While the Phoenix area is a wonderful place to vacation, it is also terrific place to call home. Because of the warm temperatures and year round sun, many people have relocated to Phoenix over the last few decades. While the Phoenix area is a wonderful place to vacation, it is also terrific place to call home. Because of the warm temperatures and year round sun, many people have relocated to Phoenix over the last few decades.

Phoenix’s subtropical arid climate typical of the surrounding Sonora Desert lends the area its warm winters. However, this feature creates a challenge for Phoenix pest control. Phoenix may have a few pest species that you didn’t have in your last residence. Newly relocated residents should learn the specifics of managing desert pests in their new home town.

Scorpions

Most people are familiar with ants, roaches, mice and the more typical pests that can trouble a homeowner. Most parts of the country suffer from these and their pest control specialists have learned how to manage them effectively. A Phoenix exterminator has to learn how to manage desert dwellers such as the many species of scorpions that are native to our Arizona desert.

Newcomers to Phoenix may find scorpions a bit more shocking than long-term residents do especially when they stumble upon an Arizona Hairy Scorpion, one of our largest scorpions, ranging up to 4 inches long. And when you are new to our area, the introduction of scorpion, no matter the size is quite a surprise and no one wants these stinging menaces in their home.

Housing developments have been encroaching on the scorpion’s territory for a long time, and as we build closer to the desert areas, we tend to find even more scorpions. However, because scorpions are native to the Phoenix area, it is not uncommon to find them anywhere in town, but areas with overgrown trees, river rock dry water beds, railroad tie landscaping and heavy debris tend to be the worst.

Ridding your home of these nasty nocturnal creatures takes a professional touch. Find a reputable pest exterminator in Phoenix to take care of them.

Mice and rats

Mice may not be an Arizona-specific pest. They are a fairly widespread problem. However, in this area they may be more dangerous. In 1993, an outbreak of an unknown virus erupted in the Four Corners region of the Southwest. Later found to be Hantavirus, it was in part traced back to mice and their nasty habit of using urine as a means of leaving a trail and leaving a trail of droppings everywhere they go.

Mice also carry disease-bearing ticks and fleas as do their cousins the rats. Roof rats, also known as rattusrattus, are also not particular to the desert climates but they certainly show a preference for the warm weather. These prolific breeders can grow from a single breeding pair to a full-blown infestation in a matter of months. They are excellent climbers and only need a space the size of a quarter to squeeze into your home.

How do you get rid of rats in your home? The easy answer is, you have to make sure they never get inside in the first place. Exclusion services such as sealing cracks, crevices and openings is a very important part of pest control measures in Phoenix, that will limit the access or entry of pests into your structure, and this is an important preventative step to getting rodents. For roof rats in particular, picking excessive fruit on trees as soon as possible, will also reduce an attractant to your property. Roof rats are always looking for food, and will set up a home close to where food is abundant.

When you relocate to Phoenix, make sure that an appointment with a pest control company like Invader Pest Management is on your list of things to do. You’ll need to have someone reliable and efficient to make sure living in this beautiful place is as pleasant as possible.

Pigeons

Did you think that New York City was the only town with pigeon issues? These birds can cause property damage and carry disease in AZ just like they do in NYC. Their droppings aren’t just gross; the acidity of the droppings can actually eat into concrete tiles and permanently deface them. The birds carry ticks and fleas that spread disease and their droppings carry a lung disease called histoplasmosis.

Bird removal and control as well as pigeon-proofing is an important pest control service in this area, to protect both commercial and residential settings and the occupants therein. Fecal matter accumulation can be corrosive to building materials and represents a growth medium for histoplasmosis spores. Rooftop solar power collectors, increasingly popular in schools, provide an additional attraction for the birds that foul the sensitive surfaces.

Loafing pigeons Just like rodents, pigeons are considered a public health pest issue and not just an aesthetic one. Annually, pigeons cause economic damage in the US, estimated in excess of $1 billion. Pigeons can also be carriers of disease organisms and ectoparasites that can be transmitted to humans. Due to the concentration of birds and their feces, especially where students are active or in business settings, the risks for disease transmission are heightened in these type environments.

Termites

Subterranean termites are considered major urban pests throughout the state. In Arizona, four species of desert and subterranean termites are economic or potential economic pests. Reticulitermestibialis and Heterotermesaureus are both significant economic pests infesting and damaging homes and other wooden structures in Phoenix and surrounding areas. To a far lesser degree, Amitermeswheeleri and Gnathamitermesperplexus can occasionally infest and damage wooden human- made structures, but we most often treat these two species as a pest control issue.

The desert subterranean termite displays several biological and behavioral characteristics that facilitate its ability to do considerable economic damage to wooden structures. Because of its tolerance for high temperature and very dry conditions, it can do serious damage to dry sound structural wood. It is persistent and skilled in building shelter tubes from the ground underneath buildings to access structural lumber. These tubes can easily extend over a foundation and up a wall, often being in excess of twenty-four inches in height. These traits combine to make it the most destructive termite in Arizona, and a serious economic pest to our ever-growing urban areas.

Even though termite colonies are made up of numerous individuals, termites are quite cryptic spending most of time underground or inside wood. When termites infest a structure, it is necessary to make an accurate assessment of the extent of infestation before invoking termite treatment options.

How can a homeowner tell if their home is infested with termites? The homeowner should inspect his/her home at least once or twice a year for signs of termite activity. These signs include: mud tubes on walls particularly in storage areas, holes in wood that have appeared since a last inspection, pellets or sawdust that keeps coming back, piles of wings near light sources, and swarming insects. If an infestation is found, the termite control method of choice will depend on the type of termite species involved and its location within or outside of the structure.

Consult a Phoenix exterminator for all the current pest control options.