How bad are the insects in Phoenix? (apartment complex, lease)

[jlzpo1]

I'm not an insect fan, so that's the only reason why I'm asking this question.

Apart from mosquitos, silver fish, the occasional scary spider, small roaches, and ants/termites in the Boston area, are there other bugs I need to worry about? Apart from extermination and good environmental cleaning, what do I need to do to minimize the attraction of these wee beesties.

[HX_Guy]

Not really an issue, especially if you get pest control service once every 6 months.

Mosquitoes...it actually turns into a "wow, is that a mosquito?" when you see one, they are that rare. I've heard they are more common around lake communities, but that's the minority out here.

Silverfish...which one is that? Spiders...eh, you'll see one or two a year maybe.

Roaches are one of the more commons bugs, but really only outdoors unless you have a home with lots of crumbs and such for them to eat. Again, if you get pest control service every so often then it's not an issue.

One thing that is pretty common are the flying desert grasshoppers...they appear in the summer and can be all over the place outside, a bit freaky...that a lizards running up and down the fences outside.

[sablebaby]

Insects are practically nonexistent. Sure, you'll find a small bug, like the ones you listed, here and there but nothing crazy. You really don't need to use an exterminator, unless for some reason you have a problem. I've only had my place sprayed once or twice and that was years ago in one of our apartments. I hear people on here say that they always have their homes sprayed, but I just haven't had the need.

The best thing to do to not have a problem is to not live in an old, nasty apartment complex, otherwise you should be fine.

[Steve-o]

Depending on where youll live in the Valley, youll need to familiarize yourself with the following (some have big problems, others dont)....

Google these names:

Centruroides exilicauda
Latrodectus hesperus
Scolopendra heros arizonensis
Scolopendra heros heros
Hadrurus arizonensis
Crotalus atrox (or Crotalidae for the whole rattler genus)
Gila monster
Damon diadema
Vinegaroon
Loxoceles deserta
Vaejovis spinigerus

[sablebaby]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Depending on where youll live in the Valley, youll need to familiarize yourself with the following (some have big problems, others dont)....

Google these names:

Centruroides exilicauda
Latrodectus hesperus
Scolopendra heros arizonensis
Scolopendra heros heros
Hadrurus arizonensis
Crotalus atrox (or Crotalidae for the whole rattler genus)
Gila monster
Damon diadema
Vinegaroon
Loxoceles deserta
Vaejovis spinigerus

LOL, hey Steve, exactly how many of these are INSECTS? I don't recall a gila monster being classified as an insect? I don't know what the rest are, but something about a "rattler" doesn't sound too insect-like either.

[HX_Guy]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Depending on where youll live in the Valley, youll need to familiarize yourself with the following (some have big problems, others dont)....

Yea, sure...maybe if you live out in the middle of nowhere 75 miles outside of the city limits.

C'mon, be serious. I know you're trying to scare people out of moving here...but using their fancy scientific name is going pretty low...what, you couldn't have said "black widow spider"...had to use "Latrodectus hesperus"?

I'm not saying that all of these don't exist...but I've been living in Phoenix since 1992 and can remember seeing a black widow twice in those 16 years. I've never seen a gila monster in the wild or a rattlesnake or a scorpion.

[Synergy38]

Scorpions... EVERYWHERE!!

Bum-Bum-Bummmmmmmmmmmmm



I don't live there yet but be prepared for the odd "WTF is that?" But comes with the territory living in a landscape where it's always positive temperatures.

[joninaz]

PHX has the least insect prob of anyplace I've lived or visited for a spell. That's not to say that there aren't insects. Most simply stay out of sight. It's also tougher for them to live here... not much humidity, natural moisture, etc.

Ants, spiders, etc. are rarely noticed. Once every year or so I'll come across a small roach, which travel all over the country via produce, and simply lay out a bunch of motels and never see one for another year +.

I'm only bugged by mosquitos as I live near some parks with lakes and a canal. It's nothing like Florida, Texas, Thailand. Nor do we get bitten by the horseflys, etc. one finds in CO. But mozzies seem to find their way anywhere. They are seasonal, and much depends on the timing of rain.

Otherwise, bugs are pretty rare to intrude or low key. We apparently have killer bees, and I do get a bit warped when it comes to being around flying stingers, but even though the yard is packed with flowers, they seem content to swig nectar. Wasps are rarely seen.

[jlzpo1]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Depending on where youll live in the Valley, youll need to familiarize yourself with the following (some have big problems, others dont)....

Google these names:....

You must be a biologist of some sort Steve-O....THanks for the list. I myself, think it's interesting to say to someone, "You have a possible Capnocytophaga infection" rather than, " Your dog bite is probably infected...."

BTW, the "silver fish" is also known as a house centipede (For the entomologist....Lespisma sacchrina)

The comment about the Gila monster not being an insect I think, is intuitively obvious, but I do appreciate the list! Never knew one can actually stumble on a Gila monster- the only one I have ever seen was in a zoo.

Anyhow, the spraying thing- I've had more than one person/realtor comment on this...Is there anything like an "environmentally friendly"way of doing this (for example, placing eucalyptus leaves in an area with lots of spiders), or is it pretty much an oxymoron to put "eco-friendly" and "spraying" in the same sentence?

[Nanny4Paws]

Originally Posted by HX_Guy

Yea, sure...maybe if you live out in the middle of nowhere 75 miles outside of the city limits.

C'mon, be serious. I know you're trying to scare people out of moving here...but using their fancy scientific name is going pretty low...what, you couldn't have said "black widow spider"...had to use "Latrodectus hesperus"?

I'm not saying that all of these don't exist...but I've been living in Phoenix since 1992 and can remember seeing a black widow twice in those 16 years. I've never seen a gila monster in the wild or a rattlesnake or a scorpion.

I have lived here since 2001 (always in town) and have seen my fair share of black widows and scorpions. Scorpions were only bad in one house I lived in as it was infested (luckily I never got stung) but, I saw at lease one in the other homes I lived in. Black widows used to build their webs in the rocks on my pool and they love the underneath of my patio chairs. I have never found any in my house though.

The only rattlesnakes I have come close to are while out hiking and mountain biking and I have never seen a gila monster.

Earwigs are another insect that you may see in your home although they are harmless and never make it too far from the tiny opening they used to let themselves in before they expire.