Phoenix’s warm and sunny climate provides a hospitable environment for residents — and is equally attractive to pests. In addition to roaches, ants, bees, rodents, and termites, Phoenix attracts scorpions and even black widows that may pose a serious health risk to you and your family.

How often should you have your home treated for pests in Arizona? That depends on your location, the type of pest, and other conditions that a specialist will evaluate during an initial consultation.  If you need pest control in the Phoenix area, we’ll give you a free quote! We have offices in Phoenix and Gilbert but we serve the entire area including Mesa and Chandler.

Pest Control Starts With a “Clean Out” Service

To determine how often you need pest control, your first step will be to consult a professional to help identify any pests or risk factors in or around your property and determine the best treatment option.

After the consultation, your technician will do an initial “clean out” of your home, yard, and garage to eradicate any pests already in your home. A professional pest control service will recommend a multi-tiered approach that includes eradicating pests and taking preventative measures to ensure pests don’t re-enter your home.

You should consult with your technician to identify any cracks or crevices that allow bugs and other pests to enter the house and ensure they are properly sealed. Take particular care that there are no gaps in the weather stripping around your doors to prevent small insects and other pests from invading your home.

Maintaining a Pest-free Environment

Once you have eradicated pests from your home, you probably want to keep it that way. There are frequency offerings will vary depending on the pest control provider, and what you’ll need should be based on the needs of your individual home.

• For effective prevention, a quarterly pest control service is recommended for most homes and needs. Applications are designed to last up to three months, ensuring your home stays pest-free.  Look for a pest control company that offers a policy that allows for follow-up treatment between services in case you see an occasional live pest scurrying around the house in between regularly scheduled services. Blue Sky Pest will come back and provide additional interior or exterior service at no extra charge as part of our Blue Sky 365 program.
• Some homeowners opt for a monthly or bi-monthly (every-other-month) pest control service depending on pest pressure around their property. Certain pests and homes may need more frequent treatments to keep pests at an acceptable level.  Homes adjacent to open land or homes with heavy scorpion activity are two examples where more frequent service may be beneficial.

Protecting Your Home from Black Widows

Given that a single black widow spider can produce multiple egg sacs in the summer, each containing up to 400 spiderlings, black widows are a special focus of pest control services in Arizona. While most adults can survive a bite with prompt medical attention, a black widow’s bite can cause serious illness in children, seniors, and those with existing health issues.

• Blue Sky Pest recommends treatment quarterly (in most cases) as the best way to protect your home from black widows. Remember that additional visits are no cost with any Blue Sky 365 program, so if webs or spiders appear in between your regular scheduled services we’ll happily return to take care of them.

Protecting Your Home from Scorpions

With an average of 126,000 stings reported each year between 2005 and 2015, Arizona leads the nation in scorpion stings, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information.  Bark scorpions are most active in Arizona during the warmer months.

• If scorpions have been sighted on your property, your yard and the exterior of your home should be serviced regularly. With moderate scorpion activity, often quarterly treatments will be sufficient but sometimes with heavy scorpion activity, an every-other-month or monthly treatment plan can be necessary. Your technician will target scorpions at their source, where they nest and breed. Pest control products are designed to remain active under a regular treatment plan. The treatment will create a protective barrier around your home and yard, providing you with peace of mind.

For advice on ways to reduce entry points into your home, be sure to download our free report: 5 steps to Help Scorpion Proof your Home. If you live in the Phoenix area and need pest control at your home or business, we can help. In fact, we’ll even give you a free quote.