Phoenicians may already know this, but Southern Arizona is a haven for insects and rodents. Phoenix often ranks highest among the buggiest metropolises in the continental United States. Not only does the average Phoenix home provide an oasis for humans, but they also present a summer refuge for those small animals and insects looking to beat the heat. From ticks and termites to rats and gophers, it seems there is no shortage of pests for homeowners to worry about. We took the time to list out the most common pests in the Phoenix area and what to expect when you encounter them. Last time, we focused on pesky home invaders from the letters A to R. This time, we’ll be starting from the letters S to Z.
Scorpions
Perhaps no other desert pest is more at home in the Sun City than the scorpion. There are three types of scorpions that live in Arizona: the giant hairy scorpion, the devil scorpion and the bark scorpion. Only the latter has a truly life-threatening sting, but none of these arachnids are pleasant to think about in your home.
Bark scorpions like to climb into dark spaces like closets or storage rooms, while others hide underneath objects. It’s often warned not to leave clothes on the ground for more than hour lest a scorpion invade them for shade. Outside, bark scorpions will congregate in groups while the giant hairy scorpions and devil scorpions prefer a solitary environment; they will even attack fellow members of their species! Bark scorpions are climbers and will scale trees and walls alike. Giant hairy and devil scorpion prefer to burrow and hunt at night.
Still, take caution and make sure to check before picking up an item off the ground. Take care when removing these stinging pests with a container and thick gloves. Should you find more in your home or garden, exterminators can provide proactive pest control to reduce the risk of a scorpion sting to a pet or child. In the event of sting from a bark scorpion on a child or other smaller individual, soap, water, a cool cloth and ibuprofen will usually serve a sting site before a trip to clinic is necessary.
Spiders
It’s kind of an irony when a pest control the majority of spiders are actually helpful deterrents for other pest species. As a quality pest control company, in many ways the spider represents the perfect preventive pest control helper. However, they are also a solid competitors for the title of scariest pests in the city. There two species which most likely will require professional assistance: the tarantula and the Black Widow.
Both are highly identifiable; the former with it’s hairy orange and black body and large fangs; the latter with their trademark black coloring and red hourglass on the abdomen. Both are solitary creatures with a fondest for dark spaces like their scorpion cousins. While both rarely bite unless provoked, the tarantula’s bite will usually incur a mild reaction whereas the black widow bite should be taken seriously and will require antivenom. Home improvement companies do sell traps for spiders, but a professional exterminator can help you remove these unwanted guests from your home.
Termites
Anteater Exterminating Inc. are the termite experts for Phoenix. In nature, Anteaters look at termites like a buffet. Unfortunately no anteater species calls our state home and there are four species of termites that live in the Copper State, the most common species being the Desert Subterranean and Arid Subterranean.
Both thrive in a desert environment like Phoenix and will eat through most materials found in homes from stucco to lumber. Their presence is recognizable by the honeycomb pattern they leave in the wood and their various drop tubes. Both the subterranean species have a swarm season that lasts until October, with the arid variety beginning in May, and the desert variety starting in September.
The other less common species of termites inhabiting Arizona are the Western Drywood and Pacific Dampwood Termites. Rather than creating their homes in the underground and using drop tubes to invade homes, they will settle directly in the wood just like carpenter ants and bees. Their swarming seasons are shorter than their subterranean cousins, swarming until October, but starting in August and September. However, it should be noted that sudden rains from April to July means they can swarm out of season as well.
Both drywood and dampwood species seek out cracks and knots in the wood to exploit. Dampwoods thrive in wood close to moisture, usually close to the ground while Drywoods will attack anywhere from an eave to a sill. If any of these termites are found in your home should necessitate an immediate call to the exterminator as every second wait is another second lost to prevent structural damage.
Ticks
Ticks belong to the arachnids group like spiders, scorpions and mites. They have four life stages: egg larva, nymph and adult. At any one of their non-egg stages, they are a threat for bloodborne diseases. The most common ticks found here are the Brown Dog Tick and the Rocky Mountain Wood Ticks. The latter occur in northern Arizona, while the rarest species, the Western Black Legged Ticks only inhabits the higher elevations of the Hualapai Mountains. All of them are potential vectors for Rock Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme Disease.
If you find any ticks on your skin, remove them immediately. It takes several hours for transmission, thus prompt removal reduces the likelihood for disease. Use fine tweezers and pull directly up so as not to leave any mouthparts in the skin. Ticks should be preserved in a small, leak-proof container with rubbing alcohol and labelled with the date and origin in case the host needs treatment at a medical provider. If you are finding ticks in your home, it is best to call an exterminator; adult ticks can lay up to 5000 eggs and steal a home from right under your feet and should be dealt with immediately.
Wasps
Most people probably are a little antsy feel a bee in their bonnet when they hear a buzzing insect nearby. Likely because that buzz indicates a stinger with a bad attitude. While bees are accepted as a necessary good (so long as they aren’t in your house), wasps, hornets and yellow jackets are the pest of terror. These stinging pests can be particularly aggressive when disturbed and sting multiple times when defending their territory.
The most common aggressive wasp in Arizona is the paper pollster or “umbrella” wasp. Their nests look like they are made of paper and generally representing an upside down umbrella, hence the name. Colonies normally number about 100 individuals and form on the eaves and under the roofs of a house among other places. These wasps like exposed wood, safe from rain and will found new colonies after the winter months.
Conversely, yellow jackets will build their nests in the ground and allow for a single hole entrance. IF you see yellow jackets swarming an area, you probably have a nest in the dirt. It is possible to perform extermination with products from the local home improvement store on a small colony, but in the case of a larger colony it’s a better choice to let the professional exterminators handle it. If said colony has entrenched itself in or near your home’s more inaccessible areas, licensed technicians will have the tools to flood them out.
Recently, people have come to worry about the fabled Asian giant hornet, otherwise known as the “murder hornet.” There should be no worry here in Arizona, as no sightings have been observed nor confirmed. Only recently have people conflated the giant hornet with Arizona’s own killer wasps. Nonetheless, when hornets, wasps and yellow jackets attack, it is understandable that most homeowners don’t care how or what, they will just want these kinds of pests gone.
Pest Exteriminators Near Me
Anteater Exterminating Inc. is here to remove whatever creature ails you, rodent or insect. We are Phoenix’s most trusted pest-control company in the Metro area, providing prevention, removal and prevention for such varied pests as ants, bed bugs, cockroaches, gophers, scorpions, termites, ticks and wasps among others. If you need pest control in the Valley of the Sun, contact us today. Expert technicians are experienced in all forms of pest control. Count on the staff of Anteater Exterminating to provide you with the answers to your latest critter invasion.