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Is a Scorpion Home Seal Worth It?

August 6, 2020 Pest Control Services and Announcements No comments yet

Scorpion Home SealScorpion Prevention in the Home

A scorpion home seal can be one of the most effective ways to prevent scorpions from entering your home in Arizona. The best way to avoid scorpion encounters in your home is ensuring they don’t find a way in!

A scorpion home seal consists of ensuring points of entry into your home are properly sealed off, including the foundation, thresholds, door frames, utility lines and more. This not only prevents access for scorpions, but for other pests as well, such as ants, spiders, roaches, and more. Bark scorpions can enter through extremely tight spaces, much like other insects, so eliminating potential entrance points for scorpions comes with the added benefit of preventing other pests from entering the home and becoming a problem. (more…)

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Desert Hairy Scorpions

July 31, 2020 Descriptions No comments yet

Giant Hairy Desert ScorpionA Scorpion by Many Names

The largest scorpion in North America is known as the Desert Hairy Scorpion, and is common throughout the Sonora & Mojave deserts in the American Southwest, including Arizona. There are a few variations of the species that are extremely similar, identified by slight differences and geographic location. Officially known as Hadrurus Arizonensis, the Desert Hairy Scorpion is also known as the Giant Hairy Scorpion, Arizona Hairy Scorpion, and Giant Desert Hairy Scorpion, and are often used interchangeably.

How They Live

The distinctive feature of the Desert Hairy Scorpion is the large sensory hairs that cover its body, which are very apparent when you observe these scorpions close up. These hairs are used to detect other animals, picking up on touch, air currents, and chemicals of potential prey. As the largest of North American scorpions, they are known to grow up to about 6”, with a relatively stocky body and thick appendages. (more…)

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Arizona Rats vs. Arizona Mice

July 28, 2020 Pest Control Services and Announcements No comments yet

Roof Rat Pest Control

Rats and mice in Arizona display different behaviors, so identifying which invasive pest you are dealing with can determine the most effective treatment approach. Both can and will over time cause damage to your home or business and introduce potential contamination that may lead to health problems. Here, we’ll explore how you can tell whether you are dealing with mice or rats in your Arizona home or business.

Differences in Mice & Rats

Mice in Arizona are smaller in general than rats, averaging 3-4 inches in length (plus a 2-4 inch tail) and typically weigh around 1-2 ounces. The most common mice in Arizona include the house mouse and deer mice.  

Mice, by nature, are very curious animals, which leads them to boldly explore all corners of your home or office. Their curiosity only adds to their aptitude for getting into hard to reach and hidden areas in the building. They can flatten their bodies and squeeze through the tightest of spaces. Mice are used to living side by side with humans, and often depend on them for food and shelter, making homes and offices highly susceptible to infestations. (more…)

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What Scorpions Like & Don’t Like

July 22, 2020 Pest Control Services and Announcements No comments yet

Arizona scorpion pest control

Know Your Enemy

Scorpions in your home, at your business, or infesting you property is an unwelcome sight to anyone. Understanding scorpion preferences can help you make your area less attractive to the pests. There are common DIY remedies that can aid in keeping scorpions at bay. These don’t work in all instances, but may be helpful when formal scorpion removal treatments are not available.

Considering the bark scorpion is the most common scorpion in Arizona and the Phoenix area, as well as the most venomous scorpion in North America, it is no surprise people attempt to find all possible solutions in preventing scorpions on your property. (more…)

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Bug Bombs Don’t Work

July 16, 2020 Pest Control Services and Announcements No comments yet

Bug Bombs Don't Work on CockroachesWhen you see a cockroach, you immediately begin envisioning the colony, and begin to mull over your options to get rid of the infestation.  There are several treatments available to eliminate a German cockroach population, including traps, acids, insecticides, bug bombs (total release foggers, or TRFs) and professional services.  However, not all cockroach removal treatments are created equal, and some can downright fail.

The Case Against Bug Bombs

According to one study from North Carolina State University1, popular TRFs available to consumers, which are commonly referred to as “bug bombs”, show very little effectiveness at eliminating German cockroaches from a residence, with as low as an 11% mortality rate.  There are several reasons why this is the case.  (more…)

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Contactless Pest Control

July 2, 2020 Pest Control Services and Announcements No comments yet

Contactless Pest Control

Pest Control in the Face of a Pandemic

For over 10 years, Bug Guardian has been committed to ensuring your home is safe from pests posing risks to your home and family such as health problems, allergies, and in some cases, venomous threats.  In the same vein we are committed to doing our part in protecting the community from threats including the current COVID-19 pandemic by practicing contactless pest control services.

In response to the coronavirus outbreak, Bug Guardian has taken steps to ensure we are adhering to local, state, and federal health safety guidelines in order to prevent the spread of contagious diseases while continuing to provide pest and rodent control services in the Phoenix area. (more…)

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Pest Control in Scottsdale, Arizona

June 30, 2020 Pest Control Services and Announcements No comments yet

Welcome to Scottsdale

Scottsdale, Arizona is not only home of such attractions as the Heard Museum and the Phoenix Zoo, it is one of the top-rated resort communities in the country. Nicknamed “The West’s Most Western Town,” it is also home to a wide array of Arizona pests including scorpions, spiders, rodents, termites, and more.

Bug Guardian Pest Control understands Scottsdale pests, and has developed unique, environmentally responsible pest control programs to solve the pest problems you may be experiencing in Scottsdale.

Servicing all of Scottsdale, including neighborhoods like McCormick Ranch, Old Town, Pinnacle Peak, Gainey Ranch, and Grayhawk, Bug Guardian is the hometown pest control company you can count on. (more…)

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Scorpions & Black Lights

June 24, 2020 Pest Control Services and Announcements No comments yet

Bark Scorpion Under Black LightWhy do Scorpions Glow in the Dark?

Most scorpions glow in the dark and display fluoresce under ultraviolet light, like is found in typical black lights. This is because of a substance found in the hyaline layer of a scorpion, which resides within a scorpion’s exoskeleton, called the cuticle.  This is what makes scorpions glow. Why scorpions have this trait is something we can only theorize on.

The hyaline layer of the scorpion’s exoskeleton is extremely durable, capable of surviving millions of years, and can often be found in fossil specimens, and it will continue to display fluorescence. Amazingly, scorpions preserved in alcohol can leach the substance into the alcohol, causing that to glow as well. Much like the scorpion in general, it’s pretty strong stuff. (more…)

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Using Boric Acid Against Cockroaches

June 17, 2020 Pest Control Services and Announcements No comments yet

German Cockroach pest control in Phoenix

What is Boric Acid?

Boric acid has many applications, from industrial manufacturing, a medical antiseptic, in nuclear power, making Silly Putty, and as an insecticide. The use of boric acid to kill cockroaches has been marketed since the 1940’s, as well as other ground-based insects such as ants, fleas, and termites. As an insecticide, it is considered a relatively safe solution to control insects around a home, as rather large doses are needed to have a toxic effect on humans.

Boric Acid as a Pest Control

Using boric acid for cockroach control may seem straightforward, but in order to be effective, it needs to be applied in just the right places. Cockroaches need to come into contact with the boric acid powder, and subsequently be introduced to all other cockroaches, in order to kill off an infestation. Missing a few can mean re-population, and then you’re back at square one. So, there are several problems leading to the ineffectiveness of boric acid against cockroaches. (more…)

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Getting Rid of Gophers in Arizona

June 10, 2020 Pest Control Services and Announcements No comments yet

Arizona Pocket GopherThe most common gopher in Arizona is the Botta’s Pocket Gopher. Also known as the valley pocket gopher, these rodents are known for burrowing through the ground and tearing up plants, lawns, irrigation and anything else below the surface. It is often very easy to spot a pocket gopher problem on your property by their signature mounds created & plugged while burrowing. Typically feeding on roots, grasses, and green plants, pocket gophers can easily leave your backyard looking like an old battlefield.

Expert Diggers

Arizona pocket gophers are excellent diggers, creating an elaborate system of tunnels that can run hundreds of feet just below the surface, however some may reach several feet down. While the tunnels are only a few inches in diameter, pocket gophers will create larger chambers used for breeding dens or storing food. (more…)

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