Your guide to AZ bugs (Phoenix, Tucson: house, live, storage)

[Steve-o]

All spiders/scorpions are venomous. ;-)

And of course not every house is infested, thats common sense. LOL However, both new and old homes in the PHX have problems.

[scottie]

Thanks Steve and boatdrinks for the great info!

[Steve-o]

No problem Scottie! Hope you found the information useful!

[MsMea]

Okay...now I' scared to death. I have a real case of arachnophobia.

I was going to move to Sun City Grand in Surprise, but if I'm going to have to check my shoes for poisonous spiders or scorpions every time I put them on, or I have to shake out my bed linen every time I want to lay down, I'm not sure it's the place for me.

And what about my cats and dog? What happens if they encounter a scorpion or tarantula or black widow?

[kansaslady]

Great place to live if you want to fight off nasty critters day and night.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by MsMea

Okay...now I' scared to death. I have a real case of arachnophobia.

I was going to move to Sun City Grand in Surprise, but if I'm going to have to check my shoes for poisonous spiders or scorpions every time I put them on, or I have to shake out my bed linen every time I want to lay down, I'm not sure it's the place for me.

And what about my cats and dog? What happens if they encounter a scorpion or tarantula or black widow?

Its not a reason to NOT move to AZ, but its something that you should remember. Some people have daily encounters with such critters, others dont see them at all. Its just something that should become routine, just as a precaution to not get stung/bit/etc.

As for the dogs/cats? A bite from a tarantula wont do anything to them other than cause some short-lived pain. Black widows and snakes would be another story... There are schools in AZ that can train your dog to stay away from snakes. Naturally cats and dogs are very curious and will not be shy about investigating a rattlesnake. Sadly, many dogs are bit and end up dead, while others just spend a few nights in the animal hospital. I cant give you any names of the snake-training schools, but Im sure some locals and/or a Google search might be able to pull up some useful info.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by kansaslady

Great place to live if you want to fight off nasty critters day and night.

I wouldnt say "fight them off", but theyre definitely there! And dont be so sure youre safe in KS! KS is home to several venomous snakes, a species of scorpion (Centruroides vittatus), tarantulas (Aphonopelma hentzi) and giant centipedes (Scolopendra polymorpha). Your state also has a HUGE population of Loxoceles reclusa (the brown recluse) as well as the southern black widow (Latrodectus mactans). Sleep tight. LOL j/k

[aj661]

I thought moving to east Mesa seven years ago from Gilbert was going to bring scorpions back into my life. Our house is on previously virgin desert land and for whatever reason, the little bast***s always seem to get pissed off and start terrorizing people when a home builder comes in digs up their neighborhoods. I haven't seen one here. Maybe they all moved to Scottsdale when the saw the developers coming this way.

Our worst problem is termites. Never had a problem with them in houses that were built on farmland. About every 18 months the tubes start reappearing. Other than that, just those nasty little black ants in the yard, an occasional cricket and two huge spiders that looked like they just got off the boat from south america.

[azloafer]

One of the local post office employees in Green Valley was bitten by a Brown Recluse. The spider was captured and that is how the hospital made the id. The story made front page news with photos. What made his bite so bad is that he ignored medical treatment for several days and his skin started to slough off at the site of the bite. I didn't think that they were in AZ until this incident.

[Idaho]

Quote from Steve-o: "...The other true spider that is also world renowned is the brown recluse. These DO NOT RANGE INTO AZ! ..."

Quote from AZLoafer: "One of the local post office employees in Green Valley was bitten by a Brown Recluse. The spider was captured and that is how the hospital made the id. The story made front page news with photos. What made his bite so bad is that he ignored medical treatment for several days and his skin started to slough off at the site of the bite. I didn't think that they were in AZ until this incident."

Ummm...I must concur with AZLoafer. Brown Recluse are alive & well in the Tucson area (including town of Green Valley) of Arizona.
Seen them. Killed them. My daughter & I have both been bitten by them, and medically treated.

They look just like the ones in your photos, but their 'brown' isn't quite as dark.
However, I cannot speak for the rest of the state of Arizona. Other's experiences?

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