Pests can damage your property and cause health risks. Some, like rats and mice, chew on wires and spread germs while scorpions sting and termites eat away at the material that makes up your home or building.

You should look for a Phoenix pest control company that complies with local regulations and has the right compliance to work in your area. You can do this by searching for online reviews or checking the company’s BBB rating.

Pests in Phoenix

In the Phoenix metro, scorpions send a chill up many people’s spines because of their dangerously painful stings. Ants also wreak havoc in homes and yards, while other pests like mice and rats are filthy nuisances that contaminate food. And, of course, cockroaches are notorious pests that thrive in our hot desert climate.

When temperatures cool down, pests in the Phoenix area head indoors for warmth and food. Understanding what causes these pests to seek shelter in homes and other buildings will help you prevent infestations year-round.

Earwigs are moisture-loving occasional invaders that often scurry into dark, moist areas like leaf piles and firewood stacks. They can also be found in potted plants and garages. While they don’t bite, earwigs may carry bacteria and pathogens on their bodies. This may lead to infections and illness. In addition, black widow spiders, brown recluse spiders, and tarantulas are also common in the Phoenix area and can deliver painful, sometimes life-threatening bites.

Wolf Spiders

Wolf spiders have dark brown bodies with scattered gray hairs and hunt a variety of insects. They’re fast hunters and will move quickly to avoid being startled. They can be found in open grassy areas, around bushes and flowers, and in the woodpiles of homes. They also dwell in holes and tunnels in soil or other little protected places, such as cracks in rocks or old boards.

While these spiders are not harmful to humans, they’ll enter your home when looking for food and water. They can easily squeeze through gaps in doors and windows, as well as in basement crawl spaces.

To prevent wolf spiders from getting in, use expandable caulking to seal any small openings around your home’s exterior. Indoors, you can put down glue traps to catch them. Outside, you can keep them at bay by mowing and mulching regularly, and keeping leaf litter swept away from your foundation. You can also treat your yard with a product like Ortho Home Defense Insect Killer for Lawns & Landscape Ready-to-Spray, which kills wolf spiders instantly and provides up to three months of protection.

Termites

The Arizona desert is a gold mine for subterranean termites which nest underground and come up through “mud tubes” to infest and consume cellulose wood products such as houses, utility poles, and furniture. The mud tubes they build are circular in cross-section and dirty light brown in color. Another symptom of an active infestation is termite mounds accumulated on flooring around wooden structures.

There are four types of termites in Arizona, including damp wood and dry wood termites, which do not live underground, but attack wood that is above ground. These types of termites can be spotted by their discarded wings, which they shed when they swarm in late summer and during monsoon season.

Identifying the signs of termite activity is vital to protecting your property from damage. Knowing what to look for and how to prevent an infestation can save you a lot of money and headaches down the road. A termite problem also can impact the sale of your home or business, and lending institutions often require a property to be free of them before they will approve a mortgage loan.

Cockroaches

The warmer climate in Phoenix is perfect for cockroaches, and they can be a big problem in homes and businesses. They carry harmful bacteria, parasitic worms, and other pathogens that can cause illness in people and pets.

The most common cockroach species in Phoenix are the American, Oriental, and Brown-banded. The American cockroach can grow up to 2 inches long and has a reddish-brown color that gets darker as it ages. They are also called water bugs because they love to hang out in sewers, drains, and other water sources.

Cockroach nymphs hatch after an incubation period and go through six or seven stages of metamorphosis before they reach adulthood. The entire cockroach life cycle takes about four months to a year, depending on environmental conditions.

To prevent a cockroach infestation, keep food in sealed containers and clean up spills and crumbs immediately. Also, remove clutter, such as piles of paper and books from around the house.