Anyone Else Having A Problem With Black Widow Spiders, Bugs? (Phoenix: foreclose, house) - City-Data Forum

IckyThump · 05-24-2011, 10:51 PM

Since moving to AZ, I was completely unprepared for the amount of bugs that come out at night when the weather gets hot. I swear I kill about 2 black widows a week around our house. Now I'm seeing inch long cockroaches and there's always plenty of crickets all out in the back yard/patio. Not to mention I'm starting to see earwigs inside our house.

Anyone have ideas on how to get rid of them? We have cats so I'd be willing to use spider/roach spray, but don't want it to harm them. If there is an eco-friendly solution I'd be happy to hear about it. Otherwise, I'm wondering if getting an exterminator is worth the money at all and how long the effects of keeping bugs away for good by using an exterminator would last.

twiggy · 05-24-2011, 11:37 PM

The people without bugs in Phoenix get sprayed bi monthly otherwise Phoenix has plenty of bugs. Bugs love the weather as well. XD
You will have to get sprayed if you want the bug free lifestyle. Those who don't have any bugs and don't spray have very diligent neighbors spraying their homes and reap the benefits. I always had bugs there until we had the yard sprayed on a regular basis. After I moved I realized how many bugs we actually had in Phoenix as I don't spray now and hardly am bothered by bugs.

AzDesertRat86 · 05-24-2011, 11:43 PM

Yes. Big problem. There was a large infestation in my Dad's neighborhood in 2005, in El Mirage. My dog was bitten and killed when I was in Korea when I had first gone into the Army. After moving back this past summer after I got out, same problem in my neighborhood in Buckeye. The property was sprayed 2 weeks ago, and there are black widow's all over the bottom side of the house in the corners. I douse them with some starting fluid and burn em. They are still here, as well as crickets, and those big nasty roaches; all over the outside.

Finger Laker · 05-25-2011, 12:03 AM

roaches have been fairly active outside my house and in my garage this year .... although in the neighborhood on walks I haven't seen nearly as many as years past ... maybe just my luck

also, I killed my first black widow this weekend .... i hope to not make a trend of this ... also in my garage - with a cat, a dog and two small children it's exterminator time

speaking of which, if anyone has any suggestions of a good one in the SW Valley, let me know

We've used some of the eco-friendly ones in the past - but it could be time for the big guns

observer53 · 05-25-2011, 12:26 AM

Spraying for black widows doesn't work unless you hit them. It does cut down their food supply. Make sure you clear all corners, inside and out, look for the messy webs, which only they make.

In Tempe, they will come and put chemicals in the sewers in your neighborhood if you report a roach issue. I don't know if they will do that anywhere else. I haven't seen an earwig in years, we saw them all the time around the house I grew up in in Phoenix.

EnicAZ · 05-25-2011, 10:20 AM

Scorpions are commonplace throughout the Phoenix area. Black widows, less so. Oddly enough, I found a black widow last week when helping a friend foreclose. There was a colony under their staircase which they never knew about.

artvandelay · 05-25-2011, 12:05 PM

I get a monthly spray, and I still see roaches and earwigs regularly, mostly outside. More earwigs inside than the occasional roach, but not more than a couple per week. I see many dead roaches outside my house, which tells me my exterminator is effective. Only seen 1 black widow in 5 years, and never a scorpion. That's good, because I have a spider phobia, and have asked my wife to kill them before

. My exterminators also come out on demand between cycles. Bulwark is their name, servicing the SW and W Valley.

Bungle · 05-25-2011, 12:19 PM

The garden I have in my backyard is home to many lizards. They're my exterminators. I don't have issues with insects at all and never have had my house sprayed.

observer53 · 05-26-2011, 07:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bungle

The garden I have in my backyard is home to many lizards. They're my exterminators. I don't have issues with insects at all and never have had my house sprayed.

That's my situation. In 26 years, never had an exterminator on the property. The lizards really do help.

britishbees · 05-26-2011, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by observer53

That's my situation. In 26 years, never had an exterminator on the property. The lizards really do help.

Ah, now that had not occurred to me. We have lots of lizzie the lizards as I call them and maybe that is what is helping. There is one particular roach every night I get whilst sitting on the patio - I chase him away every time. Don't think he has got the message yet that this is my turf. May have to end up squishing him!!!!

I know some of you have said you don't bother spraying. Do you think it is worth doing it on a bi-monthly basis? I have seen one bug in the house and I do get a few ants(yeuch) but touch wood that is about it.