Experts say there are over 94 thousand species of pests in the United States (now that’s a lot of bugs and rodents!). They range from spiders to cockroaches and from kissing bugs to scorpions. Literally everyone has pests, and depending upon the region or type of insect, they can also be dangerous!  They cause harm to your home and property, expose us to germs and affect our allergies. Besides these things, who wants them to even be present in the same room?

For now, we’ll stick to our region here in the valley, as pests in Arizona are unique in the ways which they are controlled. Take bark scorpions (the only species of scorpion able to climb), for example. We were told by a specialist registered with QwikBids that prevention is easy. The first thing is to make sure there’s not a population of other bugs, such as crickets, that attract the scorpion. Next, you should clear all debris that scorpions can hide under. One more piece of personal advice is to have the inside of your home sprayed regularly. We found one scorpion in the house, had it sprayed, and then days after the treatment, discovered 6 more! This told us these critters hide very well, as we wouldn’t have known there were so many unless we had this done. 

And do we have one for you about ants! Ants are one of the most common of all pests we encounter in the valley. Common sense will help prevent them, such as being sure to leave no food out and keeping counters wiped. Sealing any leaks or cracks that you find is a great idea, as well as clear unwanted brush. Keeping the bushes and trees trimmed helps avoid carpenter ants, too. But the wildest idea came from a service provider at QwikBids. They say that sprinkling baby powder in places around the homes perimeter helps too! From what we were told, it clogs their pours so they will not proceed through it. Strange remedy!

Then, there are cockroaches. The defense that works best is a good old fashioned cleaning of the kitchen and bathroom areas. Most of us cannot think of anything more disgusting than roaches when we think of pests, so we added a couple remedies for these creepy crawlers. As it turns out, catnip naturally repels roaches. It contains an ingredient, nepetalactone, which is non-toxic to humans and pets. But this remedy should not be used if there are cats in the house! You could also fill a bottle with strong, soapy water, as spraying the roaches directly with it will kill them. Somehow, it makes sense on such a dirty little creature!

There are many other natural remedies out there for many types of pests, but if you would rather leave it to the professionals like we do, get a quality pest control professional. Log in to QwikBids to place a request for bid. We’ll do the rest!