Pests - Solutions
Your AZ Pest Control Specialist
Having regular pest control is a fact of life for many of us here in the Valley of the Sun. Arrow Pest Control is dedicated to making pest control service a virtually risk free part of your life, and getting this control has never been easier.
#1 – “Killer Bees” Africanized Honey Bees
Bee Identifying:
Africanized bees are physically similar to regular honey bees. It takes an expert 4 to 6 hours using a microscope and computer, or DNA testing, to identify whether a bee is Africanized or not. You cannot distinguish between the two types of bees by simply looking at them. Because they have been here for several years now, it is generally considered that all wild honey bee colonies in southern Arizona are now Africanized.
“Regular” honey bees were brought to the U.S. from parts of Europe. These European honey bees are adapted to a temperate climate with cold winters. Africanized bees were brought to Brazil from Africa and mistakenly released in 1957. Africanized bees are adapted to a tropical climate and will live only in warm areas of the U.S. The sting from an Africanized bee is no different than the sting from a normal honey bee. The biggest difference between the two bee types is behavior. Africanized bee nests are easily provoked into stinging attacks involving large numbers of bees.
Dealing with Africanized bees is not something even the most capable do-it-yourself home-owner should attempt. The danger to yourself as well as your neighbors is just too great. The price you pay a professional will be a bargain compared to the possible consequences.
Dangerous:
Honey bees are usually seen in four situations: foraging, water collecting, swarming, and nesting. africanized bee foraging africanized bee collecting water africanized bees swarming africanized bees nesting with queen
- Dangerous when feeling threatened
- Nuisance when they’re collecting water
- Rarely dangerous when swarming
- Dangerous when they’re nesting
Foraging bees visit flowers to collect pollen and nectar for food and to pollinate the flowers. Honey bees visiting flowers are not dangerous. If you disturb a foraging bee, it will usually move to a different flower. A foraging bee will normally sting only in self defense, such as when it is stepped on, pinched, or entangled in hair.
Water collecting bees need this water to survive. Since natural water sources are scarce in our desert, bees utilize water supplied by man. During dry parts of the year, the bees can become quite a nuisance around swimming pools, humming bird feeders, bird baths, coolers, and animal water sources. Water collecting bees are not dangerous, and when disturbed, react much as foraging bees.
Swarms of bees occur when an existing colony becomes overcrowded and half the bees leave with a queen. A swarm will usually contain 5 to 10 thousand bees. They are often seen hanging in a cluster on a tree branch. At this point they are looking for a cavity to move into, to build a new nest. Swarms are rarely dangerous because they have no nest to defend.
Nests are rapidly built once a swarm has moved into a cavity. A nest is made up of adult bees and beeswax comb, which contain stored food and developing young. A nest managed by a beekeeper is a hive. An un-managed nest is a “wild colony”. Wild colonies of Africanized bees are very dangerous because almost anything can disturb them… vibrations, odors, and quick movement. The resulting stinging attacks have killed both animals and humans.
#2 – “Feral” Pigeons
Urbanized Feral Pigeon Pest birds such as pigeons are an increasing concern, both for health and esthetic reasons. Arrow Pest Control has humane solutions available to make these birds go away. We offer a free site inspection and consultation on curing your pest bird problems, and we offer a 2 YEAR GUARANTEE on our work, including materials and workmanship. The longer you wait to control the birds, the worse it will get. Call today (480) 821-2004 and be rid of this unsightly and unsanitary menace.
Identifying:
The feral pigeon is a number one urban pest, with large numbers in every city. Feral pigeons are not a native bird, but a descendant of the homing pigeons brought over from Europe in the 1600′s. The Romans domesticated them from the wild rock doves from the sea cliffs of Europe, over two thousand years ago. Because of their history, feral pigeons have several traits that let them dominate the urban landscape. They are not afraid of humans, they nest readily in man-made structures, and they have a diverse diet than includes the scraps from humans.
Economic Importance:
Feral pigeons are responsible for untold millions of dollars of damage every year. The uric acid in their feces is highly corrosive and can cut the useful life of a roof in half. Extensive damage to air conditioners and other roof top equipment is commonplace.
The accumulation of their feces and feathers also causes great aesthetic damage to homes and businesses. In addition to the physical damage they do, they are also vectors of diseases such as Salmonella, Listeriosis, Histoplasmosis, Encephalitis, and Meningitis, just to name a few.
Habits:
Nest building is very simple and may consist of a few stiff twigs and lots of fecal matter. They prefer small, flat, cave like areas away from the ground. In a large flock, they may forgo the nest and lay their eggs on an open unprotected surface.
Biology:
Pigeons are monogamous and a mating pair will typically have three to four broods each year. The female will normally lay two or sometimes three eggs at a time. The eggs take roughly 18 days to hatch, and another 35 days before they leave the nest.
Pigeons are not migratory. Their natural instinct is to stay near their birth place. This gives them a very determined personality when it comes to roosting at a particular site. Their daily cycle is to roost at night, feed in the morning, and loaf in the afternoon.
Control:
Today, there are many humane choices available to your pigeon control specialist. At Arrow Pest Control, we have many years of experience eliminating pigeons from homes, schools, and various other structures. This experience gives us the confidence to offer a 2 year guarantee on all materials and LABOR, for every job we do.
Contact us today for a free consultation for your home or business at (480) 821-2004.
#3 – BLACK WIDOW SPIDERS
These spiders get their common name from the popular belief that the female eats her mate after mating, something that rarely happens in nature. The genus Latrodectus is worldwide in distribution, with 6 species found in the United States.
Identification:
The adult female has a body length of about ” including an almost spherical abdomen of about 1/4-3/8″ in diameter, with overall length including legs of about 1 3/8-1 1/2″, with males being about half the size of females. The color is typically black. The underside of the abdomen is marked with 2 reddish triangular markings, usually joined to form a reddish hourglass shape, but sometimes the markings are split.
The males usually have a color pattern on top that is variable but typically consists of a median row of red spots with white lines radiating out to the sides.
Young spiders are primarily orange and white, but acquire more and more black as they mature, with marking similar to those of the male, with 1 or 2 reddish markings on the underside of the abdomen.
Dangerous:
The female is the one with the poisonous venom. She is normally shy and retiring, but will become aggressive just after laying eggs, and while guarding her eggs. The bite is usually the result of a defensive action by the spider. If you put yourself in a position that threatens the spider you are likely to get bitten. The bite is not always felt, so the only reliable evidence of a bite is a slight local swelling with 2 tiny red marks where the fangs entered. However, pain is almost always immediate and at it’s maximum within 1-3 hours. It continues for 12-48 hours, and then gradually subsides. The major symptoms are increased body temperature and blood pressure, profuse sweating, and nausea. If bitten, immediately call a physician or go to an emergency room, and take the spider along, if it can be SAFELY captured, for identification. There is an antitoxin available, and if treated, a bite is rarely fatal, except occasionally to small children.
Habits:
These spiders build an irregular web and hang upside-down. The web is used to ensnare pray. The female will avoid light by hiding in a crack or crevice during the day, and coming out at night to work her web.
Within a few days of hatching the spiderlings will climb to a high point with suitable air currents and spin a silken thread, and float on the breeze like a kite. This ballooning provides for the general distribution of the species.
Once they have landed they are usually found in protected locations such as under stones and pieces of wood, in firewood piles, under decks, in hollow stumps and trees, and sometimes in low tree branches and shrubbery. Some favorite places are manmade structures like barns, outhouses, henhouses, sheds, meter and water valve boxes, brick veneers, barrels and woodpiles. Indoors they are typically found in seldom used parts of the garage and basements, and in crawl spaces, preferring the more cluttered areas because they provide more harborage for their pray, which consists primarily of insects.
Biology:
The female black widow deposits her eggs in a silken egg sac that is up to 5/8” in diameter. Depending on the species, a female can produce from 6 to 21 egg sacks in her lifetime. Each sac can contain from 185-464 eggs on average, with a maximum found of 917. Incubation is 8 to 30 days. It takes nearly a year for the spiderlings to grow to adulthood. After maturity a female can live from 800 to 950 days, and a male from 120 to 196 days, on average depending on species.
#4 – “Bark” Scorpions
Bark Scorpion There are about 70 species of scorpion in the United States. Scorpions are a nuisance pest, but are also of medical importance because of their sting. Their stings can range from a mild wasp-like sting, which can be accompanied by an allergic reaction, all the way, RARELY, to being fatal.
Identifying:
Adult scorpions range in size from under 2 inches to over 4 inches long. They look a lot like a tiny lobster, with menacing looking claws out front and a long thin tail that ends in a sting.
Dangerous:
Stings from the Bark scorpion, found here in Arizona, can be fatal. The stings are often very painful and are usually followed by immediate (few minutes to 24 hours) distress, including numbness around the wound which rapidly spreads to the entire extremity; weakness or even paralysis of the injured part; hyperactivity and anxiety; profuse salivation; dizziness; difficulty in speaking and swallowing; respiratory distress; and, in some cases, convulsions. The sting site does not swell or become discolored as it does with less dangerous species.
The injected venom is a neurotoxin and if death occurs, it is caused by respiratory paralysis and other complications, usually within 2-20 hours after the sting. There is an antivenom sometimes available but rarely needed. Here in Arizona, the best course of action for someone stung by a scorpion is to call poison control. Since scorpion stings are not uncommon here, they are able to give you the best directions for care.
Habits:
During the day, scorpions try to hide someplace that is cool, moist and dark, as this helps them conserve water. Night time is when they are the most active as they start hunting for food and water.
Scorpions eat insects and spiders, and have been known to eat each other. They sometimes enter homes as part of their foraging activity at night. They usually enter your home the same way you do, through the doors or sometimes the windows. Scorpions don’t leave a pheromone trail to follow back outside, so at daybreak they don’t know how to get back outside, and are trapped in your house, so they start looking for a place to hide. That place can be anywhere in your house that gives them shelter, like your shoes, blankets, dresser drawers, the shirt on the chair or the socks on the floor. You get the idea, they can be anywhere!
Biology:
Scorpions give birth to live young, which immediately climb onto their mothers back at birth. They remain there until their first molt, which usually occurs within 7-30 days. After that first molt, they descend, scatter and feed. Maturity can take from several months to possibly 4 years. They reach adult coloration within 2-3 months. Adults may live for up to around 6 years.
Control:
Step 1 is harborage elimination. This includes removing wood piles, trash, and debris, storing firewood and lumber off the ground, eliminating large stones and landscaping timbers, etc. If you don’t do this part, you are not going to get good control of your scorpion population, even with the best pest control program.
Step 2 is to control their food source, which will primarily be insects. Step 1 will go a long way to achieving step 2, but step 2 often calls for a good pest control program. It should also include a vegetation free zone at least 18 inches from your foundation. The idea here is to keep them away from the house by eliminating harborage, so they are less likely to find their way inside.
Step 3 is exclusion from access to the inside your house. This means doors that fit tight with good weather stripping ALL THE WAY AROUND YOUR DOORS, tight fitting windows AND SCREENS in good repair, caulking door and window frames, plumbing and utility penetrations, vents in bathroom , fascia, J-trim area at base of stucco homes,etc.
Step 4 is pest control. This comes after all of the above because without the above steps, no pest control program can be successful. You should also consider buying and USING a black light to hunt scorpions after sunset, when they are most active. This simple population reduction practice will have a significant impact on your scorpion control program. They glow under a black light, so are fairly easy to spot. When you see one you can smash it or spray it.
#5 – TURKESTAN COCKROACH
Turkestan Cockroachs and eggs
The common name for this roach probably relates to it having been collected in Turkestan. The primary distribution of this roach seemed to be throughout the Middle East. It was introduced it the United States with household goods of military personnel when they returned from duty in the Middle East. In the U.S. it is established in parts of California, around El Paso, Texas, and in Maricopa and Pima counties in Arizona.
Identifying:
The adults of this species grow to about 1″ in length, with the female being a bit longer. The males are brownish yellow in color and the females are dark brown to black in color. The wings of the male extend beyond the abdomen whereas the female wings are very short triangular pads separated by less than a wings width.
The nymphs (young) are bi-colored with the thorax (front) being light brown and the abdomen being dark brown. The ootheca or egg capsules are 3/8 to “ long, dark brown and contain about 18 eggs.>> back to top
The males of this roach are commonly confused with American Roaches and the females with Oriental roaches.
Habits:
This roach is a desert or semi-desert dweller. It can live inside under the right conditions, but is most commonly found outside. Outdoor habitats include water meter and valve boxes, under leaf litter, and under heavy thatch in lawns. It is common in sewer systems and is capable of carrying the bacteria that causes dysentery.
Biology:
Not a lot is known about this species other than nyumphal development takes around 118-137 days, and adults live from 30 to 300 days.
Control:
Controlling this roach is normally straightforward and fairly simple. Desiccant dusts and a good baiting system are usually sufficient to gain good control. Contact us today for a free consultation for your home or business at (480) 821-2004.
#6 – AMERICAN COCKROACH
The American cockroach is also known as the “water bug”,”sewer roach”, the “Bombay Canary”, and the “Palmetto bug”. Despite its name, the American roach is not native to North America, but is world wide in distribution.
Identifying:
Adults range from 1 3/8- 2 1/8″ long, and are reddish brown in color. Both sexes are fully winged, with the male wings extending beyond the abdomen, and the females not beyond the abdomen. They are poor to moderately good flyers. Ootheca or egg capsules are about 3/8″ long, dark reddish to blackish brown, and usually contain about 16 eggs.
Habits:
While American roaches can infest homes, they are more commonly found outside, or in commercial buildings, where they infest food storage and preparation areas, and other moist dark areas. The female deposits her ootheca within 4 hours to 4 days of it being formed. It is dropped, or glued to a suitable surface with a mouth secretion, usually in a crack or crevice of relatively high humidity and near a food source. On average, a female will produce 9-10 oothecae in her lifetime, with each one containing 14-16 eggs.
Development time is greatly influenced by temperatures, varying from 168-786 days, with 600 days at normal room temperature being average. At 84�F adult females live about 225 days, and adult males about 200 days.
Control:
Treating their harborage sites is the best way to control American Roaches, using desiccant dust and or baits. Contact us today for a free consultation for your home or business at (480) 821-2004.
#7 “Southern” FIRE ANTS
We will be talking about the southern fire ant. The red imported fire ant is not in Arizona yet (fortunately), so we’ll wait to talk about them.
Fire ants get their name from their ability to inflict especially painful bites and stings.
Identifying:
Workers are polymorphic, meaning they come in varied sizes, from 1/16-1/14″ in length. The head and thorax are yellowish red and the thorax is black.
Habits:
Fire ants are typically ground nesting, but the southern fire ant will sometimes nest in the wood or masonry of buildings, especially in areas near the soil or the warmth of a fireplace hearth. Outside nests are usually found under stones or covering objects, or at the base of trees or scrubs, or in clumps of grass. >> back to top
Southern fire ants have been known to remove the insulation from phone or electrical wires, and to gnaw on clothing, especially if it is soiled. They usually feed on seeds, insects, young tree bark, honeydew and other sweets, preferring oily meats and nuts.
Biology:
Typical mounds of the southern fire ant are flattened and irregular, covering 2-4 square feet. Reproductive swarms occur May through October in the early afternoon of warm days. Developmental time can require as little as 44 days. The biology of southern fire ants has not been thoroughly studied.
Control:
These ants can be very difficult to control. A good baiting program seems to be the best long-term approach, with some use or dusts and or liquids to control foragers in or near the house. Baits containing Avermectin seem particularly well suited to fire ant control.
#8 – INDIAN HOUSE CRICKETS
The common name comes from the fact that these crickets often end up inside your house, and make themselves right at home. They seem to have originated in Sri Lanka and spread throughout the tropics. This cricket first appeared in Tucson in 1963, and by the late 1970′s early 80′s became extremely common in Arizona.
Identifying:
Adult crickets are about 3/4-7/8″ long, with a pale background color with dark markings on the thorax and abdomen. The young look just like adults, only smaller.
Economic Importance:
This cricket can be a nuisance pest because so many of them find their way into houses where the residents complain about the noise made by the males, and many consider the sight of a cricket scampering across the kitchen flood to be disturbing.
They feed on leftover food, dead animal and insect remains, and other decaying organic matter. They can damage fabric that is soiled or contaminated.
Biology:
Indian house crickets hatch from eggs and gradually grow to adulthood by shedding their skin as they grow (gradual metamorphosis). They over-winter in the soil and the population peaks in mid-summer during our monsoon rains.
Control:
Like any pest, habitat modification will have a severe impact in cricket populations. The fewer places they have to hide during the day, the fewer crickets can survive. A pest control program involving baits and perimeter spraying will work wonders to control this pest. The response to Arizona Pest Control’s natural spray solutions is especially powerful.
Contact us today for a free consultation for your home or business at (480) 821-2004.
#9 – ROOF RATS
The roof rat is the smaller of the two commensal rats (Norway is the larger) and the more common commensal rat in the subtropical and tropical regions of the world. It does damage by gnawing, eating and contaminating stored food, and as a vector of disease organisms.
Identifying:
Adult roof rats have a total body length of 6-8″ and a tail length of 7-10″, and weigh up to 12 ozs. The color is usually brown with black intermixed, but can be gray to black on top and white gray or black underneath. They have a pointed muzzle, large eyes, almost naked ears that are so large they could be pulled over their eyes. The tail is scaly and longer than the head and body combined.
Infestation Signs:
1. Gnaw marks. New gnawing tends to be rough, while old gnawing tends to be smooth from wear.
2. Droppings. Fresh droppings are soft and moist, about �” long with pointed ends, old droppings are hard and dry.
3. Tracks and or footprints. Front foot has 4 toes and hind foot is bigger with 5 toes. Fresh tracks are clear and sharp.
4. Dark and greasy rub marks on vertical surfaces. Fresh marks are soft and greasy and easily smeared whereas old marks are dry and flaky.
5. Burrows. These are not common, but if they are present they will be shallow. They usually nest in high places like trees or in or under vegetation.
6. Runways. Outside, travel routes are not so apparent because they often travel along fence tops, and phone and power lines. Indoors they move along walls, stacked merchandise, etc. Active runways will have a greasy appearance, be free of dust/cob webs, and have fresh tracks/droppings.
7. Damaged goods. Rats prefer fruits, vegetables and cereals.
Habit:
Roof rats are primarily nocturnal in habit and they are very cautious. Although they constantly explore their surroundings, they will shy away from anything new. They are social animals so several nests may be found in a given area. They can enter a building through an opening of only 1″.
Once established indoors, they will follow the same path from harborage to food and water, every day. Once they find a food source they like, they will eat their fill at one sitting, and return time after time.
Biology:
Roof rats reach sexual maturity in 2-5 months. Pregnancy lasts an average of 22 days. The young are blind and naked at birth, with hair appearing in about 7 days and eyes opening in 12-14 days. They are weaned at about 3-4 weeks. The average number of litters is 4-6 per year, each containing 6-8 young. Adults live an average of 9-12 months.
They have fairly poor vision and are color blind, but their other senses are keenly developed, with touch coming through their whiskers. They are good runners, excellent climbers and jumpers, and if forced, fairly good swimmers.
Roof rats are vectors of several diseases, including bubonic plague, murine typhus, infectious jaundice/leptospirosis/Weil’s Disease, trichinosis, Salmonellosis, and rat bite fever.
Control:
The first steps are ALWAYS identification, sanitation and harborage elimination, and rat proofing the building. Control is then based on the behavior of the rats. Methods of control can include baits, and or traps. At Arrow Pest Control, we prefer traps because they can give a faster result with less chance of causing an odor problem from rats dying where they can’t be retrieved.
#10 – Mosquitoes
West Nile Mosquito General Information:
Responsibility for Mosquito Control -
Everyone is responsible for eliminating and preventing mosquito breeding on their property. Chapter 111, Regulation 2 of the Maricopa County Health Code states:
“All mosquitoes must have water to complete their life cycle. Stagnant water left from monsoon rains can increase mosquito activity. Rain and irrigation water can produce hundreds of thousands of mosquitoes if larva are allowed to stand as little as three days. In areas where ponding cannot be prevented, the water can be treated within 24 to 48 hours to kill the developing mosquitoes before the biting adults can start emerging.”
Here are a few tips from Maricopa County’s Vector Control program on what you can do to treat and eliminate mosquito breeding:
* Drain weekly all animal watering troughs, bird baths, pet watering dishes, etc.
* Repair water leaks, sprinkler systems and coolers that cause water to pond.
* Remove vegetation and floating debris in and around ponds and stagnant swimming pools to limit breeding potential. Also, you may want to consider adding mosquito-eating fish called gambusia. The fish are available free of charge from the Vector Control office.
* Fill in low spots, control the irrigation in your yard or pastures, and drain standing water from buckets and other containers that can collect water on your property.
* Source reduction is generally preferred, however, other organic treatments may be needed on a temporary problem or on a site that cannot be eliminated.
* Backyard Checklist: Here are some things you can do around your house to prevent mosquitoes from breeding as well as how to protect yourself and your family from mosquito bites. Plus some first aids tips if you or your family get bitten. Get your checklist here!
Mosquitoes in Maricopa County
Mosquitoes have a serious impact on the health, comfort, and economic welfare of people. Some species transmit diseases to man and animals. In Maricopa County, there is particular concern with mosquito-borne encephalitis (sleeping sickness) as well as other viruses. (Download a short Mosquito-Borne Viruses list.)
Large numbers of mosquitoes interfere with outdoor work and recreation, cause livestock to lose weight, and lower property values.
There are 2 main types of mosquitoes in Maricopa County: stagnant water mosquitoes (Culex mosquitoes) and intermittent water mosquitoes (flood water mosquitoes).
Stagnant Water Mosquitoes (two kinds)
Culex Tarsali
This is the most important mosquito of arboviruses in western North America. Responsible for maintenance, amplification and epidemic transmission of Western Equine, and St Louis viruses in irrigated and riparian habitats. Also capable of transmitting: Venezuelan Equine, Japanese Encephalitis, Murray Valley, West Nile and many others. (Download a short Mosquito-Borne Viruses list.) Larval habitat is usually among surface water pools that are frequently surrounded by grasses and annual vegetation and agricultural tail water. Larval development 7 days to 4 weeks depending on temperature and food supply. Females feed mostly on birds shortly after sunset. Flight range up to 17 miles.
Culex quinquefasiatus
The southern house mosquito is found throughout the southern half of the United States. Its Latin name refers to five lines that can be seen on the length of the body. This mosquito prefers to lay eggs in small pools of water, and can utilize water that is polluted with organic material. This mosquito enters houses readily, hence its common name. It can be an annoying pest at night, not only because of its bite but also because of its high-pitched buzz. The southern house mosquito can transmit nematodes which cause dog heartworm and viruses causing encephalitis.
Some typical breeding sites for both Culex mosquitoes are tin cans, old tires, decorative ponds, bird baths, horse troughs, overgrown ditches, unmaintained swimming pools, open septic tanks, sewage and industrial waste ponds where she lays her eggs in a cluster directly on the surface of the standing water. Her continuous reproduction cycle last for as long as water stands and conditions remain favorable. Learn some ways to treat the breeding site if source reduction doesn’t work.
The adult’s main habit can be found in shrubbery and other cool sheltered places. They are also know to rest in open weeds and grass during the daytime. Though they are seldom seen in the daytime, they will rise up and bite if disturbed. Both mosquitoes are active and biting during nighttime hours, indoors and out.
