How do geckos (lizards) stick to walls? |

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The toes of geckos have hair like structures called setae. Each of these setae branches into tiny bristles called spatulae. Spatulae help geckos to stick to many surfaces using the principle,'Opposite Charges Attract'.

Now, molecules of a body or an object are usually electrically neutral. But these molecules have a side that is more positive and a side that is more negative. When geckos walk on walls, they place their spatulae at such an angle that their positively or negatively charged sides get attracted to the opposite charges present on the wall's surface. These forces of attraction are called Van Der Waals forces.

Now, a gecko has billions of spatulae on its feet. Hence, they create enough Van der Waals forces so that geckos can stick to walls.