Apocalypse Insectopedia

They are social insects that live in colonies which are usually located in the ground, but may enter buildings for shelter and/or food. The two most important ants in Phoenix are the fire ants and carpenter ants. The fire ants because of their ability to inflict painful bites and stings. They are attracted to electrical junction boxes, air conditioners; gnaw on clothing especially if soiled. The carpenter ants because their ability of hallowing out galleries in pieces of wood for nesting purposes. Their nesting habit can result in structural damage to your home.

Honey bees in Arizona are at least 90% percent “Africanized bees or killer bees”. These bees are very aggressive and will attack if provoked. Swarms first move to a temporary site such as a tree branch. Permanent quarters may consist of a bee hive, hollow tree, hollow wall, and attic. Call a professional pest control company to remove or destroy the hive. Do not try to do this on your own. Lawns should be kept free of white clover and flowering weeds to not to attract bees.

They often found in moist situations such as mulched areas, unwed plant beds, in and around wood piles. Their presence is often indicated by the male’s chirping, which occurs during day and night. They can destroy vegetable crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, etc. House crickets can cause damage to fabrics of cotton, wool, linen, silk, synthetics, or leather and fur garments.

These insects are nocturnal or active at night and hid during the day in moist, shady places. Earwigs feed on live or dead plants and/or insects. They are attracted to lights and occasionally will invade homes. Earwigs are non poisonous and they forceps like cerci are harmless.

The two most common types of roaches in Phoenix are Turkestan and German cockroaches. Turkestan roaches are desert species, which also inhabits semi-desert locations and sometimes lives under moist conditions. It is found primarily outdoors and sewer systems. It is capable of carrying bacteria which cause dysentery. The German roaches are implicated in outbreak of illness, the transmission of a variety of pathogenic organisms, and allergic reactions in many people. They are usually found in the kitchens and secondarily in the bathrooms, but infestations often occur in rooms where people eat and drink. These roaches are most commonly introduced into buildings such as grocery bags, cardboard boxes, drink cartons and secondhand appliances. They feed on almost anything with nutritive value.

The most common rodents in Arizona is the pack rats or wood rats. They live under cactus tree, rocks, A/C condenser to name a few. They have a tendency to gnaw on electrical wirings of appliances and automobiles.

Scorpions are common in the Phoenix metropolis. They are of medical importance because of their stings. Their stings, which the venom is neurotoxin can result in a mild wasp-like sting and can be complicated by an allergic reaction. It can be fatal in rare instances to infants and senior citizens. Scorpions are nocturnal feeders. Preferred foods are crickets, roaches, spider, to name a few but sometimes can be cannibalistic. When sunrise occurs, scorpions seek shelter in the first available harborage, which may be shoes, pants, shirts, jackets on chairs, and can climb anything except objects made of glass. They can remain dormant inside a structure for a very long time.

They can be found anywhere in the house. Silverfish often introduced into homes via cartons of books and papers from infested location. They are pests of paper. They readily eat artificial silk, linen, rayon, long strand cotton, and linen is most preferred.

Black widows spin an irregular web and hang from it in an inverted or upside down position. In terms of poisonous bites, only the female is of concern. The black widows venom is neurotoxin. Preferred foods are flies, crickets, roaches to name a few. Arizona brown spiders, which is the cousin of the brown recluse (fiddle) spiders can inject venom, and must be considered dangerous to humans. Injection of their venom may produce necrosis or dead tissue, resulting in an ulcerating type of sore.

The desert subterranean termites “Heteroatom’s” live in desert plants including dead cactus, but can severely damage posts, utility poles, and the wood of buildings. These are social insects that readily build mud tubes to transverse impenetrable materials or adverse conditions to reach wood. They have been found to forage up to 223 feet in 11 days. Drywood termites are non-subterranean termites; do not live in the ground, and do not build mud tubes. Sign of infestation include swarmers, shed wings, piles of pellets