Getting rid of a huge Salamander problem

Hello,
My husband, daughter and I as well as our dog live in a townhome.We've lived here 2 years and have never had anything in our tiny fenced in "backyard" other than a bird or our dog. In the past month we have found 8 Salamanders out there. 4 of which have tried although unsuccessful at getting inside. Last night 3 were around my door. It was pouring rain last night, and we have small river rock out there for the dog to use as his "potty" area. Now myself and my daughter are so petrified we can't open the door for the dog and we won't go out there. Is there something we can spray or put down so they never come back?? And do they live out in the backyard or do they come in every night. I want them gone asap. Thanks for help in advance!

 

Not trying to down play your fear but salamanders are pretty harmless. Scoping them up and relocating them to a swamp would be pretty easy. Are they the black and yellow spotted kind?

 

Yes, think of them as little frogs.

 

Which variety? Link

If it's the big brown spotted fellow that the guy is holding, well that would scare the heck out of me too. If it's the cute little bitty ones common in parts of the US, they're harmless and I think some may even be endangered.

 

No, they are small, black with a yellow stripe on their backs. We live near a creek and have river rock. So totally ideal for them. They're gross. I live near Seattle if that helps. But, I just found 3 about 15 minutes ago. I just want them gone. My fear of them is similar to those afraid of spiders. I just can't deal with them around my home.

 

We used to have a bunch of wood lizards around the house which really bothered my wife. Someone dropped off a litter of kittens while we were gone. We ended up keeping 2 of them. Now we rarely see a wood lizard - she really likes those cats