The Bug Guy
Halloween in the Valley: Where Scorpions Don’t Need a Costume Let’s be honest, West Valley: we didn’t need Halloween to have things skittering around that make people scream. We’ve had that covered since roughly March. While the rest of the country is out here decorating with plastic spiders, we’re just... looking down before we put our shoes on. Nothing says “spooky season” quite like shaking out a boot and hoping today isn’t the day a bark scorpion decides to make a statement. Our neighbors to the north hang fake cobwebs from their porches for atmosphere. Ours are load-bearing. And don’t even get me started on the pack rats. Every October, some poor soul in Arcadia hangs up a cute little skeleton decoration, only to discover a week later that something has been using it as a chew toy. Nothing ruins the illusion of a haunted house quite like realizing the “ghost” in your attic pays rent in droppings and has excellent taste in insulation. Trick-or-treaters here have developed a sixth sense the rest of the country doesn’t need: the pre-doorbell scorpion scan. Every porch light gets the flashlight- under-blacklight treatment before a single candy bag gets extended. Parents aren’t just checking candy wrappers anymore, they’re checking corners. Then there’s the pest control trucks, doing their best business of the year right alongside the costume shops.
Nothing says “October in the Valley” like a technician in a full Halloween-adjacent hazmat getup, treating a baseboard while a giant inflatable Frankenstein wobbles ominously in the yard next door. Sometimes it’s hard to tell which visitor is scarier: the trick-or- treater in the werewolf mask, or the actual javelina rustling through the cactus out back looking for candy of its own. So this year, when you’re setting up your fake tombstones and cotton-web spiders, maybe give a little nod to the real MVPs of Phoenix Halloween: the pest control folks quietly making sure the only things haunting your house are the decorations you put there on purpose. Stay spooky, Keep your shoes shaken and
your door screens intact. Submitted by Larry Cash, of Estrella Mountain Pest Control.
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Estrella Publishing - The Park magazine
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