Crickets are a sign of good luck in many cultures, but to many people here they’re one of the more abundant nuisance pests in Arizona – you probably know what their chirping sounds like. You may have even enjoyed it for a pleasant night or two. But for most people, the incessant chirping can be hard to fall asleep to.

Some crickets also try to get inside homes to seek warmth from cold, chilly nights. They congregate at the foundations of houses to try and sneak through cracks and crevices and into the warmer sanctuary your home provides.

To begin properly dealing with crickets, you’ll have to arm yourself with the necessary knowledge.

IDENTIFICATION:

The order Orthoptera is known for insects with large jumping legs, like crickets and grasshoppers. They can range in size from 0.12 inches to 2 inches. They have rounded heads, cylindrical bodies, long antennae, and large jumping hind legs. Most of the crickets found in the U.S. are typically black or brown, but some of them are green.

The most common types of crickets found in the Phoenix valley area are the field cricket, house cricket, and the tropical house cricket.

Field Cricket – they are dark brown or black in color, and have prominent spurs on their legs. They have large and brightly pigmented hind wings, though not all of them are capable of flight.

House Cricket – they are a light brown or tan in color, and have less prominent spurs on their legs. They have long wings that cover their abdomen.

Tropical House Cricket – they are a yellowish-brown in color, and have less prominent spurs on their legs. They have shorter wings that only cover about half their abdomen. Very rarely, they may have longer wings similar to House Crickets.

NEST:

Crickets are nocturnal, and during the day hide in shaded areas like tall grass, cracks and crevices in structures, stacked firewood, under rock piles or other debris.

DIET:

Fruits, vegetables, meat – crickets are omnivores, and eat food that may be quite similar to what we eat. They are scavengers and eat what they find in our homes, garages, or yards. Out in the wild, their diet consists of rotting leaves, rotting fruit, vegetables, and other insects.

HOW DANGEROUS ARE THEY?

Crickets are considered a nuisance pest, more so because of the noise they can produce. The house cricket may be the most problematic for homeowners, as they can produce offspring indoors and need not go outside. If left unattended, generations of these crickets may spend their entire lives never leaving the confines of your own home.

In large numbers, these crickets may damage drywall and fabrics around your home. They’re also known to leave large amounts of feces.

Crickets may attempt to bite humans in defense (if for example, you are holding them tightly in your hand), but they’re typically not able to puncture skin.

HOW DO YOU GET RID OF THEM?

• Using an insecticide spray either by direct hit or by spraying areas where they are typically found is effective. As these chemicals are toxic, avoid spraying near where your family and pets typically rest.
• A more natural way to get rid of them would be to set a bait using molasses. Place molasses in a shallow bowl and fill it halfway with water. Once crickets hop in, they should drown.

Prevent crickets from entering your home by sealing cracks and crevices, and install screens on any outdoor vents. You may also want to install screens on windows, and invest in weatherstripping to close gaps on windows and doors.

Not only does this prevent crickets from entering your home, but it also prevents other pests that prey on crickets from entering. Crickets are loved by many small snakes, rats, mice, beetles, wasps, spiders, lizards, and many more.

For more information on crickets, check out our Pest Encyclopedia.

One of the easiest ways you can tell if you have pests in your home is by the signs they leave behind – and one helpful sign in particular would be its droppings.

Depending on what kind it is, these droppings may be harmful and spread diseases, but for other pests, these droppings may be fairly harmless so long as you take care of the mess right away.

To properly deal with any pest infestation, you would have to know what exactly it is you’re dealing with and being able to tell what it is from its droppings is very helpful.

Crickets are known to leave a lot of droppings, especially in homes infested by house crickets. These droppings may look quite similar to those of termite droppings, so read on to find out how to differentiate between the two.

CRICKET DROPPINGS

These are small and black in color. They’re a little bit elongated, and are hard. The ends look more cut rather than tapered. They’re found in more spread out piles while termite droppings are mostly a more concentrated heap – this is because termites push their droppings out of small holes from the wood they’ve infested.

Cricket droppings are not considered a health hazard like other pest droppings such as those of rats, though it is still recommended you exercise caution when cleaning them up – it’s never a bad idea to wear gloves and a mask when cleaning excrement.

Crickets themselves are generally not considered dangerous, but having them in your house attracts a lot of other pests – spiders, wasps, beetles, small snakes, rats, and mice are just some of their natural predators.

TERMITE DROPPINGS

Subterranean termites usually don’t leave any visible droppings (as these droppings are left in their tunnels, and even used during its construction), but drywood termites do. As mentioned earlier, these look quite similar to cricket droppings, but there are a few differences.

These pellets are a lighter color, and since they are ejected from termite infested wood, they fall in more uniform piles on the ground.

SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER:

• Drywood termites are one of the most destructive pests any homeowner can find in their home, so if you find these droppings on your property take action right away.
• Whenever you’re dealing with a large quantity of feces – especially in enclosed areas – wear safety gear such as masks and gloves.

PEST PREVENTION:

Once you’ve dealt with the pest infestation, prevent these pests from invading your home in the future by sealing possible entry points:

• Inspect your house and seal all cracks and crevices.
• Install mesh screens on any outdoor vents
• Consider installing screens on windows
• Consider investing in weatherstripping to close gaps on windows and doors

Remember, having termites in your home means costly repairs so get rid of them right away.

Crickets attract a lot of other pests, so if you don’t want all those other bugs finding their way into your home, get rid of them right away.

For more information on crickets, check out our Pest Encyclopedia, and you can check out our other blog entries on termites here.

The name water bug applies to a wide range of bugs that live in water. Cockroaches, while not true water bugs, are often referred to as such. Some cockroach species like the Oriental cockroach look very similar to the Giant Water Bug (Lethocerus americanus). Cockroaches can also “hold their breath” for a long time underwater – about 40 minutes – helping to give the impression that these creatures also dwell in water. While cockroaches may prefer to live near a source of water, they are not true water bugs.

Giant Water Bug

It is a flat, oval shaped insect about 2 inches in size. It has 6 legs that also appear to be flattened, with its frontal legs modified to end in claws for grabbing prey. They are dark brown in color.

They feed on other insects, small crustaceans, small fish, snails, and tadpoles. It eats by latching on to its prey with its claws and using a somewhat retractable proboscis to inject it with digestive toxins.

The giant water bug may also be known as “toe biter”, so-called because if you step on them in muddy water they may deliver a painful bite to your toe. However, they tend to avoid confrontation and will prefer to flee or play dead when agitated. They will bite if forcibly handled.

They nest in the bottom of muddy waters or surrounding vegetation. Unlike many other aquatic insects, Giant Water Bugs are able to tolerate slightly polluted water.

It has functional wings and is able to fly, and it is able to breath under water by trapping air under its wings.

Creeping Water Bug

Also known as saucer bugs, they look quite similar to giant water bugs but they’re much smaller at only 0.2 to 0.8 in in size. They vary in color, but are typically dark.

When fully submerged, it’s able to breathe from air stored under its wings.

Backswimmers

These insects are known for their ability to swim on their backs. They have long, oar-like legs and an oval-shaped head. They have an elongated body, but they’re small in size at about 0.06 in. Its color varies, but is meant to blend in the water – lighter on their underside, which faces up, and darker on their backs, which faces the bottom of the water.

It is able to breath under water from air bubbles trapped under its wings.

Other bugs that may look like water bugs:

These true water bugs are generally found outdoors and pose no threat to people in their homes. While these bugs may fly off from their watery habitats and end up in parking lots or other such places, they are likely only in search of a mate and got attracted to outdoor lights (like if you find them on your porch in the evenings).

If you see what looks like one scuttling away on the floor inside your house, it’s likely a cockroach. Some of the cockroaches often mistaken for water bugs would be the Oriental cockroach, the American cockroach, and the German cockroach.

Of course, for any pest infestation, don’t hesitate to get in touch with a professional.

For more information on cockroaches, check out our Cockroach Archive.

If you’ve ever wondered what the most painful insect sting is, we’ve got you covered. Not only is this insect’s sting the most painful in Arizona – it’s the most painful insect sting in the whole country, and is one of the most painful insect stings in the whole world! So let’s get right to it.

The Tarantula Hawk Wasp

It’s not a tarantula nor a hawk, but rather a solitary wasp that preys on tarantulas. And are we really surprised that it’s a wasp that reigns supreme here? Many wasps are known to be aggressive, and have some of the freakiest or nastiest ways of bringing forth their offspring (of course, that’s from a human perspective. But truly in nature, all is fair in love and war).

Wait, so how nasty or freaky, you may wonder? Well, a Tarantula Hawk Wasp stings a tarantula and paralyzes it. Then it drags this paralyzed tarantula that’s several times its weight back to its burrow where the wasp lays a single egg on its abdomen. It then seals the burrow and leaves to return to its otherwise normal and even quaint life of nectar-feeding.

Back in the burrow, once the egg hatches, it starts to feed on the immobile tarantula right away, making sure to eat the non-essential organs first to keep it alive as long as possible. Savage.

Oh, and one more thing. The Tarantula Hawk Wasp may dig its own burrow, or use the tarantula’s own burrow. Where the tarantula, still alive, will slowly be eaten by her offspring. Absolute savage.

So what do they look like?

They are one of the largest parasitoid wasps at around 2 inches or 5 cm long. They have long legs with hooked claws, and metallic blue-black bodies, with rust-colored wings.

Where can I find them?

They’re found in every continent except Europe and Antarctica. In the US, they can be found in the deserts of the southwest or wherever tarantulas are found.

So how painful are their stings?

The sting from a Tarantula Hawk Wasp is categorized as Level 4 in the Schmidt Sting Pain Index (created by entomologist Dr. Justin Schmidt). To quote, “the pain is so immediate and intense that it shuts down all illusions of life as normal.” Sounds poignant but also pretty vicious, and certainly not something most people would want to experience.

That said, while a sting from this wasp can be extremely excruciating, it leaves no tissue damage.

While females can easily sting humans, they don’t go out of their way to do so. They’ll only sting you if they feel threatened. Males don’t sting at all.

Are there other insects or animals that prey on them?

Because of their highly painful stings, very few creatures would dare to challenge a Tarantula Hawk Wasp. Their coloration is aposematic, which warns predators that this potential meal is not worth the trouble. Two of those very few creatures are the roadrunner and bullfrog.

Check out our other blog entries on wasps (and bees) here.

If you find Tarantula Hawk Wasps on your property, get in touch with a pest control company for assistance!

Stink bugs are called as suchbecause they emit a pungent odor when they get disturbed or feel threatened (similar to skunks), or when their bodies are crushed. Descriptions of this odor vary widely, with some describing the smell as dusty, earthy, woody, oily, or like coriander. If you detect a coriander-like scent in your home and you don’t know where it’s coming from, it’s possible you may have a stink bug infestation. In some species of stink bugs, this defensive pungent spray contains cyanide compounds with a rancid almond scent.

The stink bug is also commonly referred to as a shield bug due to shape of its body.

There are more than 200 kinds of these bugs that call North America their home, and their diet consists of plants, crops, and fruits, and are usually a pest to owners of gardens and farmsthough they will also nest in homes especially during winter time, often staying hidden in walls or in quiet places inside your house until spring when they become more active again.

The most common type of stink bug is the Brown MarmoratedStink Bug. It is an invasive species and is found in 44 states (and the District of Columbia) throughout the US. It’s a mottled grayish-brown and is ¾ of an inch long. It has 6 legs splayed outward that makes it look larger, 2 straight antennae, and is triangular in shape. They have wings that stay folded, so it’s easy to miss that adult stink bugs are actually pretty good flies (nymphs do not have fully developed wings).

They are not known to cause structural damage nor do they carry diseases dangerous to humans and pets, but they are destructive to agriculture and an infestation of stink bugs also mean more food for other pests that feed on them (spiders, birds, bats, and parasitic flies to name a few).

A DIY approach for getting rid of stink bugs would be vacuuming them or leaving trays with soapy water (this mixture kills them and leaves no defensive spray for you to deal with). You can also spray them with it directly. Regularly vacuuming not only clears your house of dust and debris, but a number of other pests (such as stink bugs) get sucked in too. Squish them only as a last resort, as the stench they release lingers for some time.

To help make sure stink bugs don’t get in your home, inspect your property and seal off any cracks and crevices on your walls. Install window screens and use weather strips on doors. Make sure to install screens on any outside vent too. These not only deter stink bugs, but a myriad of other pests as well.

Regularly check your property every 3 months to reseal cracks and crevices and repair screens.

If you have a stink bug infestation, or need help getting rid of other pests, don’t hesitate to get in touch with a pest control company for assistance!

While fleas and ticks are the most common pet pests, there are plenty of other parasites equally willing and capable of harming your pets (and you).

Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes are at the very least, a nuisance. They cause itchy bumps that may be painful, but beyond that, they may also carry serious and life-threatening diseases – some of which are the West Nile Virus (WNV) which can be harmful to you and your pets, Saint Louis Encephalitis (SLE), and Heartworm, a silent killer that can be easily treated if caught in time. Feline friends grazing by windows may be especially susceptible to mosquito bites.

Mites

Mites are very tiny creatures that make their home on your pet’s skin. They’re very common and pass along easily from one pet to another. Typically, mites aren’t much of a danger (unlike the bacteria and disease carrier tick), but once an infestation occurs they cause a range of skin conditions for your furry friend from dry skin, itching and scabbing, to hair loss.

Treating a mite infestation is similar to that of fleas. Shampoos, chemical treatments, and oral medications are available for your pet to take.

Botflies

Botflies, or Cuterebra, lie in wait for a host on blades of grass. They then enter the host’s body through any opening such as your pet’s mouth, ear, nose, or any skin wound. Some signs that your pet is playing host to these pests are a lump or bump on the skin which may or may not yet have a small hole in the middle, swelling, skin abscess, or it could be as innocuous as your pet continually scratching or licking one area of the skin.

Cuterebra typically infect rabbits or other outdoor rodents, but your dog and cat may fall victim too when they’re playing and hunting outside. If you suspect that your pet is housing a botfly, take them to the right away.

Worms

Your pets can catch worms just about anywhere – from your backyard, from other animals and insects (especially when cats and dogs hunt these smaller prey), and sometimes even from undercooked meat. They can also be born with it or get it from suckling on their mother when young. Intestinal worms, lungworms, and heartworms can be harmful to your pets, even deadly.

The good news is that they’re oftentimes easily treatable and preventable. Keep your pet and their toys clean, and your property free from other pests that may carry these harmful parasites like mice, rats, and fleas. Avoid feeding your raw meat or offal, and regularly treat your cats and dogs with an intestinal wormer at least every 3 months.

Remember, these pests are not only harmful to your pets but some of these diseases can easily spread to you and other loved ones, sokeep your pets clean and healthy and keep your home a worry-free zone. Don’t hesitate to reach out to your vet if you think your furry friend is sick, and to a pest control service for help in getting rid of unwanted pests.

If you have a basement, chances are you’re already aware that there are bugs down there. Whether your basement is a sophisticated addition to your house or a messy storage area, basements typically offer a haven for bugs because it tends to be darker and damper relative to the rest of your house, and there’s generally less human and (pet) animal traffic.

In this blog post, we’re going to be talking about common bugs or pests you may find in your basement, and if they’re good for you or if you should give them the boot (figuratively speaking; there are better, less messy ways to deal with them).

Spiders

A common dweller in basements all over (and a staple in Halloween decorations), spiders generally pose no harm and are in fact one of the more beneficial bugs (technically an arachnid) you’ll find in your house. They generally stay out of your way, and hunt other pesky bugs such as flies, mosquitoes, and cockroaches! They even eat other types of spiders, so you may notice the species of spider in your basement may change every once in a while.

Cellar spiders and common house spiders are two of the more prevalent spiders found in American homes, and they’re harmless. Cellar spiders don’t bite, and while common house spiders do if they’re threatened, they only cause minor irritation (unless you have an allergic reaction, then you may want to seek medical attention).

The two spiders you may find in your home that are dangerous are the Brown Recluse and Black Widow.

While both are shy and would rather flee than attack you if threatened, their bites contain toxic venom that are very painful, and in very rare occasions, may even lead to death.

You can spot a Black Widow by the yellowish orange or red hourglass shape on its abdomen, and a Brown Recluse by its violin-shaped mark (and they have 6 eyes instead of 8, but you probably don’t want to get close enough to see). If you’ve been bitten by either one, seek medical attention immediately.

Centipedes

Despite looking like hellspawn, they’re generally also one of the more useful crawling inhabitants you may find in your home or basement. Centipedes only bite if they’re given no other recourse to try and escape – otherwise, they spend their time hunting other pests (including cockroach eggs).

Earwigs

They may crawl into people’s ears, but no more than any other small insect might, and they only come into your house typically in colder months to escape the cold outside. They have pincers that may pinch you when they’re threatened, but the force is rarely enough to break skin. They’re harmless, and like the other creepy-crawlies we’ve discussed so far, earwigs spend their time hunting more problematic pests.

Cockroaches

They’re dirty and pose health risks, spreading bacteria wherever they go including salmonella, streptococcus, staphylococcus, and more. When you find cockroaches in your basement, it’s time to clean it out.

Termites

If you see what you think are termites (or pale ants) then take immediate action. They come in colonies and destroy your house from the inside and may cause structural issues. Measures you can take are keeping the room and surrounding area as dry as possible, including limiting your use of mulch around your house.

What you can do to limit these pests

As we mentioned earlier, these bugs are attracted to the relative darkness and dampness of your basement. You can make things more inhospitable for these illegal occupiers by cleaning out your basement and eliminating dampness as much as you can.

Clear out any unnecessary boxes and consider replacing them with plastic containers, as cockroaches and other small insects like to use these as hiding places (or breeding grounds for their little ones).

Make sure your pipes are all in working order and that there’s not any spot in your basement where water accumulates. Consider using a dehumidifier which also helps eliminate mold buildup.

For any pest infestation, get in touch with a pest control provider to make sure pests are eliminated and kept out!

There are plenty of ways to deal with pests in your own home and garden safely and naturally,with many pesticides and pest traps available for purchase both online and in brick-and-mortar stores. We’ll be discussing that in this blog post, including methods for items you’ll find available in your own home.

For Your Garden

There are many insects in our garden that are not harmful to our plants, and are in fact quite beneficial for them, so targeting bugs that you find are harmful to your plants can be tricky because many pesticides are indiscriminate in the insects and pests they eliminate. Some of these helpful insects like ladybugs even help us get rid of unwanted insects like aphids.

You can buy ladybugs specifically for this purpose from gardening stores. Before releasing them however, be sure to spray the area with water to make it more welcoming for them.

You can use oil or soap spray insecticides. You can make oil spray insecticides from 1 cup of vegetable oil and 1 tablespoon of mild soap (often recommended is castile soap) or 1 ½ teaspoons of mild soap and a quart of water – mix thoroughly, and spray on infected plants. It’s recommended that you do this in the early mornings or evenings, and apply as often as necessary.

A popular insecticide for home gardeners is neem oil, and you can purchase this from many stores such as Walmart. Follow the instructions on the bottle, or mix 2 teaspoons of this with a teaspoon of mild soap, and a quart of water. Shake thoroughly, and you can spray this on your garden plants (and it works well when used preventatively too).

Other popular insecticide sprays are garlic and chili pepper. For a garlic insecticide spray, puree 2 bulbs with a quart of water and let it sit overnight. Then strain into a quart jar, add ½ cup vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon of mild soap, and fill the jar with water. For chili pepper, add 1 ½ teaspoons of chili powder to 1 quart or water, and 2 drops of liquid dish soap.

Another method you may want to try is cultivating pest repelling plants themselves, of which there are many. Basil, mint, rosemary, lavender, and petunias, are a few examples of plants that repel pests.

As for gophers in your yard or garden, there are traps you can purchase or set up yourself – however, if you’re not sure what is allowed in your area, or you want to ensure it is removed as humanely as possible, it’s best to call wildlife services or a professional pest control company.

Other methods you can still try to get them to willingly leave your property: gophers have very sensitive noses, and these are a few things you can leave in and around their tunnels to discourage them from staying: mothballs, coffee grounds, fish scraps, dryer sheets, and your pets droppings (cats and dogs are gopher predators, and this is intended to scare the gopher away).

For Your Home

As you probably know, we don’t only share our homes with other people and perhaps our pets – we may not readily see them, but chances are there are also plenty of bugs in and around your house.

Ants, spiders, centipedes, cockroaches, mosquitoes, mice, and more may very well be thriving in your home as you’re reading this.

So how do we get rid of them and keep them out, safely and naturally?

The insecticide sprays discussed earlier in this article would work on a number of insects that live inside your home as well, such as chili pepper spray for ants.

For more difficult pests such as roaches, there are a few traps you can purchase. Glue traps are effective in catching roaches that stumble unto it, but it won’t affect their nest. Cockroach bait on the other hand, come in child-proof cases, and it is poisoned food that the roach consumes and then takes back to their nest to affect the other roaches there.

Using soap spray on roaches work in that it clogs their breathing pores, however they may be able to recover when the solution dries.

For mice, mousetraps work great. However, note that for these to be effective, you have to know where to place them. Look for their droppings – which are brown pellets – alongside walls, and place 2 mousetraps end-to-end in those areas. The reason for this is that mice may jump over one trap, but they won’t be able to jump over two.
Mousetraps may seem brutal, but they’re the more humane choice between a glue trap that means a slow death for the mouse, and poisons will mean some mice may die and rot where you can’t reach them to properly dispose of them.
As important is securing your home against these pests and preventing reinfestation.

Cut off their water supply. A number of these pests are drawn to moist areas, and roaches need water sooner than they need food to survive. Find and fix any leaks in your house, and make sure to regularly clean out containers that may have accumulated water, as these are also breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

Keep your food properly stored. Don’t leave out dirty dishes overnight as cockroaches may feast on the crumbs left on the plates, and make sure to regularly throw your trash. Keep pet food in closed containers so mice won’t get to them. If there’s no readily available food for these pests in your house, they won’t want to stay.
Lastly, make sure your house is properly sealed. Your walls may look solid, but there are plenty of small cracks where insects and small animals can slip through.

Use caulk and expanding foam to fill any gaps in your exterior and interior walls, and weatherstripping for your doors and windows (if you have netting on your windows, make sure they’re in good shape). Don’t forget to check on your roof and close any gaps, and if you have a chimney, use a cap or guard cover to protect it from birds, raccoons, and other animals. Cut off tree branches that touch the house as these serve as bridges for bugs and other animals.

If a pest issue keeps reoccurring, if you’re not sure about the safety of the store-bought insecticides you’re using, or you want to humanely get rid of birds, raccoons and other unwanted animals, then it may be time to call that professional pest exterminator.

According to the American Pet Products Association, 68% of US households owned a pet in 2018.
That’s around 85 million families, many of which worry about pests in their home and garden too.

So when getting rid of these pests, how safe are our pets in the process?

Chemicals used on lawns have been known to make their way indoors, from our clothes, shoes, and our pet’s paws, and there are pesticides out there in the market that have been shown to increase the risk of cancer in both pets and humans. These pesticides have even contributed to the decline of the bee population across the world.

Most people are not aware of just how many dangerous chemicals there are sold in stores to the average homeowner who may be none the wiser, including flea and ticks preventative products for pets!

But you still need to get rid of unwanted pests that damage your home and garden, and pests that possibly carry diseases that are harmful to you and your pet, so what do you do?

When buying pesticides, make sure you read the warning label – you’ll be surprised to find out products harmful to you and your pets may be sold alongside products that are non-toxic and pet-friendly – and make sure you’re choosing the safer options, whether it is buying pesticides to use yourself or hiring a pest control company to eliminate pests for you.

Some pest control companies offer eco-friendly services and use natural green products, with Watchdog Pest Control only using products that are approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — once dry in 30 to 45 minutes, treated areas are then completely safe for both pets and people alike.

With these green products and services, you can be sure you’re using the safest, most effective products out there to rid your house of unwanted pests.