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Rain in Arizona means pests in Arizona

We are in the heart of Monsoon 2022 here in Arizona and with that our humidity is up, we are getting rain all across Arizona. Some areas get a major down pour others just a sprinkle, but water in a desert does amazing things.

Excessive Water in Arizona

It’s kind of a gas driving through our desert and noticing all the signs along the way, Dry Gultch, Agua Fria river, and many others, because as you drive over them they tend to be dry all the time… then monsoon comes and we get a flash flood and our arroyos, Wadi Washes, dry washes, and coulee can turn deadly with roaring flood waters that can seem to appear out of nowhere! Of course we get the occasional person who thinks they can drive through these waterways during a rainstorm only to find themselves in an emergency situation! That is where we come up the the “stupid motorist law” in Arizona, those stupid enough to get caught in these situations, and purposely try and defeat mother nature will pay the price of rescue, and probably also get their 15 minutes of fame on then news!

Everything, including pests needs water to survive

This is all to say that while the rains can cause some issues, in the desert we really need the water. Everything is dependent on getting moisture. Our trees, plants, shrubs and even cactus have a certain amount of water they need to survive. Along with the flora, our pests, both flying and crawling insects, arachnids, rodents and even snakes are dependent on annual rain storms to survive our harsh desert heat.

In Mid July to September Arizona receives it’s Monsoon storms that bring the majority of the year’s rain levels to our state. These summer rains are what determine if we have a healthy winter growth of plants, (weeds to many), but food to aforementioned pests and livestock. Also, with a healthy stand of flowering plants we get a strong bee population with plenty of pollen available as food. As many of you surmise from you high school biology classes, the entire life cycle is dependent on this annual water cycle and we have some years that deliver more than others, some more in winter/spring and hardly any during a monsoon season.

We can gauge how bad Pests will be, by the amount of rain we get

We find it a measurement and a good way to predict the pest pressure for upcoming months. This year is working out to be a better than average monsoon rain levels and that means pest pressure will be up this fall and winter.

In Phoenix this year, ground beetles have had a major emergence, and now swarming ants and termites are all the rage! Scorpions are also a major threat this year and surprisingly roof rats seem to be on the rise across the entire phoenix metropolitan area, don’t know if that is monsoon driven or not, but the phones are ringing!

Be careful in a storm, follow the signs and stay out of the washes. If your pest pressure is up, give us a call and we will help to drown out the increase in all your bugs, rodents and unwanted guests!