Pest Control Tips & Advice

How to Keep Scorpions Out of Your Las Vegas Home

If you live anywhere near the desert edge in the Las Vegas Valley — Summerlin, Anthem, Mountains Edge, parts of Henderson near the wash — you've probably had a scorpion encounter. The bark scorpion is the one that keeps Southern Nevada homeowners up at night, and for good reason. It's the most venomous scorpion in North America, it climbs walls, and it loves getting inside your house.

Here's the thing most people don't realize: scorpions aren't coming inside for food. They're coming in for water and shelter. The desert dries everything out, and your home is the coolest, most humid spot around. That means your approach needs to focus on making your home a fortress, not just spraying and hoping for the best.

Seal Every Entry Point

Bark scorpions can squeeze through a gap the width of a credit card. Walk the perimeter of your home and look for gaps around pipes, under doors, where stucco meets the foundation, and around utility penetrations. Caulk every one. Weather-strip your garage door — we find more scorpions in garages than any other room.

Fix Your Landscaping

River rock and decorative gravel right against your foundation is a scorpion highway. They hide under rocks during the day and walk straight to your walls at night. Pull rock borders back at least 12-18 inches from the foundation. Trim any tree branches or bushes touching the house — scorpions are climbers and will use branches as a bridge to your roof.

Cut Off the Food Supply

Scorpions eat crickets, roaches, and other small insects. If you have a bug problem, you have a scorpion food source. Outdoor lighting attracts crickets, which attract scorpions. Switch to yellow or amber bulbs near entry doors — they attract far fewer insects.

When to Call a Pro

If you're finding scorpions inside more than once a month, or you've spotted them in bedrooms or bathrooms, it's time for professional treatment. A targeted perimeter spray combined with granular treatment around the foundation creates a barrier they can't cross. We treat hundreds of homes in Henderson and Summerlin specifically for scorpions — it's by far our most common call from April through October.

Why Ants Invade Las Vegas Kitchens Every Summer

Every May, the calls start rolling in. "I woke up and there's a line of ants going from my front door to my kitchen." It happens like clockwork in Henderson, Green Valley, Paradise, and pretty much everywhere in the valley. And it's not because your house is dirty — it's because the desert is trying to kill them, too.

When ground temperatures hit 110+ degrees on the surface, ants abandon their outdoor colonies and go looking for water and food in the nearest structure. Your home. They send scouts first, and once a scout finds a crumb or a drip under your sink, it lays a pheromone trail that says "food this way" to thousands of its friends.

What You're Probably Seeing

The most common kitchen invader in Las Vegas is the Argentine ant — small, dark brown, and they travel in long organized lines. They're not dangerous, but they're relentless. If you're seeing larger, reddish ants outside near cracks in your driveway, those are likely fire ants, and you should leave those alone and call us. Fire ant stings are no joke, especially if you have kids or pets.

What Works (and What Doesn't)

Spraying the ants you see with Raid kills the ones on the counter but does nothing to the colony. You're dealing with thousands of ants underground — the ones in your kitchen are maybe 10% of the population. The colony just reroutes and sends more.

What actually works is bait. The ants carry it back to the colony and share it — that's how you wipe out the source. But the bait needs to be the right type for the species, placed in the right spots, and you need to resist the urge to spray while the bait is working. Professional-grade bait systems outperform store-bought options significantly because we can match the bait to the species and place it strategically along their actual trail paths.

Prevention Between Treatments

• Wipe counters nightly — even small crumbs attract scouts
• Fix dripping faucets. Ants need water more than food in the desert.
• Store pet food in sealed containers, not open bags on the floor
• Seal gaps where pipes enter the wall under sinks

Rodent-Proofing Your Henderson Home Before Winter

Las Vegas doesn't get brutal winters, but it gets cold enough. When nighttime temperatures drop into the 30s and 40s in November, roof rats and house mice start looking for warmer accommodations — and your attic, garage, and kitchen are at the top of their list.

We see a huge spike in rodent calls from October through January, especially in older neighborhoods in Henderson, Green Valley, and the east side of Las Vegas where mature trees give roof rats easy highway access to rooflines. If you've got a citrus tree, palm trees, or oleanders near your house, you're even more at risk.

Roof Rats vs. House Mice

Roof rats are the bigger concern in Southern Nevada. They're excellent climbers, they nest in attics and palm trees, and they can chew through drywall, PVC pipes, and electrical wiring. You'll hear scratching in the ceiling at night. House mice are smaller and tend to stay at ground level — garages, under appliances, inside walls. Both are a health risk and can cause significant property damage.

The Fall Inspection Checklist

Before temperatures drop, walk your property and check these areas:

• Roof vents and eaves: Roof rats only need a hole the size of a quarter. Look for gnaw marks or gaps in soffit vents.
• Garage door seal: If daylight comes through the bottom, mice can get in. Replace worn weather stripping.
• AC line penetrations: The hole where your AC lines enter the house is almost always bigger than it needs to be. Stuff it with steel wool and seal with caulk.
• Tree branches: Cut back anything within 4 feet of the roofline. Roof rats jump surprisingly far.
• Fruit trees: Pick up fallen fruit daily. Citrus and dates on the ground are an open invitation.

When Traps Aren't Enough

Store-bought snap traps work for a mouse or two, but if you're hearing activity in multiple areas of the house, you're likely dealing with an established population. At that point you need a professional exclusion — we find every entry point, seal them with rodent-proof materials, and set up a strategic trapping program to clear out whoever's already inside. Poison bait has its place, but we never use it inside living spaces because of the risk to kids and pets, and because a poisoned rat that dies in your wall is a smell you won't forget.

Is Monthly Pest Control Worth It in Las Vegas?

We get this question constantly, and the honest answer is: it depends on your situation. But let us lay out the numbers and the reality of living in the Mojave so you can make an informed call.

The Problem With One-Time Treatments

A one-time pest treatment in Las Vegas typically runs $150+ depending on property size and what you're dealing with. It works — for a while. The products we use have residual effectiveness for 30-60 days depending on weather and sun exposure. After that, you're unprotected again.

In a climate like Seattle or Portland, that might be fine. Pest pressure is seasonal and moderate. In Las Vegas, pest pressure is year-round and intense. Scorpions are active April through October. Ants push inside when it's hot. Rodents push inside when it cools down. Roaches breed year-round. There's never really a break, which means a one-time treatment turns into calling us every 2-3 months when something shows up again.

What Recurring Plans Actually Cost

Here's the real math for a typical Las Vegas home:

• One-time treatments, as-needed: 3-5 calls per year at $150+ each = $450-$750/year, plus the stress of dealing with a pest problem each time
• Bi-monthly plan: $90/visit, 6x per year = $540/year with continuous protection

For most homes in Henderson and central Las Vegas, a bi-monthly plan hits the sweet spot — you stay protected year-round and it costs less than reactive one-time treatments.

What's Included

Every recurring visit includes a full perimeter spray, targeted interior treatment of entry points, de-webbing of eaves and window frames, granular treatment around the foundation, and a quick inspection for new activity or conditions that could attract pests. We also treat the garage, which most companies skip unless you ask.

Who Should Skip It

If you live in a newer condo or apartment in a well-sealed building and you've never had a pest issue, you probably don't need a recurring plan. If you're in a single-family home anywhere in the valley — especially with a yard, near desert, or with mature landscaping — recurring treatment is worth every penny. The difference between "I never see bugs" and "why are there ants again" is usually just consistent perimeter protection.