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Phoenix Voted “Buggiest” City in the United States

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A recent study has shown that Phoenix has been listed as the “buggiest” as a result of studying data from Thumbtack. Because of how large Phoenix is and how closely Phoenix borders rural desert, there are all kinds of insects, bugs and pests that end up in Phoenician’s homes. If you haven’t killed a scorpion in your home, you haven’t been in Arizona very long. Now bed bugs are becoming more of a problem in the Phoenix area. Let Arizona Heat Pest help you get rid of an infestation.

Metro Phoenix tops the list for urban areas infested with creepy critters, a services-finding website says.

Thumbtack released its findings this week in a Top-10 list and article, declaring that “Phoenix, Arizona was far and away the leading bug zone.”

The site’s representatives “looked at 159 of the largest metro areas across the U.S. and measured the number of requests for pest-removal services, relative to the population in that metro, using these figures to develop the Thumbtack Pest Index… The categories we included in our measure of pest-removal requests were pest-control services, bed bug extermination, outdoor pesticide application, and termite and pest inspection.:

Based on those criteria, metro Phoenix rated a perfect 100 on the index. The next highest was the San Antonio, Texas, area with a pest index of 60.

Phoenix Area Listed as "Buggiest" in United States (3)

Thumbtack.com

Why might this area be the buggiest? Maybe it’s the raw variety of bugs here: Phoenix is well-known for its scorpions and Africanized bees, but it can also be a hot spot for mosquitoes that carry the West Nile virus, swarms of nasty flies, and the beloved cockroach.

Lucas Puente, economic analyst with Thumbtack, said he can’t explain it, and was a “little surprised by the story the data told.” Possibly, the lack of a long, freezing winter means a more prolific bug season, he surmised.

At New Times’ request, Thumbtack released an additional chart that shows the breakdown of bugs mentioned in the requests for service. Cockroaches, spiders, ants, and termites generate the most requests. Six percent of people seeking services didn’t know what kind of bug problem they had, which is never a good thing. Scorpions fall in the 12 percent of “other.” But they’re a special problem here, Puente acknowledged.

“Of note, there were far more requests describing problems with scorpions in Phoenix than in any other metropolitan area,” he said.

Phoenix Area Listed as "Buggiest" in United States (2)

Johnny Dilone, spokesman for the Maricopa County Environmental Services department, said the county can’t confirm Thumbtack’s designation of metro Phoenix as “buggiest.”

“I think I’d have to agree with all the bugs I see everywhere, but that’s just personal,” he said.

People from other areas often think Phoenix doesn’t have as many skeeters as other, more humid places they’ve lived, but even if they’re right, Dilone said, they soon realize that the Valley has its fair share.
Read more at: http://bit.ly/1GHkMaG

Bed Bugs 101

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bedddThere is a lot of mystery surrounding bed bugs in the public eye. Not everyone reacts to bites the same way, it is difficult to get rid of them and there is a lot of misinformation out there. It is important to understand what bed bugs look like, how to prevent infestations, how to recognize infestations and to know when to call a professional service.

Bedbugs are flat, round and reddish brown, around a quarter-inch (7 millimeters) in length. The ones that typically plague humans are the common bedbug Cimex lectularius and the tropical bedbug Cimex hemipterus.

A few decades ago, bedbugs were somewhat of a novelty in developed countries. But since the early 2000s, infestations have become more common in places like the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Europe, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A 2013 study in the journal Nature Scientific Reports suggested that bedbugs have evolved ways to resist insecticides.

The creatures don’t have wings and they can’t fly or jump. But their narrow body shape and ability to live for months without food make them ready stowaways and squatters. Bedbugs can easily hide in the seams and folds of luggage, bags and clothes. They also take shelter behind wallpaper and inside bedding, box springs and furniture. The ones that feed on people can crawl more than 100 feet (30 meters) in a night, but typically creep to within 8 feet (2.4 m) of the spot its human hosts sleep, according to the CDC.

Bedbugs reproduce by a gruesome strategy appropriately named “traumatic insemination,” in which the male stabs the female’s abdomen and injects sperm into the wound. During their life cycle, females can lay more than 200 eggs, which hatch and go through five immature “nymph” stages before reaching their adult form, molting after each phase. [Infographic: Bedbugs: The Life of a Mini-Monster]

Read more at: http://bit.ly/1KpJLp1

Why Killing Bed Bugs With Heat is Effective

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Bed_bug_(265_17)

As we have talked about in previous posts, bed bugs are extremely hard to get rid of. There are many different tactics that companies use to eliminate bed bugs but heat is proven to be one of the most effective and is where we get the name Arizona Heat Pest.

Do not let these parasites ruin your life. Do not let them invade your home. If they are already there, you need to take all of the steps that you can to dislodge them from this position and kill them all. Killing them with heat is simple and effective, making it one of the best tactics that you can choose.

The entire process will be broken down below, including what you need to do, how much it costs, and when you should use heat instead of a different method to eradicate them from your home. If they are making it so that your home is not the clean, relaxing place that it should be for you and your family, keep reading to learn how to get rid of them forever.

Killing them with heat simply entails getting the interior of your home up to a level of heat that they cannot survive. If you have ever been in a sauna, you know just how intense it can be. You know how it reaches every corner of the building, allowing no escape unless you exit the building altogether.

Since you cannot see all of the bugs or all of their eggs, you need this sort of a treatment since heat can hunt them down for you. There will be no need to locate their nests when your entire home has been heated up until it is a death trap for these bugs.

Click here to read more. 

Why is it so hard to get rid of bed bugs?

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bed bugs1

Do you have a bed bug problem but it just won’t go away? Have you tried home remedies or maybe even other extermination companies but still have bugs? Are you left wondering, why is it so hard to get rid of bed bugs? Well, here is what makes it hard to remove them. Bed bugs are the perfect storm of characteristics that make them difficult to remove from somewhere once they have infested it.

First of all, bed bugs are small, flat, and adept at squeezing themselves into tiny spaces. They can hide in places we’d never think of looking for them, like behind loose wallpaper or under electrical switch plates.

To successfully eliminate an infestation, you’ve got to find and kill every viable bed bug, which is not an easy task.

Second, bed bugs multiply quickly. A single female can lay 500 eggs during her life, and within a few months her offspring can reproduce as well. A few individuals introduced to a new environment can increase exponentially. Depending on conditions, bed bugs can produce 3 or 4 generations in one year. Additionally, bed bugs reproduce most quickly in temperatures between 70*deg; and 82*deg; F, right in the range where most people keep their thermostats.

Bed bugs can go a remarkably long time without feeding, should no host be present to provide them with needed blood meals. Scientists have documented adult bed bugsliving up to 550 days without eating, and nymphs may last for months. So simply leaving an infested dwelling unoccupied for a few months in hopes of starving them out will do nothing to discourage the little freeloaders.

Just to make their extermination more difficult, bed bugs can sense chemical odors, and may avoid areas where cleaning agents or even pesticides have been applied.

Click here to learn more about bed bugs. 

Click HERE to get rid of them for good!

How to Choose the Best Pest Company for Bed Bugs

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Bed bugs can be a real hassle to deal with and get rid of. One of the last things you need when finding out about a Bed Bug infestation is to have to dig through the pile of pest companies to help solve the problem. There is a process you can follow that will help you find the best company for your situation.

Making sure to vet any company for saftey in chemical product usage and alternative measures will surly gain you a better result! We hope you find AZ Heat Pest Services alternative measures to be the best in Arizona.

bed bugAccording to Andy Architect of the National Pest Management Association, there are more that 19,000 pest management firms operating in the United States. Unfortunately, these companies are not all created equally. Here are some steps from entomologist, Jeff White, to narrow your options and find the best:

Use web and telephone directories to locate several pest management firms in your area. Some may designate themselves as bed bug specialists, but this designation should only be an indicator and not a deciding factor.

Only utilize companies that have been registered to apply pesticides by the pesticide regulatory agency in your state. Lacking this license should serve as an immediate red flag. To find your state’s agency visit: http://npic.orst.edu/state1.htm.

Search for companies that use integrated pest management (IPM) services. IPM is a form of pest management designed to minimize the use of pesticides. Companies that utilize an IPM approach are more likely to provide ongoing monitoring and a multidisciplinary approach to bed bug management (more on this later).

INTERVIEWING COMPANIES: QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD KNOW TO ASK

Once you hire a pest management firm they may be entering your home and spraying pesticides or performing services that can cost hundreds of dollars. Interviewing the selected companies is not only your right, it is strongly advised.

Ask companies about their membership in recognized national, state, and local pest control associations. Membership to these associations requires periodic evaluation of their pest management protocols as well as ethical business practices. Some key associations to look for include:

The National Pest Management Association (NPMA), state pest management associations, QualityPro, the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and bedbugFREE. Companies may also be members of equivalent associations.

Membership with the bedbugFREE national network is a particularly important affiliation to consider when bed bug treatments are desired. This membership indicates that companies are not only members of NPMA and/or QualityPro, but have also had their bed bug treatment protocols evaluated to ensure they share multidisciplinary treatment methods and philosophies similar to Bed Bug Central’s protocol.

Read More Here: http://bedbugcentral.com/resources/how-to-choose-a-pest-control-company