[bledsoe3]

Originally Posted by BUGBULLY

These are the un-common, seen but not an every day occurrence: bed bugs, centipedes, weevils, flour beetles, common beetles, carpet beetles, cinch bugs (like gnats), and termites.

How do you treat the carpet beetles?

[mojavedxer]

Originally Posted by bledsoe3

How do you treat the carpet beetles?

Mule Team Borox rubbed into the carpet does wonders killing bugs living in the carpet.

[BUGBULLY]

Originally Posted by SportyandMisty

Bugbully, Someone told me that unlike California, termites are not a problem here because of the climate - its too dry for them. I'm not sure if they meant subterranean or dry-wood.

How common are wood-destroying pests such as termites here in Las Vegas? Should I get my house inspected periodically for termites (of course, in California, termites are endemic & houses are routinely treated for termites).

We have the subterranean ones. I have only seen the drywoods here maybe 3 times in the last 12 years, and they were brought in.

If your home is over 20 years, I would get it checked. If newer, usually you do not have to worry.

Also make sure that if you build on flower beds or a patio, and you use wood, to put flashing in between the home and the wood.

[BUGBULLY]

Originally Posted by bledsoe3

How do you treat the carpet beetles?

Best thing to do is get the carpets steam cleaned and then get it treated by a Professional. Also try to find the source where they came from. Most of the carpet beetles, common beetles, and weevils have been brought in by some kind of source. We have beetles that we have seen a couple of times over the last year, mostly in the Pantry. They actually come from bird seed. So if you do have bird seed, make sure to keep it outside in a container, just to be safe.

[yellowsnow]

People ask this question all the time. Honestly, Las Vegas has the least bugs of anyplace I have ever lived. It's wonderful for dogs and cats. No mosquitoes or fleas.

I have seen a few spiders, ants, and silverfish. The occasional dead huge roach. A few moths. That's about it.

[olecapt]

I see a lot of houses...ten or twenty a week on average. As soon as a house is vacant you see roaches. If the house was well sprayed they are generally dead.

Makes no difference how well maintained or clean or dirty...you still will have roaches in a vacant house.

Scorpions are specific to a location. Only a small minority of Vegas houses will have one. If you find one there are more. I would estimate it is less than one in twenty locations that have scorpions.

Everyone has spiders...and pretty much everyone has black widows. I have two places that have had black widows continuously since I have lived here. A corner of the swimming pool and the main electrical box. If you hunt the crannies of your garage and house exterior you will find them.

Ants are common and generally easily handled. Just figure out how they get in and block it. We had them in our master bath when we moved in. Fed them got a good stream going..back tracked it and sealed the cracks. After three tries no more ants.

We regularly get mice and desert rats and classic rats around the property. It comes from living near horse corrals. The cats take care of mice and desert rats...real rats sometimes need an exterminator. We will never be able to get rid of the desert rats as we have acres of vacant scrub near us ...but they are kind of cute and are kept under control by patrolling cats.

No crickets here or very rare. No bed bugs or silver fish. No earwigs.

[PinkString]

Originally Posted by sdreloc

The problem with crickets besides annoying noise if inside, is that scorpions eat them. If you have crickets, then scorpions may follow.

Have never seen scorpions ever since moving to Las Vegas. Black widows also like to eat crickets. Do see them sometimes in the garage but they do not last long.

[unf0rgiven6262]

I gladly deal with any insect intruders over not having to deal with mosquitoes. I mean seriously, in many parts of the country it's not even bearable to be outside in the summer evenings because of mosquitoes.

I've found the sticky paper that they sell to be very effective against roaches. I place a sheet in any area that produces any moisture such as under sinks or behind the toilet. Luckily black widows aren't the type of spider to roam around looking for food. They just find an out of the way corner that's almost always outside and hunker down in a web. Anyone getting upset about crickets probably needs some stress relief and I've never encountered bed bugs.
Contrary to many people's beliefs, ants are actually very clean insects. They can be a nuisance though. Close off areas they are coming through and don't leave food laying out.

If living in a desert doesn't get you far enough away from nature, you may need to move to the moon.

[PinkString]

Instead of making your home smell like a cemetery plot, just wait for colder weather. That alone will kill them or they will go back into hibernation in one of your houseplants.
I am wondering if I should just repot my aloe vera plant and keep it outdoors come spring time. It's gotten quite huge despite snipping off parts of it for my green smoothies. And for use in healing.

[sdreloc]

If you are talking about gnats, then waiting for cold weather is just a temporary solution. They gnats will be back after going dormant for the winter and that won't be a solution for houseplants indoors.
Any smell cause by baking potting soil in an oven will air out in hours and kill everything permanently.

You should also be able to instantly kill some flying gnats with a spray bottle filled with rubbing alcohol. It will evaporate away before it harms the plant or soil.