So one of the reasons we moved to Arizona is the balance of bugs vs. heat. It is still holding up as being low insect, especially compared to Abilene, Texas, the winner of city with the biggest, weirdest insects for our trip last year. Of course, nowhere hot will be bug free. So far we have had fairly limited interactions. I think this is in part due to our apartment community doing an job on excellent bug control. If anything, the week we moved in last January, they sent some pest control woman around and she said she actually used to live in this particular community because the pest control was so excellent.
Due to the construction, ants have been the biggest problem as it disturbed their homes underground, but a few visits by the exterminator that is included in our rent sorted that out as they actually got into the apartment one day in bulk, and no one wants that.
There are cicadas here, though nothing like the amount we encountered in the South or the Southern Midwest. I still really don’t like them, but at least there are 15 or so around our immediate neighborhood rather than 5000 in one small area like we saw out east.
Unrelated Lego Saguaro Photo from the 2008 Grand Opening of Chandler Fashion because it’s nicer than an insect photo
We have had a single mosquito, but it was a pain to get rid of as it got into our aparment. Since then, we have bought a bunch of internet recommended plants that they don’t like apparently: citronella (of course), lavender and spearmint. They also apparently happen not to like basil, which we like to eat (in Italian food, not just on its own for odd fun) and therefore have a lot of anyway. We haven’t had any since, but I don’t know if that is due to us doing something useful or them being uncommon. I mean, they love sitting water and that is hardly common around here other than in the form of swimming pools.
There are, of course, bees (which is good – though hummingbirds are still, by far, my favorite pollinators) and wasps (which is shit), but they haven’t been too much of a problem. Sometimes they fall into the pool, but Chris has got good at fishing them out and some of the longer term locals are happy to take them out with their bare hands and allow them to dry out on them (bees, not wasps obviously), which is impressive, I have to say.
The most recent addition is whatever this thing was. Check out the video and see if you can tell us what this was: