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Pests and Scary Things (serious)

Discussion in 'Living in Sin (City that is)' started by TwiceTheJava, Nov 14, 2014.

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  1. TwiceTheJava

    TwiceTheJava Low-Roller

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    I may be looking to relocate for employment next year. Naturally, Las Vegas came to mind as a possibility. Here's the deal. I'm a big ole wuss. I can't handle scorpions, snakes, or spiders large enough to appear fuzzy. I just can't. If I had an apartment in Vegas or Henderson, are creepy crawly things an issue? Will I see one? Do I have to check my shoes in the morning or worry that my car has things in it?
     
    Last edited: Nov 14, 2014
  2. wanker751

    wanker751 Dutch Rudder Enthusiast

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    I cannot answer this for you, but I am the exact same way. I have family in PHX and I am always sooo nervous there. That being said I never saw a scorpion and only saw 1 snake in a wash on a golf course...
     
  3. Hobofrank

    Hobofrank Prime Minister of Idiocracy

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    I think you're fine
     
  4. hammie

    hammie VIP Whale

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    Glue traps, big ones, several, 'nuff said.
     
  5. wanker751

    wanker751 Dutch Rudder Enthusiast

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    Funny story about glue traps. I was a manager at this arcade and we had mice in the office. I saw a mouse get on its hind legs, push a glue trap out of the way, and kept on running.
     
  6. Mrs. K.

    Mrs. K. Low-Roller

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    Have pest control treat your house once a month, but still check your shoes. Older house? Rats, roaches, mice, crickets. Newer house? Scorpions, crickets, spiders, lizards. Still beats mosquitoes, horseflies and palmetto bugs.
     
  7. ExVegasLocal

    ExVegasLocal Low-Roller

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    I think lack of humidity generally equals lack of bugs. In the 11 years that I lived in Vegas, I never saw a snake, a mouse, or a scorpion. My dogs never had a flea or tick.

    Inside the house, ants would sometimes come in during the very hottest part of the summer. I assume they were looking for water because they seemed to come in around the kitchen sink.

    Outdoors, there was an occasional roach seen around the cinder block walls that bordered my back yard. They live in the hollow spaces inside the blocks. Oddly, locals call them "water bugs", but they are roaches. And black widows could sometimes be found in the back yard around the pool equipment, in corners of the yard, or inside the garage. But black widow webs are easy to spot because they are messy, disorganized things. They were easy to control with off-the-shelf spray.

    Bottom line: aside from ants, we never had problems with indoor pests. I doubt an apartment would have a pest problem in Vegas, but I suppose it depends on whether your neighbors are clean people, so your mileage may vary.
     
  8. Joe

    Joe VIP Whale

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    In the two years we lived there we never saw a snake or scorpion. At home, or on the golf courses. We were in a single family home and the only annoyance were the roaches that came out at night on the patio. Never in the house just on the patio. I tried this easy fix and it worked like a charm. I just had to empty it every few days.

    Give me roaches outside over mosquitoes anytime.

    http://www.ehow.com/how_7763692_use-coffee-grinds-kill-roaches.html
     
  9. Piggylane

    Piggylane Well-Known Member

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    I was out at the Natural Gas City Gate off Blue Diamond Highway, next to the gypsum plant, a few years ago. This was July and we were doing some research there. A male tarantula came marching across the rocks to see who had invaded his territory. After a few minutes of observation he calmed down, we were able to pick him up. Nobody got bit. We left him unharmed.

    There are big creep crawlies in the desert and some may find their way into the city and suburban areas. Good pest control is always a good idea. I doubt that Las Vegas has the scorpion problems Phoenix has though.
     
  10. vegasbound

    vegasbound VIP Whale

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    I've been in my apartment nearly 1.5 years, and I've had two live crickets and found one dead waterbug by the front door. Our complex sprays the exterior monthly and pest control is there every Tuesday, I can add my name to the list for interior spray at my discretion. I did it once after the crickets. Pigeons are biggest pest.

    My house was older construction. Never had a scorpion. Lizards lived in the backyard but stuck to the bushes. Ants were horrendous. It took moving to win that battle. Spiders guarded the perimeter of the house, but I didn't mind. If we didn't stay on top of spraying our yard was overrun with waterbugs. Crickets & bees were everywhere too. I think we had more than our share of bugs because we had grass, pool and pond. Lots of water to attract bugs and birds.

    My condo before that was older construction too. Only had the occasional cricket there, except for a lizard that liked to spook me from time to time.

    My mom lives on 2.5 acres in Pahrump. She has all sorts of creepy crawlies. Spraying only keeps them at bay, it does not eliminate them. She gets scorpions, camel spiders and hundreds of smaller varieties, and everything else under the sun. Snakes are rare. Probably because she has animals on her property, so they'd rather be where they won't be disturbed.
     
  11. searchin

    searchin Low-Roller

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    I was scared at first too. We have been in a 1st floor older apartment for about 2 months now. Our management sprays monthly on the exteriors and we can request an interior spray whenever we want . We did request an extra spray because we saw a medium size roach at our second viewing before we moved in. Saw two other dead roaches since. I'm not worried when they are dead because that is how the spray works. They pick it up on thier way in and die. When I see live ones , I will request a spray.
    We seen one spider. It got in because it is an older apartment and the screens fit poorly. We do like to open windows so we bought packing tape to cover the gaps.
    We had two cricket like creatures. They are small, about 3/4 inch. I assume they get in when we open the door or they hitch hike on our pants.
    My paranoia is gone because really, we have more annoying bugs in the rural small town midwest . Mosquitoes, ants, june bugs, crickets, grasshoppers, springtails .
    Our apartment is east of the strip close to Henderson.
     
  12. frcblake

    frcblake Newbie

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    I have rats.
    they eat all the bugs that come in the house
     
  13. 3cats

    3cats High-Roller

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    Yes, there are spiders here that are big enough to call a pet. I have to hit them with my shoe 4X just to kill them and when I finally do, they leave quite a puddle on the floor. They mostly come out at night.
    We have had cats since the day we moved to Vegas, scorpions don't like cats, and they can smell them, scorpions won't enter a house with a cat. The other pesky critter is,,,,,,, ants…. small sugar ants.
    I can go months without seeing 1 in the house….. and then all of a sudden 1 day I get up and the cat food dish is crawling with them. We have now gotten into the habit of using Home Defense spray 2X a year around the exterior perimeter of the house and the inside base boards on outside walls. Since doing that, we haven't seen anymore ants come in. Several exterminators recommend using regular sprays to detour ants and beetles as they are food for the larger spiders and scorpions. So eliminate the food supply any you eliminate the yukky pests.
    Scorpions love blood. they smell it from over 500 yards away. So, keeping that in mind…. keep all blood (personal/commercial) items wrapped in bags tightly and dispose of them quickly and not allow to linger in your waste baskets in the home.
     
  14. Beefcake

    Beefcake Tourist

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    I've lived in NE Henderson for close to 15 years in a newer subdivision. Never have seen a scorpion personally. Luckily they're not in my area apparently. We have however had roaches, crickets, and ants since day 1. A good house perimeter spray every 2 months or so in summer and less in winter seems to keep them out of the house except for the occasional scout. We also have run across a black widow in the garage from time to time.
     
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