Suburban Phoenix home ownership, especially if you have a block wall fence, presents a challenge that most homeowners will never see coming until it is too late. The most venomous scorpions in North America, the Arizona bark scorpion, live very well in these suburbs. These beings are not just showing up in your backyard; they have a preference for specific scenarios, and Phoenix suburbs offer plenty of that in some cases without even crowding the local streets.
Suburban yards with block wall construction, greenery, and water sources provide the type of habitat that will sustain booming scorpions almost all year. Professional pest control, such as Green Mango Pest Control is able to offer targeted solutions that may address the causes of scorpion infestations.
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Unique Behavior of Arizona Bark Scorpions
Arizona bark scorpions have some bizarre survival behaviours that allow them to thrive right here with us in Phoenix suburbia. Bark scorpions are also better climbers than most scorpion species; their slender claws are built to climb vertical surfaces ranging from stucco walls to wooden fences, all the way to window glass.
On summer days, it is too hot for the human spirit to tolerate, and when the temperature breaks 110°F, these nocturnal hunters live hidden from sight in the shade. They come out at night, looking for food, roaming between crickets, roaches, and other household insects that populate suburbia. Amazingly, they are able to slow their metabolism and survive for up to a year without food, allowing them to flourish with the often patchy food supplies in cities.
How Block Wall Fences Create Perfect Shelter
Crevices and Gaps Provide Hiding Spots
Also, block walls have so many individualized gaps and cracks between the blocks that there are hundreds of potential scorpion hiding places. They provide shelter from predators and harsh weather while also being easily accessible places of refuge.
Moisture Retention in Wall Cavities
The empty centers of concrete blocks hold rainwater from Phoenix’s short but powerful monsoon storms and sprinkler systems. This retained moisture creates microclimates that scorpions require to stay hydrated in Arizona’s arid climate.
Temperature Regulation Benefits
Block walls take in heat from the scorching daytime sun and release it during the long Phoenix night. This thermal mass effect gives scorpions a stable thermal environment that is conducive to their metabolic demands, unlike desert rocks that rapidly cool after sunset in nature.
Easy Climbing Surfaces
Scorpions’ claws have an excellent grip on textured surfaces, like concrete blocks. Those mortar joints are natural ladders easily climbed by scorpions to gain access over the 6-foot privacy walls that many homeowners think keep the pests at bay.
Protection from Natural Predators
Another advantage of block walls is that they help to form enclosed spaces that restrict entry by scorpions, natural enemies, birds, larger spiders, lizards, etc. Such artificial protection helps scorpion numbers breed viciously relative to their numeric control in an open desert environment.
Why Suburbs See Higher Scorpion Populations
A pest control company calculated that Maricopa County receives more than 12,000 calls each year about scorpions, and neighborhoods in suburban Phoenix experience scorpions at much higher rates than more rural desert areas. As suburban sprawl pushes the region into more former desert habitats, reports of residential scorpions around the Phoenix metropolitan area have increased by 30% in five years.
In the Sonoran Desert, suburbs create ecological islands with permanent water, swimming pools, and ornamental vegetation loved by insects that scorpions eat. Utilizing garbage collection sites, storage areas for pet food, piles of compost, etc., provides additional sources of food.
Professional Help for Suburban Scorpion Problems
To overcome the difficulties associated with block wall fences, Green Mango Pest Control has developed specialized practices for the management of scorpions in the Phoenix area. These integrate chemical applications, chemical recommendations, and habitat modification recommendations for immediate infestation and future prevention.
You will also find professional services offering widespread programs to monitor how changing suburban conditions occur within your area. They know where possible trouble areas are before infestations take hold and provide scheduled monitoring visits, with particular attention paid to Phoenix as an urban desert.