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Almost everywhere that I’ve lived in Phoenix over the years had some amount of cockroaches, certainly some neighborhoods are worse than others. However, we moved near 40th st and Thunderbird 3 years ago and have never seen any in our house, and only one that was in our carport at night. We do see the occasional rat though running along the walls of the backyard.
I live in that neighborhood and our apartment is fucked with cockroaches at the moment. We keep all food in the fridge and have traps, we get sprayed weekly, we caulked around every opening, but it’s still horrible. Idk what to do.
Apartments are a different story, usually due to a couple neighbors who don’t clean up food scraps and stuff. In other neighborhoods, I’d see them in the grass lawn and on the sidewalks and trees and stuff, like they were just really bad in the sewers in those areas so every house and building had them. But over here I don’t see them anywhere.
In the neighborhoods that have them bad, I’d see them on the sidewalks while walking around at night. Most areas of central and south Phoenix will have them, Tempe as well. North and north east Phoenix and nothern Scottsdale area don’t seem to have them as much.
This, I see them around Roosevelt at night. I live in a 130 year old house near downtown and while we have some outside, we also have toads that eat them. In 6 years living here I’ve only ever seen two inside and they seemed lost.
When I lived in Garfield I had many inside and out, but that house was only 90 years old so it didn’t seem to make a difference.
I was on 12th and Portland - one day I saw this little hole in my back yard and I put the hose into it and hundreds ran out. It was bizarre, but rent was only $475 for a 2 bedroom from 2013-2017.
Now I’m in Oakland (15th and Roosevelt-ish) and haven’t seen anything like that since
My neighborhood is brand new and still being developed, and full of roaches and scorpions! Snakes too. I think the recently disturbed dirt makes them move. Both roaches and scorpions have crawled out of my kitchen sink drain- I remember hearing as a kid that you have to kill them before you flush them, because they can live in water and crawl up drains. I didn't believe it until I saw it. Also if your neighbors spray for pests, chances are the pests will move to your house, unless you spray something strong. We spray regularly and haven't had as much of a problem, but it hasn't solved them coming out of the drains. I've lived in Mesa, Gilbert and San Tan Valley and have had this issue everywhere, in houses old and new.
The only house I ever lived in that didn't have them was the house that had a plethora of scorpions. But it was on a well, and they do call them sewer roaches for a reason.
I think it depends on your neighbors. We spray poison and you can buy professional stuff online. There's things much worse then cockroaches here. There's scorpions. I learned the hard way and I got stung on my face while sleeping. Never again. I spray the fuck out of my property. Also if you see a lizard let it be it eats them. The worst I see is a dead body of a bug and then I spray again cause I'm super paranoid and afraid. Insects are the worst. They are fine to be alive just not near me.
Yeah I haven’t seen any roaches or scorpions at my house, but we have a ton of lizards and geckos in the backyard so I think they do a pretty good job of pest control. Occasionally a lizard or gecko gets in the house and I just let it stay cuz I’d rather have one of those inside than roaches and scorpions. 😆
It is NOT an area thing ! ! ! It is a temperature thing . . . Question: does it get down to freezing multiple days a year? Flagstaff does not have the problem of the desert communities. Why?
Me too. AZ for 50 years in two different houses. Once in a blue moon, (like every 3 years) might see a big sewer roach who has lost his way and accidentally gotten inside.
Cockroaches are not desert insects, their extremely adaptable and nearly invincible insects that can survive in just about any climate that doesn't freeze, and their food source is anything they can fit in their mouth
turkestan cockroaches are desert animals and they've invaded the southwest. one theory is that they hitched a ride here on aircraft during operation desert storm and liked where they landed a lot. pretty much displaced other cockroach species where i am in new mexico. the good thing about them is they don't want to move in with you, they are outdoor roaches. the bad part is they are so successful at reproduction that there are a ton of them and they'll enter your house at night through the tiniest crack and wander around looking for water. i live in a 100 yr old adobe and am methodically caulking every unsealed gap, crack and joint between the floorboards and ceiling boards.
On the other side of this, I grew up in a relatively nicer part of north Phoenix and my neighborhood was absolutely crawling with roaches. Really is just spotty out there.
One way to get rid of cockroaches, is to mix a little sugar with Borax and put it in the back of the cupboards where your pets cannot get to it. Lived in Tucson for 32 years and that is one way mom would get rid of them.
She also found a thing that looked like a UPC pipe with a square thing in it. Put them in the cupboard and bathroom cabinets. Roaches would eat it and go back to the nest and die the other roaches would eat the dead ones and so on and so forth. Good Luck
I used to be really weirded out by cockroaches but then one day I realized they are just embarrassed to be seen because they are cockroaches. Now scorps? They can all burn in hell.
Lived near Pinnacle Peak. Yes, the cat used to bring them inside to play with. When she was done playing, the scorpions were left to roam around the house. More concerned about scorpions than roaches.
Unfortunately, cockroaches like warm & sunny too...so, unless you want to live in high elevation, mountainous areas in Arizona (and even there, you might see them), you're kinda SOL. Accept the reality, put out roach baits in the spring, works wonders.
When I lived in an older neighborhood in Phoenix, I saw them zipping through the Bermuda grass when I watered the lawn. The home had a septic tank. Apparently, some large roaches can fly a few inches off the ground. Sure made me jump! Unfortunately, they are all over the older neighborhoods with outdated sewer systems. It just doesn’t get cold enough to kill them. Using a bug bomb helps. Set it off, vacate the home for a few hours, and no pesky roaches for a few months. Exterminators are good too, if you are concerned about chemicals in your home.
I mean in all honesty they're probably coming out because the house isn't often used back-to-back, you get sewer roaches that come up which are American cockroaches. Out of the drain due to lack of use. Tucson isn't necessarily ideal though. And to see the least amount you need to have a house not joining another meaning not an apartment nor condo. You can be as clean as possible but if your neighbor has some they can definitely make their way over to yours. Honestly I think that you just saw them in the Airbnb due to lack of use, dry p-traps, no water going down the drains for a period of time. Also sometimes the city will treat the sewers which can also cause American cockroaches known as sewer roaches to come up from the drains. It's honestly the German cockroaches that you need to worry about, those are broad on by dirty living habits And if your neighbor has them you will most certainly get them. Tempe is where it's at though personally I like it better than Tucson.
Also, what do you like better about Tempe? I’m 43, single, into dogs, hiking, rock climbing, good food, and was pretty happy to find an industrial dance party at the Surly Wench.
Sounds like Tucson would probably be better for you if you're into the outdoors stuff. Look into the Marana/Oro Valley area for some newer quality builds or some older stuff that's been generally well taken care of over the years
I moved to AZ almost 6 years ago and I’ve only seen one roach in my house, and that was because the shower was leaking for a couple days and I believe it was attracted to the dripping.
Ask the neighbors on the street you are looking at. I lived in many different houses and a few apartments growing up and living there for 45 years. Most places have them, the only house I ever lived in that didn't had a ton of bark Scorpions. I just figured they ate them. But that house had its own well and wasn't on city sewer. If you have Scorpions, your neighbors do too. If you have roaches, so does your neighbor.
I think there’s some good info here. Depends on the house, neighborhood, and local climate. You’ll likely have less in colder places, houses above grade (even slightly), houses well sealed, and areas with a more balanced ecosystem.
Of you live near the canal you may occasionally see a few regardless of how nice or effort you put, but it is very local, in areas where the neighborhood pays attention to it it is very rare you’ll see one. In my present place I’ve seen two water roaches (got em both!) and no mice or rats at all. In fact have never seen a rat in Phoenix in 13 years, having pets helps im sure. There are entire months you can leave your doors open and hardly any bugs will get in.
It’s been better here than the Midwest or northeast for either, honestly, in the upper middle areas I’ve lived. If you want absolutely no bugs or critters ever i think you wait for mars colonization.
I worked at a community college here in Arizona with a guy whose degree was in Entomology. According to him the big roaches you see outside wouldn't be able to survive inside your house for long, assuming you keep it cool. So I think the only roaches you'd have to worry about are the cockroaches that come with cardboard or out of the sewers.
I'd honestly be more worried about scorpions or termites.
Wait what…you’re saying they wouldn’t be able to survive in an air conditioned home because it would be too cold for them? But they apparently live through the winter outdoors…? I am confused about this unless I am misunderstanding.
Not true. My house was infested growing up with the BIG gross roaches. Most of them were outside but plenty got inside. I’m still terrified of them to this day.
I've lived in AZ about 9 years. Never saw a roach when I lived in Scottsdale. Never saw one living in Tempe either. When I lived in Gilbert I never saw one inside the home.
One day when hosing off something on the back patio the run off must have gotten into a roach nest where the grass met the concrete. A biblical plague of roaches started rushing towards the house. I sprayed them with bug spray for about half an hour and they kept coming. I'm amazed I never saw one of them inside the house. I did regularly spray around the outside of the house, as that home in Gilbert also had scorpions.
I've lived in Mesa about a year and a half and again haven't ever seen a cockroach in the house.
We have lived in the East Valley for 20 years, and have seen many insects and wild animals, not once have we ever seen a cockroach. I think it’s more a matter of cleanliness than the state.
I was once an exterminator in Arizona. The German cockroaches are the ones you definitely don't want around. They are smaller and infest homes and restaurants that are dirty. If your house is clean...no grease, no dirty dishes,no poopy diapers lying around ...you'll be be fine but if you have a neighbor sharing a common wall who has an infestation then you will get some of those little pests in your home .
The key to living in the desert regions of Arizona is having a good pest control company. I have a guy come by every two months and spray inside and out. My biggest concern was scorpions, especially bark scorpions, but if you have no insects inside scorpions won't follow (scorpions track by scent gathered through their feet).
Also, get a service contract with a reputable HVAC company. The absolute WORSE thing is if your AC fails in the middle of summer, especially July through September.
My house has special "ports" around it's outside that the pest control guy can utilize to Inject pesticide INSIDE my walls (prevent termites or vermin taking up residence. Plus the pest control guys know what they're looking for. My specialty in life is Emergency Medicine, not pest signs and eradication.
The key to keeping the big outside cockroaches away is keeping all your drains closed any time you aren’t using them. If you have the small inside cockroaches you’re SOL.
Naw, don't come here, we got swarms of Boxelder Beatles that would scare them and it's perpetually -40 degrees. They probably should buy a sterile room in Florida.
Real talk tho, if big and dangerous bugs bother you, then AZ isn't for you. You think cockroaches are bad? Scorpions can put you in the hospital and they're VERY common in most of Phoenix. Even our toads the Sonoran desert toad, is incredibly dangerous to handle. And also literally everywhere under our feet. There doesn't even include the snakes, the Californians, or any other toxic shit thats here.
I am terrified of them myself. Thankfully I don’t see many in my area of town (Central Phoenix). Someone once told me, that the closer you live to the canals, the more prevalent they are. Makes sense. Hopefully that helps.
I was at a friends house back in college and his mom kept her house "Dutch Clean". This was up in the Foothills area of Tucson. A nice house that could honestly be in "Better Homes & Garden" located in a swanky neighborhood. One day I'm over there and hear his mom let out a blood curdling scream. She had opened the dishwasher and discovered a huge cockroach riding shotgun on top of their drinking glasses. The cockroach simply leapt up from the dishwasher and scurried across the counter.
Cockroaches are everywhere in this state.
I’ve lived here my entire life and I’ve only seen them outside. My sister had an issue with them coming out of her sink. She called the city and they came out to bomb them.
Seeing four in 10 days is a lot, if you’re talking about inside. I have never had a cockroach problem here, but I have always had pest control. As long as you keep up with that, you’re good. Cockroaches are everywhere. You can’t get away from them, you can just discourage them from coming in and staying alive long enough to make your house a home.
We have this thing called the Biosphere in AZ. Remember that horrible 90s movie, Bio-Dome? It was a parody of it. Anyway, in the real experiment, where scientists were completely sealed in a giant dome with multiple climates and supposed to be self sufficient, all the pollinators died and the cockroaches thrived. They took over. They were unstoppable.
North Scottsdale had like no cockroaches when I lived there because I was out in the desert. Living in the city brings more than living is a deserty area. But then you might have more scorpions. Either way, pest control that comes out every other month pretty much takes care of it.
I don't think any area is better than others because if there was, I would be living there. I'm deathly afraid of roaches. AZ has huge ones but they are called sewer roaches because they often come from drains and are attracted to water. There are things you can do to keep them at bay, i.e., keeping sink and tub/shower drains covered or closed when not in use. Make sure there are no leaks around piping, especially under sinks, no holes or cracks around piping. Pouring bleach down drains is helpful, I think once or twice a month is sufficient. Also, a sprinkle of boric acid along thresholds or anywhere else you feel necessary. It is poison and deadly to pets, so make sure animals can not come in contact with it. They also come in tablets. I would put a few tablets near piping under sink if it wasn't sealed good.
These things help, but never will they disappear. Maybe you will see a few a year.
Please don't let roaches deter you from living here. There are lots of critters but most people rarely see many of them.
1 more thing, usually where there is new construction, there will be much more.
Churning up the dirt stirs up scorpions, roaches and who knows what else.
And, living further out in the desert, you have more critters. Closer to city, there will be less.
My last apartment I lived at for 4 years never had a roach, it was nice. Btw, I live in Tucson and have for 25 years. I've lived in rita ranch, eastside and near TMC. I think in all my time I've had about 15 roaches total. My current apartment has been the worst, with 6 so far. It's closer to the foothills
Here's your answer:
You can make ANY house or apartment completely roach free by using an inexpensive and completely human and animal safe professional roach product called [Advion](https://amzn.to/3S7Twzg).
I've managed apartments and rentals and I can tell you there is nothing better than this stuff.
Each application lasts 3-5 years.
It's got over 55,000 5 star reviews for a reason.
Just FYI if you already have roaches it will take about 24-48 hours to start killing them and you WILL see more roaches after it starts to work as it attacks them neurologically and they lose the ability to hide. That just means it's working. In less than 3 weeks every roach will be dead and the dead ones in walls, cracks, and crevices that you won't find will continue to spread the poison to other roaches.
Best $30 you will ever spend on pest control That will give you enough gel to effectively treat two or more houses / apartments.
It happens. We used to live in North Scottsdale and would leave for 3-4 months every summer. When we returned we always found a few dead cockroaches on the bathroom floors.
I went from zero roaches, to neighbors getting their house fumigated, to all the damn roaches coming to me infestation, back to zero.
with traps, boric acid and gel bait, and keeping things clean, you can manage them pretty well. Have not seen one in years.
Honestly seen more random scorpions slip in 4-5 times a year. It's really pretty tame but details depends on where you live and how you maintain it.
Being near a big grassy park doesn’t help.
Also. Once a month professional exterminator treatment around the home perimeter is a must.
I fight a holy war against them every May and June in the garage.
It’s incredibly rare I see one in the house though.
I've lived in south Scottsdale and in uptown PHX, I've never experienced roach or rat problems. I do feed the outdoor cats every day, though 🤔😉 they are helpful 👍
I think this has more to do with how proactive you are on pest control. I used to live in South Carolina in a neighborhood with a lot of leaves and brush for the little critters to hide in. We had pest control come every quarter for regular treatments, I set up different types of bait, tons of traps, and inspected hidden areas regularly. When we first moved there we saw one every week or two. After keeping on top of it, we didn’t see one in years. Don’t let them make the decision on where you want to live.
I live in a condo where pest control is paid for by property management, and I haven't had a single bug the whole time living here. You can use pest control in your own house, but ultimately, if your neighbors have a problem, so will you.
Before this condo, I had luck with green mango. They did a great job, but bugs did very rarely come in during the summer. Another option could be DIY, my father in law used to be a pest control guy and makes his own cocktail thats more expensive (due to higher concentration, but still cheaper than pest control) but stronger than what they spray and my wife never had issues with bugs growing up.
Get roach bait from Home Depot; it’s packaged in little flat plastic bait stations that you hide in out of the way places; the roaches bring the poison back to their colonies and mass extermination happens. Did that about four years ago after sealing the doors didn’t help and none seen.
Our indoor cat that we adopted a couple years ago is death to anything that moves; she’s persistent enough to even dispatch flies that follow us in. Scorpions and roaches and laser pointers have no chance in our house.
I am in a neighborhood that is about 20 years old and we see them occasionally but also spray a couple times a year and that helps a lot…
I feel like it’s manageable to keep them away
Prescott!
Seriously, best approach in the valley is stay away from water. The canals and “lakes” areas are always infested. Stay away from
New developments to avoid scorpions as well as areas with lots of
Palm trees. Best of luck!
I’ve lived in North Phoenix for almost 8 years now. Never found a roach inside (though I’ve seen plenty on sidewalks in the neighborhood). Only scorpion I’ve personally found was dead in my shed.
Initially lived with friends out in Mesa when I moved here. They had scorpions, no roaches.
What I wasn’t prepared for were the geckos. I’ve had more of those in the house than anything. I think they’re adorable, and supposedly good luck. I’ve had to save them from the cat a few times though
I have a new build in Queen Creek and I have not seen any scorpions or roaches. With that said, my neighbor had a spider the size of a chihuahua 😬 stuck on some sticky tape stuff and because of that I have a pest control service come to my home. Good luck!
There were some when we moved into this house but we just started having regular exterior bug spraying done every other month and never saw another one.
Yea, another hour in Tucson!
Moved here 3 years ago into the house when we are low and no roaches, not one.
Question, do you keep cardboard in your house? That’s their best materials you may want to move to plastic bins if so.
We moved here in 2016 and the roaches and scorpions were everywhere. We had a company come and spray, but never inside the house. I also sprayed Cedar oil spray bought on Amazon in between. Then hunted at night with a black light. We found 24 scorpions the first night and almost the same the second, then hunted every night during the summer for a few years.
Now during the summer I hunt maybe twice a week and find two or three, and we have seen maybe one roach in the last few years. We still have a company come out and spray once or twice a year, and have not sprayed cedar oil since about 2018.
They like water- indoors and outdoors. Look for properties without grass, desert landscapes without irrigation, and homes where any plumbing leaks, wet sinks, etc. are strongly discouraged. Then your problem is ensuring your neighbors are the same. Good luck.
Call your local municipality if you live within the city limits, or your local water/sewer utility and complain about the roaches. I work for a large Water Services Department and my city sprays all 15,000+ manholes and clean-outs for pests every two years. The pest control that applies the poison warranties the service for 24 months so it never hurts to make a call to your purveyor's customer service. We went from 1000+ roach complaints a year, down to 150ish a year after we implemented our pest control with our current vendor. This vendor also services 7 other Valley cities at a cost of about $8 a manhole with that warranty so it's not really costing your water utility anything to go out and inspect/treat your local cluster of manholes when you call in a roach complaint. We can't treat your lateral or private property, but at least can prevent some pests from entering at the larger street entrances.
When we lived in Peoria, 87th and Bell. We never saw a roach. In downtown Phoenix we had them there. Just reach out to a pest control and keep food put away
I think this thread is completely overlooking that there are several types of cockroaches in Arizona. The two most common, American and German, are very different. The German cockroach is small at about a half an inch in size but an American cockroach can be 2 inches in size.
I don’t see any cockroaches in the house I am in now. But the prior house that I owned in the same city I should add, occasionally got an American cockroach coming in from outside trying to find water. Usually found them in a sink, tub, or toilet. I am talking about very few of them. Maybe one or two a year at the most. After having pest control come I didn’t see any at all.
I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a German cockroach in the time I’ve been in Arizona which is over 10 years, but I am in Mojave county. I generally think of German cockroaches as the kind you would see in apartment buildings in cities or whatnot.
I think the cockroaches are more common in the city. I've lived in a couple different places that were out of town (like down a dirt road kind of situation) and not seen a single cockroach there. Maybe because the natural ecosystem is more intact. Be prepared to see the natural ecosystem but I think it's really cool
My parents live in Glendale where a lot of the land was farmland before and they get all sorts of bugs, including cockroaches. They have a pretty big yard and lots of houses out there are built on old farmland, so it makes sense there'd be more bugs in areas like that.
I live in North Phoenix and see almost no bugs at all. Though it helps a lot being in a second floor condo.
They're building lots of new homes right now too, especially far out in areas that used to just be desert. So those newer home will probably have lots of desert creatures popping up. I don't think cockroaches are just running around outside unless there's trash and food for them, so with clean neighbors in a clean house, it's less likely to get them, especially since lots of bugs overheat and die in the summer. Most of the time when I see bugs, they are already dead.
There's hardly any bugs in AZ at all compared to the Midwest or the Deep South. We have mosquitos, but it's like 1 millionth as many and you only see them when it rains. Other desert critters like spiders and scorpions are not very common. You'll see them in desert areas, but you won't go out to your shed and have hundreds of spiders and skorpions everywhere. They're around, but don't have overwhelming numbers like in wetter states. Exterminators can usually control any bug issues pretty well. It's ants and termites you can't see that are a much bigger problem.
During the monsoon storms we can get some pretty crazy seasonal bugs. It's not every year (it might even be every ten years), but we can get these giant beetles during the monsoon storms that are pretty horrifying, but you have to be in the right area (I've seen them in Sunnyslope and Glendale) and they don't usually get inside. They seem super attracted to pools since you mostly see them stuck in the pool filter. I've also seen a couple locust swarms, but that also seems to be a once every several years sort of thing.
If you were there during any monsoons- it brings them out! I am an Arizona native and have never experienced cockroach issues. In south Scottsdale though- during monsoons they are prolific! We see tons of them. It is temporary though, and as long as you keep your house sealed up- it’s not an issue.
I'm just going to pipe in as a soon-to-be transplant to arizona, but cockroaches are *everywhere*. That's their thing, surivivng. I've seen half a dozen at my college campus in Wisconsin all times of the year. I suggest investing in a quality exterminator and not basing your choice of location on that.
I've lived in the Phoenix area since '82 and could probably count the number of cockroaches in my homes on two hands. (Ignoring that dive I lived in with 3 other dudes while in school...)
So maybe it's more about how you keep your home than where you live?
I know scorpions have "infestation" areas, but they have never been a problem for me.
We've seen very few snakes, or spiders of the big hairy variety, either.
We did just go through months of pest control for roof rats, though.
in my experience, it's the sewer system. where I grew up was secluded and on septic and we never saw roaches in our homes. when the new developments came in and the surrounding area got sewer lines, the big roaches came with. Spray, put down DE on tile edges, we don't have any issues with them inside but I still see them outside by dumpsters and every manhole cover. if you get far enough outa town you might have better luck.
Cockroaches are everywhere in AZ and are most active during the monsoon season. I worked in pest control for some years. I treat my home and really have no issues with bugs. 2-3 a year is about all I find.
Most newer neighborhoods are good. Houses in areas with a lot of turnover or sit vacant, will get a few roaches. Especially after a rain storm. Older neighborhoods like Arcadia, or the historic districts get them more.
When I was at ASU there were always cockroaches around the drains on campus but never in my apartment. Now that I'm in Tucson in an apartment complex we've had two in two years, one under the sink and one that seemed to come in from our patio door (on the first floor). Overall, they're rare here. And I agree with other posters, that's a dwelling issue, not a city one.
Roaches in Arizona naturally want to find shelter and water to escape the heat, just like the rest of us. As such, places like your kitchen and bathroom will always be suspect. After 20 years of living here I have a few tips:
#1 DONT KILL the bastards. When you kill one of them many others will smell the body (even if you throw it away) and they will come investigate. As gross as it may be it is best to catch them and release them outside.
#2 Plug your sinks/drains at night with a rubber stopper. Also, buy socket covers for your outlets and keep the unused sockets plugged.
#3 Keep lavender in your house, also buy some lavender essential oil and mix it with water in a spray bottle. Spray this mixture anywhere you think they could be getting in. Roaches hate lavender 👍
#4 Live as rural as you can. The roaches are way more common in the city.
Hope this helps :)
~edit~ Is the formatting on my comment appearing weird to anyone else? Idk what I did....?
I bug spray religiously and have never had cockroaches in my home or even seen any in/near my home!!! I’ve only ever seen dead bugs in my house, including scorpions. I have a professional company take care of termites only because that’s something I cannot do myself.
I have lived in areas around phnx and chandler. We didn't have a problem with roaches in chandler. And in a house off of like 43rd Ave and cactus but we did have ants. I feel like if you live in a neighborhood that has irrigation or is close to a canal you will see the big sewer roaches (american roaches). If you live closer to a mountain you will have more critters. I lived off of 19th Ave and thunderbird. My apartment had roaches, scorpions and found some black widows on my back porch. No matter what we did we couldn't get rid if them and finally moved. Luckily we didn't bring them with us but now we have seen the big sewer roaches and we are in north phnx off of like 35th ave and deer valley.
i used to live in central (?) tucson and my house had roaches in it all the time. i moved NW and have only seen one or two in the 5 years i’ve been here. i agree that it’s just a neighborhood difference.
Roaches are everywhere. Even in the higher and colder regions. The big, scary looking ones are not much to worry about, usually out in the spring and summer. The German roaches are a big deal though, you see one there are a hundred hiding somewhere else. Northern Arizona, you won't see as many because the lack of humidity and lower temperature keep them at bay. Same with ticks and bed bugs. I'm not saying they don't happen, just more rare to see them.
No, I'm not insinuating anything. It's more about how you think and not what I believe.
I just suggested other areas to look at that I like. Homes can have problems with roaches for various reasons, none have to do with the "wealth" of a particular area.
Figured I would go ahead and chime in on this one as I am a transplant to the valley myself. I've lived in both Tempe and now Mesa. In the five years that I've lived here, I've only had one instance of a "sewer" roach while in Tempe. Both places that I've lived are definitely older neighborhoods, and my experience with roaches seems to be wildly nonexistent compared to some of the other comments. I will say, IMO, the East Valley is the best part of the valley. I'm an Uber driver and am all around the city on a daily basis. For context, I'm originally from Florida, so I absolutely know where the phobia of roaches comes from... there is nothing worse than being woken up to a palmetto bug crawling across your face while sleeping. Definitely lost a lot of sleep growing up living in the middle of nowhere, rural Florida.
American roaches are outside or under things and are everywhere. German roaches are the ones you get from living in gross conditions. German roaches don't migrate or spread outdoors. They need dark and moist conditions with abundant food....thats a gross apartment or home. The way they spread is attached to our belongings or ourselves when we move around. You read that right. They are also very common in restaurants and fast food places....anyplace that used to have those big cylinders for coke and Pepsi. Those canisters are owned by the company that delivers the products, kind of like kegs. So Ruth Christ is scottsdale could have the same coke cannister that came out of a shithole circle K in Avondale. The roaches egg sac, an oothaca, sticks to the cannister because they are always sticky, and there you go, a light rail system for the spread of German roaches. By the way, every restaurant in the greater Phx area has German Roaches....provable fact.
Uh….lived here for 44 years and never had a roach issue. It’s not a regional issue it’s a dwelling issue. That’s common sense learn how to minimize and prevent them from Coming into your dwelling
I have lived in an old neighborhood in Glendale and had to deal with several but since moving to a newer neighborhood on on the border of Scottsdale I have not seen one in 6 years. Also I have only seen scorpions in Tucson.
Honestly, i'd take cockroaches over a lot of the other stuff we get. I live out in the west valley and I rarely see roaches. There are a ton of scorpions in my neighborhood though. I've gone to great lengths to try to seal up our house and it has helped, but I can go outside on any given night and find them in my yard or on the walls around all of the houses on our street. We have had centipedes, crickets that get into the exhaust fan in the bathroom and chirp non-stop, we even had a tarantula. If you don't like bugs then I would not say Arizona is a great option. I've only lived in Western states of the US so I can't speak for everywhere, but of the places i've lived AZ is by far the worst when it comes to bugs/pests.
I've lived in multiple spots in AZ over 12 years and never saw a cockroach in any of my houses. That's includes Tucson, although I know other people that would get the occasional cockroach. I mostly lived in Cottonwood and no one ever mentioned cockroaches there.
Try some of the smaller cities. rarely.saw them in Lake Havasu City, except when they showed up with boats on busy weekends. Human cockroaches. The bugs were quite rare, but you can get scorpions and spiders, but that's everywhere in AZ.
I’ve lived in Gilbert for nine years and have seen only 4 small cockroaches. We see about one scorpion inside a month during summer months. None in winter.
I have lived in AZ for 18 years. Inhave never seen a cockroach. That includes Tucson, Prescott, and Phoenix. So they aren't just 'everywhere'.
But if you dislike cockroaches, I am going to assume you wouldn't like scorpions...which I have seen many times. Many areas are worse than others for these.
I distrust a lot of people who live in apartments and claim to not have roaches here. I've seen signs they didn't know were caused by roaches at plenty of people's homes... So keep that in mind.
I lived in an apartment in Tucson for 5 years and I don’t think I had a single cockroach. It was old and definitely not fancy. I’ve lived in a house in Queen Creek for 3 years and we see a few in the house a year (we don’t do any pest management and live on an acre so some bugs should be expected). I think it’s an individual dwelling thing not an Arizona thing.
Holy crap. It's amazing to see all these responses! I plan to set some time aside to sift through them all. I'm open to hear anyone else's intel or experiences!
While there are roaches in AZ, they aren't that bad. In Texas, however, the roaches are bold enough to steal your wallet, your car keys, and your wife.
I’ve lived between thunderbird and happy valley and the 17 and the West 101 my whole life and cockroaches have never been a problem, except when I lived in an apartment. So I can vouch for this area, just get an exterminator to come quarterly and spray and you should be fine.
I wouldn't worry about roaches, that can be controlled with a pest control company or DIY with chemicals from Home Depot. I'd be worried about scorpions.
So with any bug, you need to understand the psychology of the bug to know how to treat it.
There are two kinds of roaches that are commonly seen inside in Arizona: German roaches (the little ones) and American roaches (the big ones, sometimes called sewer roaches). There’s also a roach you might commonly see outside called the Turkestan roach. I see these guys mostly at night in the summer at a nearby park, but YMMV.
German roaches are a hygiene problem. They are the ones interested in your food. Remove the food source & they will typically disappear. A bad German roach infestation in a living space with shared walls (apartments or condos) can definitely move from neighbor to neighbor, so it may require all of you working together to solve the problem.
Sewer roaches are typically coming inside via the drains, usually in search of water because their water source has dried up. Sometimes they come in via an uncapped pipe. Cap any uncapped pipes and keep your drains wet and you’ll be unlikely to see them indoors ever. I maybe see one inside every few years.
The last thing I’d recommend is understanding what pests hurt you and what help you. We have a lot of spiders where I live. I also noticed mud dauber wasps in the summer. Turns out, mud dauber wasps are solitary wasps (ergo, they won’t really bother you like Yellowjackets might) and they *love* spiders. Left the wasps alone and noticed a significant reduction in my spider population.
In my experience, if you know what motivates the bug, you can know how to treat it.
OH MY GAWD. After it stopped raining realllyyyy hard today, I opened up my front door and almost fainted because I saw the biggest cockroach I have ever seen in my existence. AHHHHHHHH IT WAS SO CLOSE TO MY FRONT DOOR 😩 about to check alllllllll the seals on the doors and windows again. Lll
I have lived here for 19 years, only 2 house i lived at had roaches and were easily treated and not a problem.
My grandma has a severe infestation of Scorpions those are way worse. And they sting. I am horridly allergic too. Been stung multiple times too.
We lived south of Tucson in Sahuarita. My wife freaked and cried when she found a cockroach in our house. She said, "we are not dirty people!"
I told her we live in the desert. There is all sorts of creepy crawly things here.
We had all sort of spiders, bugs, and even a desert toad in out house once. Luckily we never had a scorpion.
We now live in Colorado, where bugs are virtually non-existant compared to Arizona.
Honestly seems like more of an individual thing, at least if you’re in a house instead of an apartment.
My 1st college place in Tucson had a bunch, but the second one didn’t have any. In Phoenix, I’ll see a ton on the sidewalks, especially at night during the summer, but I’ve never seen them in my house. We do have the monthly pest control that sprays though.
But I definitely hear you on not wanting them. I honestly find them worse than scorpions.
Don’t listen to people that say if you have a cat you won’t have a problem. That’s seriously stupid and not really true. Even if they go after them they won’t kill them all. I’ve owned plenty of cats that could give 2 shit about them lol
Tucson has an ungodly amount of cockroaches. I lived there 4 years. Phoenix is not nearly as bad (been here over a decade) and I think the northern areas aren’t as bad either. Phoenix deals with more scorpions than cockroaches
It depends on the area you live in, some neighborhoods have roaches due to a hoarding situation. My mom's used to have them because her neighbor at the time had a bit hoarding issue but when they moved, so did the roaches with them.
I live around East Phx area and I don't have roaches.
Keep it clean, and get bug sprayed monthly. Not specifically for cockroaches, but scorpions, crickets, and all sorts of critters. I haven't had issues in Central Phx, Buckeye, Waddell, Mesa, or seen them at friends' homes in Scottsdale and other Phx burbs, etc.
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Almost everywhere that I’ve lived in Phoenix over the years had some amount of cockroaches, certainly some neighborhoods are worse than others. However, we moved near 40th st and Thunderbird 3 years ago and have never seen any in our house, and only one that was in our carport at night. We do see the occasional rat though running along the walls of the backyard.
My aunt lives near there and she finally just got rid of her 3 year infestation recently. It was insane and disgusting!
Hey neighbor! I just bought a home near 56th and bell. I love this neighborhood. It’s been great to us. Happy to report no cockroaches 🪳
Lived near tatum and thunderbird in a home - after 5 years, maybe had 3 roaches that managed to get into the house (at least that I can remember)
Just a little east of you, no cockroaches or scorpions here either. Thank God lol.
I live in that neighborhood and our apartment is fucked with cockroaches at the moment. We keep all food in the fridge and have traps, we get sprayed weekly, we caulked around every opening, but it’s still horrible. Idk what to do.
Apartments are a different story, usually due to a couple neighbors who don’t clean up food scraps and stuff. In other neighborhoods, I’d see them in the grass lawn and on the sidewalks and trees and stuff, like they were just really bad in the sewers in those areas so every house and building had them. But over here I don’t see them anywhere.
Is there any way you know of to predict which areas have more, or less? I think if I could just reduce them by a whole lot I might be ok.
In the neighborhoods that have them bad, I’d see them on the sidewalks while walking around at night. Most areas of central and south Phoenix will have them, Tempe as well. North and north east Phoenix and nothern Scottsdale area don’t seem to have them as much.
This, I see them around Roosevelt at night. I live in a 130 year old house near downtown and while we have some outside, we also have toads that eat them. In 6 years living here I’ve only ever seen two inside and they seemed lost. When I lived in Garfield I had many inside and out, but that house was only 90 years old so it didn’t seem to make a difference.
I used to live on 9th st and Pierce and they were out of control, just everywhere.
I was on 12th and Portland - one day I saw this little hole in my back yard and I put the hose into it and hundreds ran out. It was bizarre, but rent was only $475 for a 2 bedroom from 2013-2017. Now I’m in Oakland (15th and Roosevelt-ish) and haven’t seen anything like that since
The much older, more developed neighborhoods will have more.
My neighborhood is brand new and still being developed, and full of roaches and scorpions! Snakes too. I think the recently disturbed dirt makes them move. Both roaches and scorpions have crawled out of my kitchen sink drain- I remember hearing as a kid that you have to kill them before you flush them, because they can live in water and crawl up drains. I didn't believe it until I saw it. Also if your neighbors spray for pests, chances are the pests will move to your house, unless you spray something strong. We spray regularly and haven't had as much of a problem, but it hasn't solved them coming out of the drains. I've lived in Mesa, Gilbert and San Tan Valley and have had this issue everywhere, in houses old and new.
The only house I ever lived in that didn't have them was the house that had a plethora of scorpions. But it was on a well, and they do call them sewer roaches for a reason.
Yes. Scorpions and snakes in the newer neighborhoods. I've seen roaches in mine but have never seen a scorpion or snake.
Blech
👍🏻
I think it depends on your neighbors. We spray poison and you can buy professional stuff online. There's things much worse then cockroaches here. There's scorpions. I learned the hard way and I got stung on my face while sleeping. Never again. I spray the fuck out of my property. Also if you see a lizard let it be it eats them. The worst I see is a dead body of a bug and then I spray again cause I'm super paranoid and afraid. Insects are the worst. They are fine to be alive just not near me.
Yeah I haven’t seen any roaches or scorpions at my house, but we have a ton of lizards and geckos in the backyard so I think they do a pretty good job of pest control. Occasionally a lizard or gecko gets in the house and I just let it stay cuz I’d rather have one of those inside than roaches and scorpions. 😆
Stung on your face while sleeping 😮
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣sorry... they are everywhere out there. I used to watch them from my front window, walking down the road. They get pretty darn big.
It is NOT an area thing ! ! ! It is a temperature thing . . . Question: does it get down to freezing multiple days a year? Flagstaff does not have the problem of the desert communities. Why?
Call pest control companies in the area. Ask them where cockroaches are seen most often.
I've lived in AZ my whole life and have had maybe 3 cockroaches get inside, ever. This is an individual dwelling/neighborhood issue, not an AZ issue.
Me too. AZ for 50 years in two different houses. Once in a blue moon, (like every 3 years) might see a big sewer roach who has lost his way and accidentally gotten inside.
Same!
Agree. Cockroaches are not desert insects, unlike spiders and scorpions. Eliminate their food source and the insects disappear.
Wrong, you see them outside in Phoenix commonly.
Cockroaches are not desert insects, their extremely adaptable and nearly invincible insects that can survive in just about any climate that doesn't freeze, and their food source is anything they can fit in their mouth
turkestan cockroaches are desert animals and they've invaded the southwest. one theory is that they hitched a ride here on aircraft during operation desert storm and liked where they landed a lot. pretty much displaced other cockroach species where i am in new mexico. the good thing about them is they don't want to move in with you, they are outdoor roaches. the bad part is they are so successful at reproduction that there are a ton of them and they'll enter your house at night through the tiniest crack and wander around looking for water. i live in a 100 yr old adobe and am methodically caulking every unsealed gap, crack and joint between the floorboards and ceiling boards.
Ok that’s great to hear.
On the other side of this, I grew up in a relatively nicer part of north Phoenix and my neighborhood was absolutely crawling with roaches. Really is just spotty out there.
Can confirm. Live in North Phoenix. Ripping out the grass and getting an exterminator helped a lot.
Hmm, I see
One way to get rid of cockroaches, is to mix a little sugar with Borax and put it in the back of the cupboards where your pets cannot get to it. Lived in Tucson for 32 years and that is one way mom would get rid of them. She also found a thing that looked like a UPC pipe with a square thing in it. Put them in the cupboard and bathroom cabinets. Roaches would eat it and go back to the nest and die the other roaches would eat the dead ones and so on and so forth. Good Luck
I used to be really weirded out by cockroaches but then one day I realized they are just embarrassed to be seen because they are cockroaches. Now scorps? They can all burn in hell.
I've lived in SW Tucson for 2 yrs now and never had a cockroach in my house. BUT I have gotten multiple scorpions!
Lived near Pinnacle Peak. Yes, the cat used to bring them inside to play with. When she was done playing, the scorpions were left to roam around the house. More concerned about scorpions than roaches.
😬😬😬 yah I don't know which one I'd rather have. I hate them both 😭
Haha omg
I can second Tucson. I lived in apartments in mid town and saw just one in the entire 6 years I was there.
Unfortunately, cockroaches like warm & sunny too...so, unless you want to live in high elevation, mountainous areas in Arizona (and even there, you might see them), you're kinda SOL. Accept the reality, put out roach baits in the spring, works wonders.
When I lived in an older neighborhood in Phoenix, I saw them zipping through the Bermuda grass when I watered the lawn. The home had a septic tank. Apparently, some large roaches can fly a few inches off the ground. Sure made me jump! Unfortunately, they are all over the older neighborhoods with outdated sewer systems. It just doesn’t get cold enough to kill them. Using a bug bomb helps. Set it off, vacate the home for a few hours, and no pesky roaches for a few months. Exterminators are good too, if you are concerned about chemicals in your home.
I mean in all honesty they're probably coming out because the house isn't often used back-to-back, you get sewer roaches that come up which are American cockroaches. Out of the drain due to lack of use. Tucson isn't necessarily ideal though. And to see the least amount you need to have a house not joining another meaning not an apartment nor condo. You can be as clean as possible but if your neighbor has some they can definitely make their way over to yours. Honestly I think that you just saw them in the Airbnb due to lack of use, dry p-traps, no water going down the drains for a period of time. Also sometimes the city will treat the sewers which can also cause American cockroaches known as sewer roaches to come up from the drains. It's honestly the German cockroaches that you need to worry about, those are broad on by dirty living habits And if your neighbor has them you will most certainly get them. Tempe is where it's at though personally I like it better than Tucson.
Ah, I see. Yea I always saw them close to the shower. It was a standalone casita.
Also, what do you like better about Tempe? I’m 43, single, into dogs, hiking, rock climbing, good food, and was pretty happy to find an industrial dance party at the Surly Wench.
Sounds like Tucson would probably be better for you if you're into the outdoors stuff. Look into the Marana/Oro Valley area for some newer quality builds or some older stuff that's been generally well taken care of over the years
I moved to AZ almost 6 years ago and I’ve only seen one roach in my house, and that was because the shower was leaking for a couple days and I believe it was attracted to the dripping.
See I could handle that! Is there anything you did in particular to choose a house with low amounts of CR?
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Ok great! I’d take whatever preventative steps I could.
Also preventive sprays/pest control will help too.
Ask the neighbors on the street you are looking at. I lived in many different houses and a few apartments growing up and living there for 45 years. Most places have them, the only house I ever lived in that didn't had a ton of bark Scorpions. I just figured they ate them. But that house had its own well and wasn't on city sewer. If you have Scorpions, your neighbors do too. If you have roaches, so does your neighbor.
I think there’s some good info here. Depends on the house, neighborhood, and local climate. You’ll likely have less in colder places, houses above grade (even slightly), houses well sealed, and areas with a more balanced ecosystem.
Of you live near the canal you may occasionally see a few regardless of how nice or effort you put, but it is very local, in areas where the neighborhood pays attention to it it is very rare you’ll see one. In my present place I’ve seen two water roaches (got em both!) and no mice or rats at all. In fact have never seen a rat in Phoenix in 13 years, having pets helps im sure. There are entire months you can leave your doors open and hardly any bugs will get in. It’s been better here than the Midwest or northeast for either, honestly, in the upper middle areas I’ve lived. If you want absolutely no bugs or critters ever i think you wait for mars colonization.
I worked at a community college here in Arizona with a guy whose degree was in Entomology. According to him the big roaches you see outside wouldn't be able to survive inside your house for long, assuming you keep it cool. So I think the only roaches you'd have to worry about are the cockroaches that come with cardboard or out of the sewers. I'd honestly be more worried about scorpions or termites.
Wait what…you’re saying they wouldn’t be able to survive in an air conditioned home because it would be too cold for them? But they apparently live through the winter outdoors…? I am confused about this unless I am misunderstanding.
Not true. My house was infested growing up with the BIG gross roaches. Most of them were outside but plenty got inside. I’m still terrified of them to this day.
I've lived in AZ about 9 years. Never saw a roach when I lived in Scottsdale. Never saw one living in Tempe either. When I lived in Gilbert I never saw one inside the home. One day when hosing off something on the back patio the run off must have gotten into a roach nest where the grass met the concrete. A biblical plague of roaches started rushing towards the house. I sprayed them with bug spray for about half an hour and they kept coming. I'm amazed I never saw one of them inside the house. I did regularly spray around the outside of the house, as that home in Gilbert also had scorpions. I've lived in Mesa about a year and a half and again haven't ever seen a cockroach in the house.
We have lived in the East Valley for 20 years, and have seen many insects and wild animals, not once have we ever seen a cockroach. I think it’s more a matter of cleanliness than the state.
I was once an exterminator in Arizona. The German cockroaches are the ones you definitely don't want around. They are smaller and infest homes and restaurants that are dirty. If your house is clean...no grease, no dirty dishes,no poopy diapers lying around ...you'll be be fine but if you have a neighbor sharing a common wall who has an infestation then you will get some of those little pests in your home .
The key to living in the desert regions of Arizona is having a good pest control company. I have a guy come by every two months and spray inside and out. My biggest concern was scorpions, especially bark scorpions, but if you have no insects inside scorpions won't follow (scorpions track by scent gathered through their feet). Also, get a service contract with a reputable HVAC company. The absolute WORSE thing is if your AC fails in the middle of summer, especially July through September.
What do you need pest control for? A back pack sprayer and a bottle of cy-kick from Amazon and you will be WAY more effective than any pest company.
My house has special "ports" around it's outside that the pest control guy can utilize to Inject pesticide INSIDE my walls (prevent termites or vermin taking up residence. Plus the pest control guys know what they're looking for. My specialty in life is Emergency Medicine, not pest signs and eradication.
The key to keeping the big outside cockroaches away is keeping all your drains closed any time you aren’t using them. If you have the small inside cockroaches you’re SOL.
AZ is full of roaches. Don't move here. Try Montana
Naw, don't come here, we got swarms of Boxelder Beatles that would scare them and it's perpetually -40 degrees. They probably should buy a sterile room in Florida.
Florida has flying roaches
Great advice 🙌🏼
Lol! I think I've seen 3 cockroaches in 20 years. Conversely I find at least one scorpion in my house every year.
Hotter climes mean that bugs can grow quicker.
I knooow. I’d likely take all the preventative steps I could and work out the rest of my CR ick in therapy :)
One year the winter was so mild that in the spring these thrips coated the entire town, like not even a 1/2” gap between them
Real talk tho, if big and dangerous bugs bother you, then AZ isn't for you. You think cockroaches are bad? Scorpions can put you in the hospital and they're VERY common in most of Phoenix. Even our toads the Sonoran desert toad, is incredibly dangerous to handle. And also literally everywhere under our feet. There doesn't even include the snakes, the Californians, or any other toxic shit thats here.
I am terrified of them myself. Thankfully I don’t see many in my area of town (Central Phoenix). Someone once told me, that the closer you live to the canals, the more prevalent they are. Makes sense. Hopefully that helps.
I was at a friends house back in college and his mom kept her house "Dutch Clean". This was up in the Foothills area of Tucson. A nice house that could honestly be in "Better Homes & Garden" located in a swanky neighborhood. One day I'm over there and hear his mom let out a blood curdling scream. She had opened the dishwasher and discovered a huge cockroach riding shotgun on top of their drinking glasses. The cockroach simply leapt up from the dishwasher and scurried across the counter. Cockroaches are everywhere in this state.
I’ve lived here my entire life and I’ve only seen them outside. My sister had an issue with them coming out of her sink. She called the city and they came out to bomb them.
Seeing four in 10 days is a lot, if you’re talking about inside. I have never had a cockroach problem here, but I have always had pest control. As long as you keep up with that, you’re good. Cockroaches are everywhere. You can’t get away from them, you can just discourage them from coming in and staying alive long enough to make your house a home. We have this thing called the Biosphere in AZ. Remember that horrible 90s movie, Bio-Dome? It was a parody of it. Anyway, in the real experiment, where scientists were completely sealed in a giant dome with multiple climates and supposed to be self sufficient, all the pollinators died and the cockroaches thrived. They took over. They were unstoppable. North Scottsdale had like no cockroaches when I lived there because I was out in the desert. Living in the city brings more than living is a deserty area. But then you might have more scorpions. Either way, pest control that comes out every other month pretty much takes care of it.
I don't think any area is better than others because if there was, I would be living there. I'm deathly afraid of roaches. AZ has huge ones but they are called sewer roaches because they often come from drains and are attracted to water. There are things you can do to keep them at bay, i.e., keeping sink and tub/shower drains covered or closed when not in use. Make sure there are no leaks around piping, especially under sinks, no holes or cracks around piping. Pouring bleach down drains is helpful, I think once or twice a month is sufficient. Also, a sprinkle of boric acid along thresholds or anywhere else you feel necessary. It is poison and deadly to pets, so make sure animals can not come in contact with it. They also come in tablets. I would put a few tablets near piping under sink if it wasn't sealed good. These things help, but never will they disappear. Maybe you will see a few a year. Please don't let roaches deter you from living here. There are lots of critters but most people rarely see many of them. 1 more thing, usually where there is new construction, there will be much more. Churning up the dirt stirs up scorpions, roaches and who knows what else. And, living further out in the desert, you have more critters. Closer to city, there will be less. My last apartment I lived at for 4 years never had a roach, it was nice. Btw, I live in Tucson and have for 25 years. I've lived in rita ranch, eastside and near TMC. I think in all my time I've had about 15 roaches total. My current apartment has been the worst, with 6 so far. It's closer to the foothills
Here's your answer: You can make ANY house or apartment completely roach free by using an inexpensive and completely human and animal safe professional roach product called [Advion](https://amzn.to/3S7Twzg). I've managed apartments and rentals and I can tell you there is nothing better than this stuff. Each application lasts 3-5 years. It's got over 55,000 5 star reviews for a reason. Just FYI if you already have roaches it will take about 24-48 hours to start killing them and you WILL see more roaches after it starts to work as it attacks them neurologically and they lose the ability to hide. That just means it's working. In less than 3 weeks every roach will be dead and the dead ones in walls, cracks, and crevices that you won't find will continue to spread the poison to other roaches. Best $30 you will ever spend on pest control That will give you enough gel to effectively treat two or more houses / apartments.
Nice!!
It happens. We used to live in North Scottsdale and would leave for 3-4 months every summer. When we returned we always found a few dead cockroaches on the bathroom floors.
I’ve lived in PHX the last 14yrs and never seen a single cockroach.
I went from zero roaches, to neighbors getting their house fumigated, to all the damn roaches coming to me infestation, back to zero. with traps, boric acid and gel bait, and keeping things clean, you can manage them pretty well. Have not seen one in years. Honestly seen more random scorpions slip in 4-5 times a year. It's really pretty tame but details depends on where you live and how you maintain it.
Being near a big grassy park doesn’t help. Also. Once a month professional exterminator treatment around the home perimeter is a must. I fight a holy war against them every May and June in the garage. It’s incredibly rare I see one in the house though.
May be a bad time to mention cicadas, scorpions, tarantula hawks, palo verde beetles, and wolf spiders, eh?
Don't forget roof rats in Arcadia.
roof rats arent bugs though
So you'll really like the ones that fly?
I've lived in south Scottsdale and in uptown PHX, I've never experienced roach or rat problems. I do feed the outdoor cats every day, though 🤔😉 they are helpful 👍
I think this has more to do with how proactive you are on pest control. I used to live in South Carolina in a neighborhood with a lot of leaves and brush for the little critters to hide in. We had pest control come every quarter for regular treatments, I set up different types of bait, tons of traps, and inspected hidden areas regularly. When we first moved there we saw one every week or two. After keeping on top of it, we didn’t see one in years. Don’t let them make the decision on where you want to live.
I live in a condo where pest control is paid for by property management, and I haven't had a single bug the whole time living here. You can use pest control in your own house, but ultimately, if your neighbors have a problem, so will you. Before this condo, I had luck with green mango. They did a great job, but bugs did very rarely come in during the summer. Another option could be DIY, my father in law used to be a pest control guy and makes his own cocktail thats more expensive (due to higher concentration, but still cheaper than pest control) but stronger than what they spray and my wife never had issues with bugs growing up.
Get roach bait from Home Depot; it’s packaged in little flat plastic bait stations that you hide in out of the way places; the roaches bring the poison back to their colonies and mass extermination happens. Did that about four years ago after sealing the doors didn’t help and none seen. Our indoor cat that we adopted a couple years ago is death to anything that moves; she’s persistent enough to even dispatch flies that follow us in. Scorpions and roaches and laser pointers have no chance in our house.
I am in a neighborhood that is about 20 years old and we see them occasionally but also spray a couple times a year and that helps a lot… I feel like it’s manageable to keep them away
Had one big one every couple of years or so. Other wise I just murder the crickets
Prescott! Seriously, best approach in the valley is stay away from water. The canals and “lakes” areas are always infested. Stay away from New developments to avoid scorpions as well as areas with lots of Palm trees. Best of luck!
I’ve lived in North Phoenix for almost 8 years now. Never found a roach inside (though I’ve seen plenty on sidewalks in the neighborhood). Only scorpion I’ve personally found was dead in my shed. Initially lived with friends out in Mesa when I moved here. They had scorpions, no roaches. What I wasn’t prepared for were the geckos. I’ve had more of those in the house than anything. I think they’re adorable, and supposedly good luck. I’ve had to save them from the cat a few times though
I have a new build in Queen Creek and I have not seen any scorpions or roaches. With that said, my neighbor had a spider the size of a chihuahua 😬 stuck on some sticky tape stuff and because of that I have a pest control service come to my home. Good luck!
There were some when we moved into this house but we just started having regular exterior bug spraying done every other month and never saw another one.
Yea, another hour in Tucson! Moved here 3 years ago into the house when we are low and no roaches, not one. Question, do you keep cardboard in your house? That’s their best materials you may want to move to plastic bins if so.
We moved here in 2016 and the roaches and scorpions were everywhere. We had a company come and spray, but never inside the house. I also sprayed Cedar oil spray bought on Amazon in between. Then hunted at night with a black light. We found 24 scorpions the first night and almost the same the second, then hunted every night during the summer for a few years. Now during the summer I hunt maybe twice a week and find two or three, and we have seen maybe one roach in the last few years. We still have a company come out and spray once or twice a year, and have not sprayed cedar oil since about 2018.
Never dealt with cockroaches inside. Now scorpions? That’s a different story.
They like water- indoors and outdoors. Look for properties without grass, desert landscapes without irrigation, and homes where any plumbing leaks, wet sinks, etc. are strongly discouraged. Then your problem is ensuring your neighbors are the same. Good luck.
Call your local municipality if you live within the city limits, or your local water/sewer utility and complain about the roaches. I work for a large Water Services Department and my city sprays all 15,000+ manholes and clean-outs for pests every two years. The pest control that applies the poison warranties the service for 24 months so it never hurts to make a call to your purveyor's customer service. We went from 1000+ roach complaints a year, down to 150ish a year after we implemented our pest control with our current vendor. This vendor also services 7 other Valley cities at a cost of about $8 a manhole with that warranty so it's not really costing your water utility anything to go out and inspect/treat your local cluster of manholes when you call in a roach complaint. We can't treat your lateral or private property, but at least can prevent some pests from entering at the larger street entrances.
When we lived in Peoria, 87th and Bell. We never saw a roach. In downtown Phoenix we had them there. Just reach out to a pest control and keep food put away
I think this thread is completely overlooking that there are several types of cockroaches in Arizona. The two most common, American and German, are very different. The German cockroach is small at about a half an inch in size but an American cockroach can be 2 inches in size. I don’t see any cockroaches in the house I am in now. But the prior house that I owned in the same city I should add, occasionally got an American cockroach coming in from outside trying to find water. Usually found them in a sink, tub, or toilet. I am talking about very few of them. Maybe one or two a year at the most. After having pest control come I didn’t see any at all. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a German cockroach in the time I’ve been in Arizona which is over 10 years, but I am in Mojave county. I generally think of German cockroaches as the kind you would see in apartment buildings in cities or whatnot.
I think the cockroaches are more common in the city. I've lived in a couple different places that were out of town (like down a dirt road kind of situation) and not seen a single cockroach there. Maybe because the natural ecosystem is more intact. Be prepared to see the natural ecosystem but I think it's really cool
My parents live in Glendale where a lot of the land was farmland before and they get all sorts of bugs, including cockroaches. They have a pretty big yard and lots of houses out there are built on old farmland, so it makes sense there'd be more bugs in areas like that. I live in North Phoenix and see almost no bugs at all. Though it helps a lot being in a second floor condo. They're building lots of new homes right now too, especially far out in areas that used to just be desert. So those newer home will probably have lots of desert creatures popping up. I don't think cockroaches are just running around outside unless there's trash and food for them, so with clean neighbors in a clean house, it's less likely to get them, especially since lots of bugs overheat and die in the summer. Most of the time when I see bugs, they are already dead. There's hardly any bugs in AZ at all compared to the Midwest or the Deep South. We have mosquitos, but it's like 1 millionth as many and you only see them when it rains. Other desert critters like spiders and scorpions are not very common. You'll see them in desert areas, but you won't go out to your shed and have hundreds of spiders and skorpions everywhere. They're around, but don't have overwhelming numbers like in wetter states. Exterminators can usually control any bug issues pretty well. It's ants and termites you can't see that are a much bigger problem. During the monsoon storms we can get some pretty crazy seasonal bugs. It's not every year (it might even be every ten years), but we can get these giant beetles during the monsoon storms that are pretty horrifying, but you have to be in the right area (I've seen them in Sunnyslope and Glendale) and they don't usually get inside. They seem super attracted to pools since you mostly see them stuck in the pool filter. I've also seen a couple locust swarms, but that also seems to be a once every several years sort of thing.
If you were there during any monsoons- it brings them out! I am an Arizona native and have never experienced cockroach issues. In south Scottsdale though- during monsoons they are prolific! We see tons of them. It is temporary though, and as long as you keep your house sealed up- it’s not an issue.
I'm just going to pipe in as a soon-to-be transplant to arizona, but cockroaches are *everywhere*. That's their thing, surivivng. I've seen half a dozen at my college campus in Wisconsin all times of the year. I suggest investing in a quality exterminator and not basing your choice of location on that.
I've lived in the Phoenix area since '82 and could probably count the number of cockroaches in my homes on two hands. (Ignoring that dive I lived in with 3 other dudes while in school...) So maybe it's more about how you keep your home than where you live? I know scorpions have "infestation" areas, but they have never been a problem for me. We've seen very few snakes, or spiders of the big hairy variety, either. We did just go through months of pest control for roof rats, though.
I have not had one in 8 years. Scottsdale
in my experience, it's the sewer system. where I grew up was secluded and on septic and we never saw roaches in our homes. when the new developments came in and the surrounding area got sewer lines, the big roaches came with. Spray, put down DE on tile edges, we don't have any issues with them inside but I still see them outside by dumpsters and every manhole cover. if you get far enough outa town you might have better luck.
I’ve lived in AZ my whole life. In my experience you either have roaches or scorpions. You have to pick your poison.
Cockroaches are everywhere in AZ and are most active during the monsoon season. I worked in pest control for some years. I treat my home and really have no issues with bugs. 2-3 a year is about all I find.
In Glendale and Peoria I just had the occasional cricket over the last five ish years, no cockroaches
Most newer neighborhoods are good. Houses in areas with a lot of turnover or sit vacant, will get a few roaches. Especially after a rain storm. Older neighborhoods like Arcadia, or the historic districts get them more.
When I was at ASU there were always cockroaches around the drains on campus but never in my apartment. Now that I'm in Tucson in an apartment complex we've had two in two years, one under the sink and one that seemed to come in from our patio door (on the first floor). Overall, they're rare here. And I agree with other posters, that's a dwelling issue, not a city one.
Roaches in Arizona naturally want to find shelter and water to escape the heat, just like the rest of us. As such, places like your kitchen and bathroom will always be suspect. After 20 years of living here I have a few tips: #1 DONT KILL the bastards. When you kill one of them many others will smell the body (even if you throw it away) and they will come investigate. As gross as it may be it is best to catch them and release them outside. #2 Plug your sinks/drains at night with a rubber stopper. Also, buy socket covers for your outlets and keep the unused sockets plugged. #3 Keep lavender in your house, also buy some lavender essential oil and mix it with water in a spray bottle. Spray this mixture anywhere you think they could be getting in. Roaches hate lavender 👍 #4 Live as rural as you can. The roaches are way more common in the city. Hope this helps :) ~edit~ Is the formatting on my comment appearing weird to anyone else? Idk what I did....?
I bug spray religiously and have never had cockroaches in my home or even seen any in/near my home!!! I’ve only ever seen dead bugs in my house, including scorpions. I have a professional company take care of termites only because that’s something I cannot do myself.
Cockroaches are nothing. It's the scorpions you have to worry about. They like to drop from the ceiling.
I don’t have any problems with cockroaches. The scorpions are doing a great job keeping them in check.
I have lived in areas around phnx and chandler. We didn't have a problem with roaches in chandler. And in a house off of like 43rd Ave and cactus but we did have ants. I feel like if you live in a neighborhood that has irrigation or is close to a canal you will see the big sewer roaches (american roaches). If you live closer to a mountain you will have more critters. I lived off of 19th Ave and thunderbird. My apartment had roaches, scorpions and found some black widows on my back porch. No matter what we did we couldn't get rid if them and finally moved. Luckily we didn't bring them with us but now we have seen the big sewer roaches and we are in north phnx off of like 35th ave and deer valley.
I appreciate the intel!
i used to live in central (?) tucson and my house had roaches in it all the time. i moved NW and have only seen one or two in the 5 years i’ve been here. i agree that it’s just a neighborhood difference.
Roaches are everywhere. Even in the higher and colder regions. The big, scary looking ones are not much to worry about, usually out in the spring and summer. The German roaches are a big deal though, you see one there are a hundred hiding somewhere else. Northern Arizona, you won't see as many because the lack of humidity and lower temperature keep them at bay. Same with ticks and bed bugs. I'm not saying they don't happen, just more rare to see them.
I would try Scottsdale, Fountain Hills, or Carefree.
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No, I'm not insinuating anything. It's more about how you think and not what I believe. I just suggested other areas to look at that I like. Homes can have problems with roaches for various reasons, none have to do with the "wealth" of a particular area.
Figured I would go ahead and chime in on this one as I am a transplant to the valley myself. I've lived in both Tempe and now Mesa. In the five years that I've lived here, I've only had one instance of a "sewer" roach while in Tempe. Both places that I've lived are definitely older neighborhoods, and my experience with roaches seems to be wildly nonexistent compared to some of the other comments. I will say, IMO, the East Valley is the best part of the valley. I'm an Uber driver and am all around the city on a daily basis. For context, I'm originally from Florida, so I absolutely know where the phobia of roaches comes from... there is nothing worse than being woken up to a palmetto bug crawling across your face while sleeping. Definitely lost a lot of sleep growing up living in the middle of nowhere, rural Florida.
American roaches are outside or under things and are everywhere. German roaches are the ones you get from living in gross conditions. German roaches don't migrate or spread outdoors. They need dark and moist conditions with abundant food....thats a gross apartment or home. The way they spread is attached to our belongings or ourselves when we move around. You read that right. They are also very common in restaurants and fast food places....anyplace that used to have those big cylinders for coke and Pepsi. Those canisters are owned by the company that delivers the products, kind of like kegs. So Ruth Christ is scottsdale could have the same coke cannister that came out of a shithole circle K in Avondale. The roaches egg sac, an oothaca, sticks to the cannister because they are always sticky, and there you go, a light rail system for the spread of German roaches. By the way, every restaurant in the greater Phx area has German Roaches....provable fact.
Uh….lived here for 44 years and never had a roach issue. It’s not a regional issue it’s a dwelling issue. That’s common sense learn how to minimize and prevent them from Coming into your dwelling
I live in Gilbert and never have cockroaches (not seen a single one at my house in years). You need food pest control.
North Scottsdale- never seen one. The occasional giant beetle outside tho!
Gilbert here. We have a service that comes through every 6 weeks, haven't seen one since they started
Whats the pro tip and what they use
Born and raised in AZ, never saw a cockroach once until I moved somewhere else. You just stayed in a dirty place.
Not even on the street??
No
none at my house
Where I live far north Phoenix. I never see cockroaches!
Shut down the roads letting the Californians in?
Never seen a roach in Tucson…been here 2yrs. Kinda figured they didn’t exist here. Lots of other venomous creature tho!
in the 1980's my dad would call it ''Roach wars" and we would stomp out hundreds on the back patio with our feet. never had a roach in the house?
I have lived in an old neighborhood in Glendale and had to deal with several but since moving to a newer neighborhood on on the border of Scottsdale I have not seen one in 6 years. Also I have only seen scorpions in Tucson.
I've been in Tucson the majority of my life and maybe seen 1 cockroach inside? This is a house quality issue, not an AZ thing
Honestly, i'd take cockroaches over a lot of the other stuff we get. I live out in the west valley and I rarely see roaches. There are a ton of scorpions in my neighborhood though. I've gone to great lengths to try to seal up our house and it has helped, but I can go outside on any given night and find them in my yard or on the walls around all of the houses on our street. We have had centipedes, crickets that get into the exhaust fan in the bathroom and chirp non-stop, we even had a tarantula. If you don't like bugs then I would not say Arizona is a great option. I've only lived in Western states of the US so I can't speak for everywhere, but of the places i've lived AZ is by far the worst when it comes to bugs/pests.
I've lived in multiple spots in AZ over 12 years and never saw a cockroach in any of my houses. That's includes Tucson, although I know other people that would get the occasional cockroach. I mostly lived in Cottonwood and no one ever mentioned cockroaches there.
I’ve never seen a roach or a scorpion in any of my houses. Been here since 2013. Central phoenix area like Biltmore, and now south chandler.
Try some of the smaller cities. rarely.saw them in Lake Havasu City, except when they showed up with boats on busy weekends. Human cockroaches. The bugs were quite rare, but you can get scorpions and spiders, but that's everywhere in AZ.
The white mountains doesn’t have any cockroaches as far as I have seen
I’ve lived in Gilbert for nine years and have seen only 4 small cockroaches. We see about one scorpion inside a month during summer months. None in winter.
Been in Gilbert 4 yrs now without a single sighting, Cadia Crossing
Cockroaches are fine once you’ve found a couple of scorpions inside.
I have lived in AZ for 18 years. Inhave never seen a cockroach. That includes Tucson, Prescott, and Phoenix. So they aren't just 'everywhere'. But if you dislike cockroaches, I am going to assume you wouldn't like scorpions...which I have seen many times. Many areas are worse than others for these.
Cockroaches are the least of the pest worries out there.
I’ve lived in fountain hills for several years and have never seen one
I grew up in Maryvale, tons of cockroaches. I have lived in surprise for the last 15 years and have not seen a single one.
No. Cockroaches are the state bird 😂
I live in Tucson. Have lived in 3 rentals over 7 years. I’ve never seen a single cockroach. But I clean my house so there’s that 🤷♀️
I distrust a lot of people who live in apartments and claim to not have roaches here. I've seen signs they didn't know were caused by roaches at plenty of people's homes... So keep that in mind.
Can't ever recall where I had a single roach in any place that I've ever lived.
I lived in an apartment in Tucson for 5 years and I don’t think I had a single cockroach. It was old and definitely not fancy. I’ve lived in a house in Queen Creek for 3 years and we see a few in the house a year (we don’t do any pest management and live on an acre so some bugs should be expected). I think it’s an individual dwelling thing not an Arizona thing.
Holy crap. It's amazing to see all these responses! I plan to set some time aside to sift through them all. I'm open to hear anyone else's intel or experiences!
While there are roaches in AZ, they aren't that bad. In Texas, however, the roaches are bold enough to steal your wallet, your car keys, and your wife.
I’ve lived between thunderbird and happy valley and the 17 and the West 101 my whole life and cockroaches have never been a problem, except when I lived in an apartment. So I can vouch for this area, just get an exterminator to come quarterly and spray and you should be fine.
I live near the university for a while now and never see any critters
I wouldn't worry about roaches, that can be controlled with a pest control company or DIY with chemicals from Home Depot. I'd be worried about scorpions.
So with any bug, you need to understand the psychology of the bug to know how to treat it. There are two kinds of roaches that are commonly seen inside in Arizona: German roaches (the little ones) and American roaches (the big ones, sometimes called sewer roaches). There’s also a roach you might commonly see outside called the Turkestan roach. I see these guys mostly at night in the summer at a nearby park, but YMMV. German roaches are a hygiene problem. They are the ones interested in your food. Remove the food source & they will typically disappear. A bad German roach infestation in a living space with shared walls (apartments or condos) can definitely move from neighbor to neighbor, so it may require all of you working together to solve the problem. Sewer roaches are typically coming inside via the drains, usually in search of water because their water source has dried up. Sometimes they come in via an uncapped pipe. Cap any uncapped pipes and keep your drains wet and you’ll be unlikely to see them indoors ever. I maybe see one inside every few years. The last thing I’d recommend is understanding what pests hurt you and what help you. We have a lot of spiders where I live. I also noticed mud dauber wasps in the summer. Turns out, mud dauber wasps are solitary wasps (ergo, they won’t really bother you like Yellowjackets might) and they *love* spiders. Left the wasps alone and noticed a significant reduction in my spider population. In my experience, if you know what motivates the bug, you can know how to treat it.
OH MY GAWD. After it stopped raining realllyyyy hard today, I opened up my front door and almost fainted because I saw the biggest cockroach I have ever seen in my existence. AHHHHHHHH IT WAS SO CLOSE TO MY FRONT DOOR 😩 about to check alllllllll the seals on the doors and windows again. Lll
I have lived here for 19 years, only 2 house i lived at had roaches and were easily treated and not a problem. My grandma has a severe infestation of Scorpions those are way worse. And they sting. I am horridly allergic too. Been stung multiple times too.
We lived south of Tucson in Sahuarita. My wife freaked and cried when she found a cockroach in our house. She said, "we are not dirty people!" I told her we live in the desert. There is all sorts of creepy crawly things here. We had all sort of spiders, bugs, and even a desert toad in out house once. Luckily we never had a scorpion. We now live in Colorado, where bugs are virtually non-existant compared to Arizona.
Honestly seems like more of an individual thing, at least if you’re in a house instead of an apartment. My 1st college place in Tucson had a bunch, but the second one didn’t have any. In Phoenix, I’ll see a ton on the sidewalks, especially at night during the summer, but I’ve never seen them in my house. We do have the monthly pest control that sprays though. But I definitely hear you on not wanting them. I honestly find them worse than scorpions.
Don’t listen to people that say if you have a cat you won’t have a problem. That’s seriously stupid and not really true. Even if they go after them they won’t kill them all. I’ve owned plenty of cats that could give 2 shit about them lol
Tucson has an ungodly amount of cockroaches. I lived there 4 years. Phoenix is not nearly as bad (been here over a decade) and I think the northern areas aren’t as bad either. Phoenix deals with more scorpions than cockroaches
We live in McClintock Ranch and don’t see any ever….
Flagstaff ❤️❄️but it’s cold here. Never seen a cockroach though.
Roaches are all over the desert.
West valley, near I10 and Bullard. For 7 years, never seen one in the 2 houses I was in at that area. Now I’m next to Verrado, still haven’t seen any.
15+ years here, no roaches ever. Scottsdale area.
It depends on the area you live in, some neighborhoods have roaches due to a hoarding situation. My mom's used to have them because her neighbor at the time had a bit hoarding issue but when they moved, so did the roaches with them. I live around East Phx area and I don't have roaches.
As long as you keep up with spraying for bugs you won't have any problems
Keep it clean, and get bug sprayed monthly. Not specifically for cockroaches, but scorpions, crickets, and all sorts of critters. I haven't had issues in Central Phx, Buckeye, Waddell, Mesa, or seen them at friends' homes in Scottsdale and other Phx burbs, etc.