch, and is clearly of no use for pest control.