Redding lizards pull disappearing act. What happened?

DEAR JOAN: I live up in Redding where it is hot, dry — and has plenty of bugs to eat. A veritable paradise for lizards.

We have lizards of every size and type through most of the non-rainy season. This year, the weather was a little different. It did the normal rainy period through winter and spring, then it turned hot, and the lizards came out in the usual numbers.

A few weeks later, the rain and cooler temperatures came back — not for long, just a week or so. The lizards disappeared and never came back. Even now, there are no lizards, even though the temperatures are high and staying high.

Where have all the lizards gone, and will they come back next year? Do we have to go to New Mexico, Nevada or Arizona to get a new lizard supply?  I enjoy watching them.  So does my cat.

Troy Speers, Redding

DEAR TROY: I trust you don’t work for the Redding Chamber of Commerce, because “Hot, dry and plenty of bugs” as a slogan might not encourage a lot of people to visit. It should, however, appeal to those lizards from New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada.

You should still be seeing lizards. Although California has 60 different species of the reptile, the most common one — the Western fence lizard — is active from April through October. When the weather gets cold, they go into hibernation.

The fence lizard lays up to 20 eggs in moist soil, May through August, and they hatch from July to September.

If you’re not seeing them, chances are they’ve left the area in search of food. That might be because you or your close neighbors have been heavy-handed with the use of pesticides. Lizards, like all living creatures, need a steady supply of food and water.

If you want to welcome them back next year, reduce or eliminate pesticides, set out small, shallow bowls of water, and include some habitat for them including dense plants, tall grasses, groundcovers, mulched areas, piles of leaves and lots of rocks to hide beneath and sunbathe on top.

I know you were joking, but don’t try to capture lizards from other places, including out-of-state, and transport them to Redding. That’s against the law.