Our Local Pest Librrary

Bed Bugs

No homeowner in Arizona wants to deal with the insidious threat of bed bugs. These pests are the stu of nightmares - hard to detect, challenging to eliminate, and a primary cause of sleepless nights and extreme discomfort. Bed bugs are highly adaptive, thriving in our temperature-controlled homes and businesses, moving stealthily from place to place within our belongings or hitching a ride on humans. Their dietary requirements are simple yet unnerving - they exclusively feed on the blood of warm-blooded creatures, which includes us.

Bed bugs are so-named due to their preferred hiding places close to where humans sleep, which gives these nocturnal creatures easy access to our blood. Identifying a bed bug infestation involves looking for telltale signs such as the presence of aened, reddish-brown oval-shaped insects hidden within the seams of maresses or underneath box springs, dark streaks or blood spots on maresses, linens, pillowcases, walls, or ooring, piles of shed insect exoskeletons, or a musty odor permeating your home. If you spot any of these signs, it's essential to reach out to a professional immediately to ensure complete elimination of the bed bug infestation from your Phoenix home.

Preventing bed bugs entails several steps:

• Regularly vacuum your home and upholstered furniture to eliminate any stray bed bugs.
  
• Keep your personal belongings o the ground in public places, and away from others' belongings as much as possible.
  
• Decluer your home regularly. Cluer doesn't necessarily aract bed bugs, but it provides them with more hiding places.
  

Pigeon

Pigeons, with their light gray bodies, rust or metallic colored feathers, and dark bars across their wings, are a ubiquitous sight in Phoenix homes and businesses. However, these seemingly innocuous birds are quick to claim any property they consider suitable for roosting or foraging. This rapid colonization, coupled with their capacity to transmit diseases and cause substantial property damage, has earned them the unflattering moniker of 'the rodents of the bird world.

To deter pigeons from settling on your property, consider the following measures:

• Remove sources of food and water, such as open trash containers, bird feeders, compost piles, and garden areas.
• Make repairs and perform regular maintenance in your garden areas to make them less attractive to these pests.
• Refrain from feeding pigeons, as this encourages them to return and multiply.
  

Rodents

Phoenix residents often face the relentless frustration caused by rodents such as mice and rats. These pests have adapted to human habitation because it provides them with easy access to food, water, and shelter. Controlling the rodent population is vital as they not only contaminate our food sources but also spread diseases and parasites, and cause extensive structural damage.

To keep your property less appealing to rodents, consider these steps:

• Repair any openings in your home's exterior with robust materials that rodents can't gnaw through. Ensure you have caps on chimneys and covers over vents.
  
• Maintain clean and secure outdoor spaces, picking up pet food, and keeping grill areas free of food debris.
• Minimize cluer in basements, aics, and closets as these can become ideal hiding and nesting spots for rodents.
  

Scorpions

Phoenix residents often face the relentless frustration caused by rodents such as mice and rats. These pests have adapted to human habitation because it provides them with easy access to food, water, and shelter. Controlling the rodent population is vital as they not only contaminate our food sources but also spread diseases and parasites, and cause extensive structural damage.

To keep your property less appealing to rodents, consider these steps:

• Repair any openings in your home's exterior with robust materials that rodents can't gnaw through. Ensure you have caps on chimneys and covers over vents.
• Maintain clean and secure outdoor spaces, picking up pet food, and keeping grill areas free of food debris.
• Minimize clutter in basements, attics, and closets as these can become ideal hiding and nesting spots for rodents.
  

Ants

Ants are insects that regularly find their way into our Reno homes and other structures like grocery stores, schools, and restaurants. These insects have learned that our structures can provide them with regular food and water sources. Homeowners regularly deal with several types of nuisance ants in our area, including pavement ants and odorous house ants. We must also guard our homes against dangerous carpenter ants, whose nesting habits can cause structural damage.

Ants are one of the most familiar insects that people encounter. The best way to determine the type of ant that has found its way to your property is to partner with a professional. Professionals understand the unique physical and behavioral differences between ants and can provide accurate identification and perform effective treatments.

Helpful prevention tips: Take away as many entrance points leading into your home as possible. Caulk cracks in the foundation, install door sweeps, and ensure weather-stripping and screens are intact. Permanently seal gaps around wires and cables entering your home. Reduce the food and food odors that attract ants to your home by keeping lids on trash cans and maintaining your family's indoor and outdoor cooking and eating areas.

Cockroaches

Some of the most regular cockroach visitors to our Reno homes and business include:

• American cockroaches
• Brown-banded cockroaches
• German cockroaches
• Oriental cockroaches
  

We identify cockroaches by their flat oval bodies, long antennae, and spine-covered legs. While cockroaches have wings, most prefer running from place to place. They are nocturnal, hiding in tight cracks and crevices during the day and emerging to forage for food at night.

Cockroaches take over human structures in large numbers, are difficult to control, and spread disease, allergens, and parasites. Sharing our homes with cockroaches is never ideal, and as soon as you discover their presence, you need to take action to eliminate them. The best way to eliminate cockroaches and prevent a re-infestation is through regular pest control services performed by a local expert. 

Helpful Prevention Tips: Control excess moisture around your property by repairing leaky pipes and air-conditioners and ensuring your yard has good drainage. Inside your home, use dehumidifiers and address leaks quickly to reduce excess moisture. Reduce clutter from your property so that cockroaches can't take cover within. Store your family's food properly and regularly wipe counters, vacuum floors, and upholstered furniture.

Spiders

Spiders are arachnids, and we identify them by their:

• Eight legs
• Two body segments
• Lack of antenna and wings
• Many eyes
• Ability to produce silk
  

Many people fear spiders because of their unsettling appearance and quick and unpredictable movements. However, it is important to remember how beneficial they truly are. Spiders help control insect populations that would otherwise overrun our outdoor spaces and destroy gardens and crops. 

Despite their unpleasant appearance, most species of spiders, like wolf and tree spiders that find their way to our properties, are not a threat. But it is important to note that there are spiders in our region that are a threat to people. The most dangerous spider that Reno homeowners encounter is the black widow spider. Unlike most spiders that only have venom potent enough to harm their insect prey, black widow spider venom can harm people.

Helpful Prevention Tips: Keep these arachnids from taking over your home by regularly vacuuming and dusting to remove webs and stray spiders in your home. Eliminate clutter from your home, especially in storage spaces. Cut back trees and shrubbery from your home that provide spiders easy access to your home. Turning off outdoor lights when they aren't needed is also important. Light attracts the insects to your home that spiders like to hunt.

Wildlife

Examples of wildlife in Reno that regularly become a problem for home and business owners include:

• Mink
• Pigeons
• Raccoons
• Skunks
  

While wild animals generally take care of themselves, as we have taken over more of their natural habitat, they have learned to rely on people and the things our property provides. Though wildlife plays an essential role in nature, in our yards, they are destructive, dangerous, and sometimes smelly pests. 

When wildlife becomes permanent members of our yards, they cause major damage. While foraging for food, they won't hesitate to overturn trash cans, tear up gardens, break into chicken coops, and become a fixture around outdoor cooking and eating areas. Other problems with sharing your property with wildlife are that they spread diseases and parasites, can become aggressive, and, as they enter and exit your home, cause structural damage.

Helpful Prevention Tips: Keeping wildlife away from our properties is tricky because we inadvertently offer them their basic needs. Keeping a well-maintained yard is key. Keep your grass short, and remove fallen trees, stumps, and woodpiles. Regularly harvest fruits and vegetables from gardens and trees. If you own chickens, ensure their fencing and coops are secure to keep intruding wildlife out. Never try to solve wildlife problems alone; call Frontier Pest Control today for effective wildlife control.