Maricopa County Homeowners Are Seeing Lots Of Scorpions & Spiders This Summer

How scorpion and spider infestations begin

Before these pests enter your home, they find reasons to come onto your property. The factors that attract them the most are food availability, moisture, and harborage options.

Food sources

• Both pests eat protein, which they get from insects. A yard with pest activity is attractive to venomous pests.
• A dirty trash receptacle attracts flies, and spiders eat flies.
• A weed problem attracts many flying and crawling insects, and scorpions and wolf spiders eat crawling insects.
• Plant decay in landscaping can attract insects and spiders, like black widows, and create webs to catch them.
• Many insects are attracted to light, and certain spiders will create webs near light sources to capture those insects.

Consider all the ways your property attracts pests and take steps to alter conditions to make your property less attractive to them.

Moisture

If moisture is present, your property will attract a wide range of pests, including scorpions and spiders. Here are some examples:

• A damaged sprinkler system can create dampness or cause puddles to form.
• Containers sitting in the yard may capture rainwater.
• Dense landscape vegetation and tall grass can capture and hold moisture.
• A leaking hose or exterior spigot can provide plenty of moisture.
• Scorpions and spiders love pools, particularly if swimsuits and damp towels are left on the ground.

Identify all potential moisture sources on your property to zero in on where you may have pest activity.

Harborages

Scorpions and spiders are always searching for hiding places. In the heat of the day, these pests find protection in many areas, including the following:

• Under rocks, bricks, and concrete.
• An exterior wall via an opening around an AC line.
• In a pile of cardboard.
• In or under organic debris.
• Construction materials.
• Ground holes.

A yard with lots of hiding places is perfect for scorpions, spiders, and the pests they eat.

How to keep Arizona scorpions and spiders out this summer

Let's build on what we've discussed so far. Scorpions and spiders are attracted to properties with food, moisture, and plenty of hiding spots. Here are some suggestions to counteract the factors leading to an indoor infestation.

Sanitation & pest prevention

• Get your trash to the curb each week.
• Wash your receptacles with soapy water and a disinfectant.
• Keep your kitchen, pantry, and other areas of your home clean.
• Clean up food crumbs and spills as soon as they occur.
• Make sure you have a weed control plan in place.
• Store all plant clippings and other organic refuse in plastic bins.
• Keep lights off at night and draw curtains.
• Swap out white lights with yellow lights because insects aren't attracted to yellow lights.

Moisture management

• Repair your sprinklers.
• Remove any objects from your yard that collect rainwater or cover them.
• Trim your landscape plants and create space between the plants and the soil.
• Keep your lawn cut and remove grass next to your exterior.
• Repair leaking pipes or fixtures.
• Replace damaged hoses.
• Clear your pool area of moist clothing, towels, and other damp objects.

General maintenance

• Stack bricks and concrete on pallets to get them off the soil.
• Apply expanding foam around your AC line.
• Store cardboard (like pizza boxes) in a sealed plastic bin.
• Store organic material in a bin.
• Fill in ground holes.
• Fix cracks, holes, and other openings on the house's exterior.
• Seal around window and door frames.
• Make sure all your weatherstripping is intact.
• Replace any damaged door sweeps.
• Repair damaged screens on windows and doors.
• Cover vents with screen material.
• Make sure you have weephole protectors.

Sanitation, yard work, and home maintenance work together to deter pests from entering your home. While it takes a lot of work to do these things, the benefits are many.

Pest control for Arizona scorpions and spiders

To eliminate scorpions, spiders, and other house-infesting pests, Titan Pest Control offers year-round home pest control services in Phoenix and Maricopa County that start with a free home inspection and include:

• Interior & exterior pest treatments.
• Regular service visits to keep pests out.
• Prompt, polite, and dependable pest control specialists.
• Free re-treatments if a covered pest problem arises in between services.

In addition to our ongoing pest control services, we also offer Desert Guard, a home exclusion service ideal for our desert environment.  Utilizing advanced, industry-leading Integrated Pest Management methods, our team prevents scorpions, spiders, and other pests from getting. Here’s what we do:

• We target and control the food source scorpions and spiders eat.
• We remove webs to reduce spider populations and keep spiders away.
• We treat key areas to suppress scorpion activity.
• We apply exclusions to key areas to create a physical barrier.
• We apply routine perimeter treatments to deter pest activity and stop pests from entering through the smallest gaps.

Contact us today to learn more about our services or to request an estimate! Our highly trained and friendly pest control professionals are ready to help you stop scorpions and spiders from infiltrating your home.