Las Vegas insects

[VacationForever]

We bought a home in Henderson NV area earlier this year and we are here a week or so a month. For the past 2 trips (June and this week), we were greeted unpleasantly by live and dead insects inside our home. In June, we found several live and dead large cockroaches (the type that you get in Florida) and dead beetles. We got pest control out and he sprayed pesticide and several more insects fell dead in our home. This week, we came in and found thousands of dead little flies (look like fruit flies) scattered around but concentrated around doors and windows. There are a couple of live ones flying around.

Here is a question for the locals... do swamps of insects come through during a weather change or something? I am glad we were not here when they came through but we do want to be prepared. I am surprised they managed to come through the doors.

 

[Fern Modena]

Do you have standing water anywhere, or a pool? I ask cause I am not sure what the little bugs are.

I have a regular exterminator, Progressive Pest Control. They are reasonable, and I haven't seen many bugs this year. Sometimes right after they come I see a few backstroking water bugs, but very few this year. I haven't even seen my usual quota of earwigs.

Last year I had ants, and it took a long time to get rid of them. I finally used boric acid ant powder, cause nothing else worked. This year, no problem.

Bugs can get into the house in the smallest holes, so that is how they get in.

Sorry I don't have more help for you.

Fern

 

[ricoba]

We haven't had too many of the big roaches this summer as in summers past. I think they are the American Roach and when they come inside they die pretty quickly, so that's why you find them dead in the morning. We have learned to live with them since they don't usually live inside the house. If they were the Germans Roach, I'd have the exterminator out ASAP. Once the weather cools they seem to disappear. RE: Ants, we don't have them unlike our CA house which seems like it is built on top of an ant hill and the exterminators don't help at all. I think the biggest bug you have to get used to here is the Cicadas and their incessant chirping at night.

 

[VacationForever]

We don't have a pool but with several large enclosed patio/balcony which the builder had initially planned to put in 2 Jacuzzis. We are on the "penthouse" level of a condo which makes me think that the little flies got in because they were carried by a windstorm or something. Thousands of them.... it baffles me why there were so many. Thank goodness we have not seen scorpions. Other residents said they have scorpions in their units.

 

[ricoba]

We've never had a fly problem and I've never seen a scorpion here, though I know they are around.

 

[Karen G]

We're in Henderson in the same community as Fern. I've never seen a swarm of little flies like you describe. That's baffling. Our pest control guy comes every month and sprays all around the outside and inside of our house, and we rarely have any bugs get into the house. We've found several small dead roaches in the garage, though.

 

[VacationForever]

I am at Lake Las Vegas and maybe because we are surrounded by mountains or something. When we are around the pest control guy comes in, otherwise he just sprays the outside of the door. The issue is that he cannot get to the 3 balconies/patios and maybe they get under those doors.

 

[Fern Modena]

I talaked to my sister and she said she has seen a few (as in 2-3) of the small flying things you are talking. If you are in Lake Las Vegas, there is plenty of water nearby, and that may be attracting them.

As for flies, as in house flies, we don't have them here. I have had one the whole eleven years I am here. I have a friend who lives over near Karen. We say he lives in a bad neighborhood. He's had three

If you are only here one week a month, see if you can find an exterminator who can spray on your schedule, or call the one you have and tell them you'd like to be able to arrange to have them out when you are home.

Fern

 

[tompalm]

I don't want to hijack this thread, but do you ever worry about termite treatment. That is a big problem in Hawaii and Florida.

I bought a house a few years ago over on the west side of 295 just south of Summerlin that is a rental and I only see it about once a year when I travel to Vegas. It is only seven years old, but I don't think it has ever been treated unless that was done when it was built.

 

[VacationForever]

Thanks, Fern and Karen. We live just above a golf course so maybe the watering is also attracting flies. The pest control guy is planning on coming out while we are here these couple of days.

 

[Karen G]

Thanks, Fern and Karen. We live just above a golf course so maybe the watering is also attracting flies. The pest control guy is planning on coming out while we are here these couple of days.

Did you save some of the dead flies? If so, maybe the pest control guy will know what they are. Let us know when you find out!

 

[VacationForever]

Did you save some of the dead flies? If so, maybe the pest control guy will know what they are. Let us know when you find out!

Good point, I finished vacuuming all rooms except 2 bathrooms so I will save some in a Ziploc bag.

 

[Karen G]

I don't want to hijack this thread, but do you ever worry about termite treatment. That is a big problem in Hawaii and Florida.

I've never heard of anyone talking about termites here. I don't even know if that was included in the home inspections that were done when we bought our house last year. With most homes around here built on a concrete slab and the climate being so much drier than Florida or Hawaii, I don't think it's an issue--at least not in the homes in this part of town that were built after about 2000.

 

[Fern Modena]

Termites

Our houses were treated for termites as they were built. They also treated for ants, which lasted about eight or nine years.

So, Karen, your house was treated, but I don't know how long the warranty was.

Tom, I would imagine the termite protection is pretty standard. And I think they are more prevalent where it is humid.

Fern

I don't want to hijack this thread, but do you ever worry about termite treatment. That is a big problem in Hawaii and Florida.

I bought a house a few years ago over on the west side of 295 just south of Summerlin that is a rental and I only see it about once a year when I travel to Vegas. It is only seven years old, but I don't think it has ever been treated unless that was done when it was built.

 

[tompalm]

Our houses were treated for termites as they were built. They also treated for ants, which lasted about eight or nine years.

So, Karen, your house was treated, but I don't know how long the warranty was.

Tom, I would imagine the termite protection is pretty standard. And I think they are more prevalent where it is humid.

Fern

I think you have a good point. Water leaks and wet wood attract termites. That is a big issue about sprinklers hitting the side of the house, or leaky roofs that don't get fixed, and the termite guys warn about that. Because it is so dry in Las Vegas, the termites probably don't live very long unless there is a water leak and wet wood.

 

[VegasBella]

I've lived all over the valley and my experience is this:

- Yes, there are more insects in Summer. Sometimes cicadas, too, which come every few years. My dogs go nuts chasing and catching them.

- You'll find lots of dead insects if your neighbors spray. I do not ever use chemical pesticides inside my house (I don't want cancer) and I've found that the number of dead bugs in my house is strongly correlated to whether or not my neighbors spray. The bugs try to escape the poison and end up coming to my house to die. It's gross. There are fewer bugs (dead of alive) coming into my home if the neighbors aren't spraying.

- Bodies of water attract bugs, yes. Any untreated standing water is gross and needs to be dumped. It's a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Look around your neighbors too, because there could be a green pool nearby sending bugs your way. http://www.clarkcountynv.gov/Depts/admin_services/pro/Services/pages/GreenPools.aspx

- I've heard of many kinds of infestations in Vegas (scorpions, black widows, ants, roaches, rats, bed bugs) but NEVER termites. Maybe if you live up on Mt. Charleston or something but seriously I've NEVER heard of that down in the valley. However, it's a very good idea to keep sprinklers off your home and if you have grass, keep it 3 feet away from the foundation. That's good for a number of reasons, termites the least of which.

- Ultimately, the best defense against bugs is to seal up your home and keep it clean.

 

[VacationForever]

So the pest control did not show up back in August. Our schedule finally sync'ed up last week. The guy looked at the insects that I had saved and he said "chinch bugs". I looked up on the website and they really don't look alike. But anyway, he said they are like locusts, they come through and leave the area and since they are so tiny they get into the home through the doors even though the weather stripping is supposed to keep them out. Also, he found a live scorpion on our baseboard even though we are on the top floor. Yikes.

 

[PigsDad]

Also, he found a live scorpion on our baseboard

And that's why I like living where there is a real winter!

Kurt

 

[Karen G]

The guy looked at the insects that I had saved and he said "chinch bugs".

Interesting. I googled it and looked at lots of the pictures, but I don't think I've seen any of those in our house. The articles I read mentioned how damaging they can be to lawns. Maybe since the OP lives on a golf course the bugs were attracted to the area by the grass. Since there isn't any grass in my immediate area, maybe that's why they haven't shown up in the house.

 

[easyrider]

And that's why I like living where there is a real winter!

Kurt

Me too, but it seems that older I get, the more I find my thoughts drifting to warmer climes.

The insects I have problems with are mosquitoes and bedbugs. That being said, I have never seen a bedbug or have received a mosquito bite at a Las Vegas resort.

Bill