Pest Control in the Upper Valley, El Paso

The Upper Valley is the green strip of El Paso, the part that looks like somebody forgot to tell it we live in a desert. Big lots, pecan trees, horse properties and actual lawns line the roads between Doniphan Dr. and the Rio Grande, and Country Club Rd. and Borderland Rd. wind through it. Irrigation canals run behind a lot of back fences, and some yards still get flood watered.

All that water is great for shade trees. It's also great for termites, mosquitoes, crickets and rodents. The ground here is river bottom, not rock, so scorpions are mostly an edge problem for the lots closest to the foothills. In the middle of the valley, the calls are about other things.

Irrigation day and what it does to the soil

When the water comes down the ditch and soaks a yard, the ground stays damp for days. Subterranean termites move up closer to the surface, mosquitoes breed in the low spots that don't drain, and crickets crowd the canal banks. Termites lead the call list here for that reason. A termite inspection on an irrigated lot should cover the slab edge, wood fences and old porches, and you can help by watching the slab for mud tubes and keeping wood planters off the walls.

Mosquitoes come next, peaking with the monsoon but starting earlier than in town because the ditches refill on schedule. If evenings on the patio have turned into a fight, ask about mosquito treatment for big shady yards. Walk the low spots after each irrigation and tip out anything holding water. Horse troughs, the kids' wading pool and the tarp over the trailer all count. Crickets crowding the canal banks bring scorpions to the lots closest to the foothills, so if you're up on that edge, a scorpion treatment may belong on the list too.

Pecans, feed bins and barn mice

Fallen pecans, feed bins, hay storage and old barns are a buffet for mice and rats, and the branches hanging over the roof give them a path straight into the attic. Pick up nuts often, keep feed in metal bins with tight lids, and trim branches back from the roofline. When they get in anyway, rodent control around barns and sheds pairs traps or locked stations with sealing the gaps.

Mixed in with the newer custom homes are older ranch places and adobes with wood porches, beam ends and outbuildings. Wood touching damp soil draws termites, and sheds and tack rooms give mice and black widows plenty of quiet corners. Ask the tech to walk the outbuildings, not just the house. A problem in the barn tends to become a problem in the kitchen by November.

Up the road, Canutillo shares the same river bottom and orchards. Up the hill to the east, West El Paso trades the canals for rock yards and a much bigger scorpion problem.

Around Upper Valley: Doniphan Dr. · Country Club Rd. · Keystone Heritage Park · Borderland Rd. · Rio Grande river bottom · Irrigation canals and pecan orchards (ZIP 79922, 79932)

Also serving West El Paso, Northeast El Paso, East El Paso, Lower Valley, Horizon City, Socorro, San Elizario, Canutillo, Sunland Park, NM.