Henderson climbs from the Las Vegas Valley floor toward the McCullough Range, and its subdivisions press right against open desert. Where tidy landscaping meets that wild edge, pests cross over.
Henderson had 317,610 residents in the 2020 census, a total second only to Las Vegas among Nevada cities. It lies in the Las Vegas Valley drainage basin at about 1,867 feet, at the north end of the McCullough Range, and covers roughly 107 square miles. Its beginning was industrial: in World War II, a plant here made magnesium, and the city incorporated in 1953.
Growth since then came in waves of planned communities, starting with Green Valley in the 1970s and later Anthem, Seven Hills, MacDonald Ranch, Inspirada and Lake Las Vegas. The city keeps 72 parks and a bird-viewing preserve beside a water reclamation facility. All that irrigated green space, set beside dry desert, is what draws rodents, spiders and mosquitoes toward homes.