You can kill lizards with this technique. I use two #105 rubber bands tied together.

If you shoot correctly, it will stun the lizard for a few seconds and you can run over and grab it. If you shoot too hard, it will kill or injure the lizard.

Some lizards are easy to "herp band", others aren't. Cnemis are tough to band while Sceloporus are pretty easy. House geckos are really fragile while anoles are usually easy to stun without too much danger of killing.

I watched a group of 5 students try repeatedly to band a Leopard Lizard in southern NM once. It seemed to laugh off the projectiles. A few years later, cognizant of their failure, I got a chance to band a Leopard Lizard in Nevada from close range. Unfortunately, I killed it. I preserved it and deposited in a museum collection so that my stupidity wouldn't have been a total loss!

Noosing is much safer, and a heck of a lot more fun! I don't recommend banding unless you are prepared to kill the lizard in order to catch it, and you should have some justification for that (and the appropriate licenses/permits).
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, TX

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