pest control tips

PEST CONTROL TIPS for Arizona Homeowners

The desert landscape of Arizona is stunning, with exotic flora and fauna and abundant wildlife. Unfortunately, that wildlife finds ways into your backyard and home, posing a real threat to you and your family’s wellbeing. Exterminators in Arizona understand how to get rid of the most annoying and dangerous pests and rodents in the state.

Pest Control Tips

Pest control is something you have to deal with wherever you live, whether in a mobile home, a two-bedroom apartment or an overwhelming mansion. In Arizona, regular pest control is a necessity in order to avoid being overrun by pests. Know what kinds of pests could be invading your Arizona home with this helpful review.

Pests Are Dangerous

Most wildlife and rodents are just nuisances, but plenty more do a lot of damage to homeowners and their property. For example, electrical wires are chewed on and start fires, while other wild animals have diseases and parasites they carry into your home. Animals and insects are okay from far away, but once they enter your house, they can go from bothersome to dangerous.

Arizona Pests

In Arizona, there are particular problems with pests, considering its desert location. Subterranean termites are just one of the top pests on the list. These critters are found mainly in the Sonora Desert in southern Arizona, living in the ground and eating cellulose from desert plants like dead cactus. As pests, they severely damage wood in buildings and adobe structures, making termite inspections necessary for homeowners. Termites build mud tubes to keep cool from the hot Arizona sun.

Another pesky creature in Arizona is Africanized bees, which are much more aggressive than normal honeybees for which the best option is bee removal. These bees have a highly honed defensive instinct that’s easier to set off than other bees, which means that they attack for longer periods of time in greater numbers. It’s not the venom that is more powerful but the number of bees attacking that makes these so much worse as an insect.

Pest Control Solutions

Pest control services range from local operations to nationwide companies. Some of these companies use traditional practices, while others try more humane removal techniques, such as organic pest control sprays. The best pest control solutions intimately understand the area where you live.

For example, in Arizona, you want a pest control specialist who understands how to get rid of termites, birds and roaches safely and effectively. Choose a licensed and qualified pest control solution, as well as one with trained technicians that know the biology of the pest in question.

Finding a pest control company that has been in the business for many years lets you look at their record and see how many cases they handle each year, especially during busy times like the spring season. Don’t let pests get you down in sunny Arizona.

Pests and Rodents in Arizona

Pests and rodents come in all shapes and sizes, crawling, slithering and scurrying through your house. Africanized Honey Bees, or “killer bees,” are no more venomous than a normal honeybee. However, they are extremely aggressive and travel in swarms, attacking in groups so that their stings are more powerful.
There are 35 scorpion species in Arizona, which can climb walls and ceilings, potentially falling into beds. Subterranean and dry-wood termites do not affect your immediate health, but they do damage wooden structures like your house.

Rodents such as roof rats and pack rats are also common in Arizona. Pack rats steal and store bright and shiny objects they find in the house, such as buttons, jewelry and more. Roof rats infest areas in and around the house, searching for food and chewing on electrical wiring.

Both rodents get into the house, climbing up the walls and into the attic where they can build nesting areas. These rats are harmful because they carry transferable diseases, such as leptospirosis, murine typhus, salmonellosis, plague, and rat-bite fever.

Rodent Control in Arizona

Rodents are an unfortunate drawback that can come with any home. In Arizona, there are completely new and different kinds of animals, wildlife, rodents and insects that invade your home and pose a serious health risk to you and your family. Knowing what to look for and how to eliminate these irritating critters is the first step toward making your home healthy and rodent-free.

Types of Rodents in Arizona

The roof rat, or black rat, looks similar to a common house mouse but features a scaly, hairless tail. Roof rats are a safety hazard carrying a number of diseases, including leptospirosis, salmonellosis and rat-bite fever. These can be transferred to both humans and domesticated animals. Additionally, roof rats will get into stored food, tear up insulation in order to nest, and gnaw on wiring, which is a potential fire hazard.

Another Arizona rodent is the pack rat or wood rat. They are attracted to bright and shiny objects and get their name from the fact that they take spoons, small jewelry, mirrors, coins and other objects, replacing them with nuts, sticks or other items. Their tails are longer and covered in hair, but the wood rat is noticeably larger than house mice. While they may appear cute and fuzzy, wood rats carry infections such as tularemia, plague and Chagas’ disease.

How to Spot Rodents

For roof rats, look for smudge marks, like oil and dirt, with rubbed-off fur. It is more probable to see these smudges on walls and rafters because they like to climb. Wood rats are the same in that they climb, so look in the upper levels of the house to find nests.

Listen in attics or inside the house for scurrying sounds, particularly at night because these creatures are nocturnal. Check outside for signs of damage to plants, such as eating. Roof rats especially like to eat the insides of fruit, leaving behind just the rinds.

Getting Rodents Under Control

Rodent control services do their best to provide safe and legal ways for you to get rid of those annoying pests. Effective methods include habitat modification, chemical repellents, electronic devices, humane traps, poison bait and exclusion. While some control techniques are easy, such as traps, long-term infestations are best left to rodent control professionals.

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Furthermore, these specialists understand rodent behavior and have all the equipment necessary to get into the most unlikely places and root out the rodent source. Understand the types of rodents in your home, and you will be able to fix the problem successfully.

How Exterminators Get Rid of Pests

The best Arizona exterminators have years of experience in getting rid of pests and rodents. Look for extermination companies with trained professionals and licenses to inspect homes for pest control. These companies will provide services ranging from minimal protection to complete pest eradication.
When it comes to termites, exterminators should be creating reports and repairing structural damage caused by chewing wood, as well as fumigating the house and using foam and liquid termiticides to eliminate termites. Ensure the company follows up with an appointment at least a month afterward to ensure that all those irritating pests and rodents are gone.

For other pests and rodents, there are ways for experts to seal up your home so that it stops them from entering the house. There are also organic methods for removing insects and rodents that plague your home, as well as companies that focus solely on one kind of insect or rodent, tailoring their treatment process to get rid of that creature quickly. Keep your Arizona home pest-free with the right exterminator.

Arizona Pack Rat or Roof Rat Problem

Have you noticed any missing earrings? Do you hear scampering sounds from the floorboards? Arizona, while beautiful, is home to wildlife, pests, insects and rodents that overrun your home and pose serious risks to you and your family’s health. Read on to learn more about how packrats and roof rats, two common Arizona rodents, could be infesting your home.

What are pack rats and roof rats?

Packrats, or wood rats, are fuzzy rats that tend to collect shiny objects and store them in their nests. Pack rats scour the area for sparkly jewelry, bits of mirrors, gum wrappers, spoons, and more during the night.
Their fluffy fur and tails make them look cute in comparison to the roof rats, which have longer, scaly, hairless tails. While packrats tend to be a nuisance, roof rats tend to infest areas and scrounge for foodstuffs, making a general mess in and around the home.

Why Packrats and Roof Rats Are Dangerous

Both types of rats chew on car wiring and electrical wiring throughout the house, which can quickly turn into a fire hazard. Roof rats tear up insulation for nesting material, while pack rats live in small, dark places like underneath the house, under spa and pool equipment, or in the attic.

What’s worse is that they also transmit diseases, such as murine typhus, salmonellosis, leptospirosis and rat-bite fever to both humans and animals. Roof rats and pack rats tend to climb up the structure of the house and create nests in attics or high structural places in the house. On top of this, both rodents will tear up gardens and trees, eating the insides of fruit but leaving behind the rinds.

How to Deal With Pack rat and Roof Rat Problems

Since both animals are nocturnal, the best way to catch them is to listen at night for scuffling and scurrying sounds in the walls and storage spaces. Effectively getting rid of pack rats and roof rats requires a mix of prevention and rodent control methods. Traps and poison baits only provide short-term relief.

How to keep rats out:

  • Seal gaps and holes in the walls and keep food in pest-resistant storage containers.
  • Make sure compost bins or tumblers are rodent-proof, along with garbage containers.
  • Pick up fallen fruit and trim plants regularly so you can see the ground and look for signs of burrowing. If there was previous rodent damage, you probably need professionals to repair the house.

Arizona Pigeon Control

Pigeons can be found throughout Arizona from the southern desert communities of Pima and Tucson, Then north to the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Prescott, Sedona, and then all over the Greater Phoenix area from Chandler, Tempe, Scottsdale, Gilbert, Mesa, and Phoenix’s city center. Pigeons are clearly here to stay in Arizona. The pigeon populations in Phoenix have actually been growing over the past few years. This growth in the Arizona Pigeon population can be attributed to the availability of protected roof areas for these unwanted pests to breed and perch and many failed attempts to remove pigeons from many Arizona communities. Pigeons love to sit on roofs, using your home as a nesting ground.

Arizona residents do not have to live with the annoyance and the disgusting presence of pigeons. By becoming more informed about the most common and effective pigeon control methods currently being used by professional pest and wildlife management companies, you can get ahead of the curve and begin controlling a troublesome pigeon problem in your community.

The following products are the most common in controlling Arizona’s Pigeons:

  • Bird Gel (Repellent Gel)- This very sticky substance is applied to all perching areas where pigeons are found gathering. Some gels will contain chemicals that may irritate or burn the feet of a pigeon. Most often, these gels perform in controlling Arizona’s pigeons by sticking to the feet of these annoying pests. The pigeons do not appreciate the feeling of the gooey substance, and they may fly away from the treated area. Bird gels are only a temporary method, as they will often need to be reapplied often to remain effective in controlling pigeon populations. Heat, cold, rain, dust, and other debris will also limit the gel’s performance in ridding a home or building of pigeons.
  • Bird Netting- Bird netting is the most effective way to deal with Arizona’s pigeon problems. Only bird netting can completely remove pigeons from an area where they are causing problems. Bird netting comes in sheets in various size netted openings that completely exclude birds from entering an area that has been netted off. The netting, in combination with specialized fasteners, and tensioning will create a bid-proof barrier that will not allow pigeons or other birds to enter. Bird netting effectively can remove Arizona pigeons from rafters, beams, ceilings, roof eaves, and many other open spaces. Bird netting will treat both residential and commercial pigeon problems quickly and at a very economical price. The main drawback of this product is that it requires special tools and skills only found with a professional pest or wildlife management company.
  • Bird Spikes- These are the most common and least effective tool in preventing and removing an unwanted Arizona pigeon population. Bird spikes are made of stainless steel prongs, which are attached to a UV-protected plastic base. Bird spikes are also found with plastic spines and can come in many sizes and shapes. Bird spikes are not sharp, do not hurt, or injure a pigeon in any way. The theory behind these nearly useless tools is that the pigeons will be unable to land, perch, or nest in the location where spikes are installed. The truth is that these bird spikes actually provide a perfect place for pigeons to build nests. The rigid spines hold nesting materials and debris in place for the pigeons to build nests and continue to breed. There are some cases where spikes may be the only choice. However, spikes are a real eyesore and will do very little in controlling an Arizona pigeon problem.
  • Shock Tracking- Like most living creatures, Pigeons cannot easily tolerate electric pulsations when shocked. This highly effective form of Arizona pigeon control applies a low voltage yet strong electronic pulse through a series of plastic or rubberized surfaces. A solar or hard-wired charging station will be used to deliver the electric pulse. These devices will not kill or harm the pigeons. Bird shocking systems are a very effective way of treating an Arizona pigeon problem. These systems will be most effective on walls, rooflines, and other surfaces pigeons take over. Birds of all kinds cannot tolerate being shocked and will leave the protected areas immediately. The only drawback to this system is a higher price tag due to the higher cost of parts, labor, and materials required to remove the pigeons with shock track. A qualified professional pest and wildlife expert will be able to install and maintain this system for residential or commercial applications.
  • Bird Wire- A series of stainless steel braided wires make up this spring-loaded pigeon control method. Bird wire is a very economical and effective way to treat an Arizona pigeon problem. This wired system is a deterrent by not allowing the pigeons to perch or stand on the protected surfaces. The spring-loaded wire will make a pigeon fall off balance, making it impossible for the birds to remain standing. A pigeon must be able to remain in balance in order to perch. The bird wire keeps the pigeons from many different surfaces such as rooflines, ledges, lights, piping, rain gutters, and the tops of walls. This system has a few drawbacks, such as a slight visibility issue, a professional bird or wildlife management company must install them, and spring could break, requiring a very minor and inexpensive repair.
  • Bird Screens- Here is a common way of keeping pigeons from entering a large commercial bay or door. An insect screen, steel mesh drapes, or vinyl-coated plastic can be installed at a large doorway to keep the pigeons from entering. These screens can be stationary or can roll up or down as needed. There are many options with the custom installed method of Arizona pigeon control. Both electrically controlled motors and hand-pulled options are available to keep the bird screens positioned as needed.