Scorpions

[308Jeff]

It's been fairly warm here in AZ as of late.

A couple of weeks ago the girlfriend and I were on the back patio enjoying the night air. Some movement in the corner of my eye caught my attention, a scorpion. We were both barefooted at the time, so I asked the GF to go inside and grab something to swat it with while I kept an eye on it.

Little "rascal" dove for cover when I approached it, so I sprayed it with the closest thing at hand, which was weed killer. I'll be damned if two didn't come scurrying out. Was able to dispatch both in short order with the flip-flop I'd been handed, but it got me to wondering just how many of those boogers were around.

Ordered a highly-rated black light from Amazon and went hunting them the next night with a torch in hand. Eleven that night. Five the next, three the one after, and one more after that.

About that time, I thought it might be interesting to see if there were any videos on Youtube of people hunting the nasty little bastages. Of course there was, but I was actually taken aback by the folks who were weeping over their loss.

It cooled off again after that so I took a bit of a hiatus. Warmer weather returned today so I thought I'd better give another look. Five, in about 10 minutes.

Some people want to claim that people only have a problem with scorpions when they have a lot of clutter around their house. I don't. But I sure as heck have a scorpion problem. I know they're not deadly to humans, and I've never been stung, but I know more than a few people who have. It's not a comfortable experience.

Trying to decide now if a pay a ridiculous amount to an exterminator (with no guarantees, they're hard to kill), or if I just keep frying them.

[trails4u]

Having lived in AZ for a number of years....my experience is, you either have them, or you don't. And that seems to be a very random thing. Had friends with a $.5M immaculate house in a fancy neighborhood....they were ate up with them. We lived in a 1,200 sq. ft. modest house, with a couple of young boys, in the middle of town....and believe me, we LIVED in it...not a messy house, but it was lived in. We never had an issue. I don't think they discriminate....and I don't think it has anything to do with clutter. They are where they are....and they aren't where they aren't.

[CraigOK]

Look up demon wp. You can get it from amazon in little packets that you toss into the sprayer and fill with water. It works great on spiders, ants, common pests as long as it isnt in a place that rain can wash it away. It's supposed to kill the mean stuff like scorpions too and its way cheaper than an.exterminator.

[Omega]

I ordered this for Asian lady beetles but it says it's for scorpions as well: http://www.epestsupply.com/product/803774/Onslaughtreg-FASTCAP-Spider-amp-Scorpion-Insecticide/#.WNx_fH5OnxA

[308Jeff]

Having lived in AZ for a number of years....my experience is, you either have them, or you don't. And that seems to be a very random thing. Had friends with a $.5M immaculate house in a fancy neighborhood....they were ate up with them. We lived in a 1,200 sq. ft. modest house, with a couple of young boys, in the middle of town....and believe me, we LIVED in it...not a messy house, but it was lived in. We never had an issue. I don't think they discriminate....and I don't think it has anything to do with clutter. They are where they are....and they aren't where they aren't.

I honestly think it has to do with whether or not your home was built on former citrus groves. I've never checked the history of where I am now, but I'm willing to bet this area once was.


Look up demon wp. You can get it from amazon in little packets that you toss into the sprayer and fill with water. It works great on spiders, ants, common pests as long as it isnt in a place that rain can wash it away. It's supposed to kill the mean stuff like scorpions too and its way cheaper than an.exterminator.

Will do. Thank you.

[CraigOK]

It does leave a white residue where you spray it, so keep that in mind if that would be a problem for your baseboards. Also you'd want to do 2 packets per gallon for the bad stuff so keep that in mind if you go to order some. Destroys brown recluse and black widows if you ever see them around the house.

[308Jeff]

It does leave a white residue where you spray it, so keep that in mind if that would be a problem for your baseboards. Also you'd want to do 2 packets per gallon for the bad stuff so keep that in mind if you go to order some. Destroys brown recluse and black widows if you ever see them around the house.

Cypermethrin looks like it might be the answer. Going to order some up and give it a whirl.
Thank you!

[Artful]

I was told by the exterminator that if you have places for them to hide your attractive but they need food - so any other critters were the actual draw - and he said his poison for 'em was a **** shoot. Also said the bigger the less painful the small ones were the mean ones. I've stung once while gardening here in AZ and I'm not sure what it was as I was grabbing hands full of grass and cutting them off when it happened but it was like 120 volt electric shock clear up my arm to my heart and too several years to get full function back in the finger that was hit. Be careful and report your progress...

[Lloyd Smale]

night vision scope on a pellet rifle!! Make it sporting!

[richhodg66]

My folks had a lot of them where they lived in Texas and did get stung now and then. Wife actually got stung while visiting once.

I actually worked as an exterminator for a little while and while we didn't have scorpions, I did learn that arachnids (which scorpions are) don't respond to the same poisons that insects do. General insecticides like diazanon don't do anything to them.

Ask around, surely if they're common there, someone knows what it takes to get rid of them.

[Ole Joe Clarke]

I have seen few scorpions in my day here in Dixie. But we have our share of Brown Recluse and Black Widow spiders. Our neighbor put a photo of a Black Widow on FB recently, and it was a big un.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

[RKJ]

I'm in Central MO, and didn't think we had Scorpions but apparently we do. When we were first married, my wife and I were spending the weekend at her folks' house, I was sound asleep when all of the sudden she starts hitting the middle of the bed and jumps up and turns on the lights. She yanked back the covers and there was a scorpion in there with us. Pretty creepy. It had stung her on the arm but she said it was like a Wasp sting and it didn't last long.

[jmort]

We got them here in Missouri - the Stripebacked scorpion and the most widely distributed
http://www.venombyte.com/venom/scorpions/venomous_scorpions_by_state.asp

[mold maker]

All pest follow their food supply. Kill or eliminate their groceries and they will leave.
There will always be the scout looking for new territory, but not an infestation.
Thank goodness we don't have scorpions here, but the brown recluse and black widow are common. Eliminating the host insects and getting rid of their habitat keeps them in check.

[arlon]

My sister had a lot of them at her place outside of San Antonio. I got her a black light flashlight and a can of was/hornet spray. I told her to be diligent and go after them at least once a week. It took a few months but once she got rid of the breeding population in the immediate area, she very seldom finds one anymore. She also searched inside and found a few there too. Diligence with a light and wasp spray will pretty much solve the problem.

[tunnug]

I've been fighting them ever since I moved into my house 15 yrs ago, my previous house was bordered by desert on two sides and never saw a scorpion in the 20 yrs I lived there.

The bad guy is a small (1" to 1 1/4" not counting the tail) straw colored one called "Bark Scorpion", from my research they are the only climbing scorpion, all others stay on the ground.

Straw scorpions are the most dangerous to small children and the elderly, depending on the sting these two groups may have to be hospitalized if stung, full grown scorpions can control their stings to be dry, some poison or a full dump, it takes a lot of energy out of the scorpion to replenish their poison so they use it as needed to escape.

Like it was said above, poisons are not likely to kill off the scorpions, the most effective way is to kill off their food, we had a lot of crickets and cockroaches which is one of their main foods, I spray for them peremephrin from my local do it yourself pest control, they also sell a "C" battery black light that looks like a Maglite (works great) I use this and some Raid to go after them in the evenings, I've gone from getting 8-10 a night to 1-2 a week, they are tough to get rid of and I'll always keep after them, especially with my small grandkids coming over now.

The previous owner used a service but they weren't much good, he did seal up the house pretty good so I've only caught a few in the house in all these years luckily no one as been stung yet.

By the way, this house is in the middle of a neighborhood and all the scorpion activity is located on one patio wall.

[Larry Gibson]

As already mentioned in a couple posts it's the food that is the draw.....eliminate the food and the scorpions don't come. I live on a small ridge up the mountainside here in Lake Havasu City. There wasn't any citrus groves up here. When we first move in there were quite a few scorpions. I got a black light and a can of scorpion spray and hunted them every night for a while, bagged quite a few. Thought about the same as Lloyd suggested, but alas it's illegal to discharge a pellet rifle in the city but WMD weapons are ok........ Then we started spraying around the house and yard with bug killer. That eliminated the food which eliminated the scorpions. We seldom see one now and if we do it is dying already.

BTW; there are a reported 70+ kinds of scorpions in Arizona....only one is poisoness.....guess which one we have in Lake Havasu........:shock:

Larry Gibson

[jmort]

Two are poisonous in Arizona, the Stripeback and the Bark.
There are mucho scorpions around Lake Havasu. Great place to live in the Fall/Winter/Spring

[popper]

Food is the draw but you got a brood. Smash or wasp spray on them. I've heard diatomaceous earth will either get in their insides or cause rupture of the exoskeleton & kill them. Chlordane works if you can get it. Mo. has them, buddy & I sat on a log at B.S. camp, he fainted from the sting. Had a few here in N. Tx, if you see one, look for the mate. Neighbor found a nest of BW spiders in his old recliner in the garage, good his toddlers didn't sit in it.

[Mohawk Daddy]

As a teenager I lived in a house built on a rocky hillside that had scorpions. I noticed that any old junk embedded in the ground like an old rotten piece of cloth seemed to be a hiding place for them. Piles of newspaper also, especially in a shed or garage where they aren't moved around often. Got hit twice, once on the inside of the forearm when I picked up a newspaper from the floor and opened it and once between the toes when crossing the room barefooted. Felt like a piece of red hot iron pressed to the flesh but no lasting damage.

[johnson1942]

my sister in law was dressing for work a while back in your state and when she put her long pants on she felt a tremendous burning in he right butt cheek. one of those critters got her. she killed it and and went to ER. this was a minor one but she felt like she had the flu for 2 day. she keeps a perfect house and you could eat off her floors and a boot camp DI would not find anything wrong with her house. when i spent 2 years in morrocco we checked our shoes every morning for those critters as they crawl in them at night. around here we just have black widows. ive been bitten twice by brown recluses and that was not a fun time. spent a week on my back with my arm in a sling. they were slow healers.

[ShooterAZ]

If you live in AZ, you always shake out your boots before putting them on. You also have to check sleeping bags and even cots before crawling into them. I have been stung a couple of times in my life, it feels like a really bad bee or even more like a wasp sting. Big red welt with swelling. There are some people who may be allergic to them too. Squished plenty of them, wife beats them senseless with a shoe.

[dragon813gt]

The more I travel and learn about other areas the more I never want to leave home. We have black widows but they're pretty rare. I have no desire to live where scorpions are common. Knowing my luck I'd be allergic to them.

[Riverpigusmc]

I live in the north Florida scrub, out in the middle of 100 acres. If you take the cover off the big smoker or genny....scorpions. BBQ grill? Lift the top..scorpions. Shed where I reload is full of them, but they keep the roaches down. These are the little ones that seem to love to light you up

[6bg6ga]

I hear they taste good deep fat fried.

[bedbugbilly]

We are right across from desert where we are south of Tucson, I've seen some of the pesky little critters but we never have the around our house as we have a guy come once a month to spray around the house and yard, block fence, etc. He advised us to keep all flower pots elevated as they like to burro in under them. I don't know the name of the spray he uses, but I believe he said it was made from the shells of certain sea critters but don't hold me to that. I do know that in lAZ you need to be certified to spray what he uses. He lays a hand sprayer width of it across the garage door opening and I do know that, once it dries, when a but of any description walks across it they are dead before they get two feet further on the floor. The best thing is that it is not harmful to pets.

We've had the house (perimeter), yard, etc. sprayed once a month since we bought out place nine years ago and we very rarely get a bug of any kind. Not so for the neighbors who consider spraying a waste of money . . and I just laugh when they find a scorpion or scorpions on their patios or even in their house - and remind them that if they would have their house sprayed, it would eliminate them. These are the same folks who won't take the time to "snake proof" their back yards and then wonder why they have a rattler curled up on their back patio. The same people who refuse to get a "termite contract" and a yearly inspection . . . and then they discovered tunnels running up the foundation in a number of places. In Arizona, in most paces, it isn't "If I get termites" . . . .it's "when I get termites". sI pay $150/year for a termite contract and this year, we discovered a small "tunnel". With a contract, they come out and treat as many times as necessary to kill them off. Without a contract, a termite treatment can cost upwards of a $1,000.00 (or more) depending upon the infestation.

[Texas by God]

I hear they taste good deep fat fried.
What doesn't?
Kidding aside our farm is next to a huge Post Oak forest so we have everything that stings. Scorpions stings are usually much worse than bee or wasp stings. Thank the Lord I'm not allergic because I can't remember how many times I've been stung.

[xs11jack]

My only experience with scorpions was in Texas, Austin to be exact. Bought an new house and the third or forth day after moving in I went to the garage to go to work. Saw something at the top of my vision and looked up. Two scorpions on the ceiling right over where I would have to stand to open the car door. Smashed them with a piece of wood. Still think of them sometimes when going out to the garage at night.
Ole Jack

[Plate plinker]

The more I travel and learn about other areas the more I never want to leave home. We have black widows but they're pretty rare. I have no desire to live where scorpions are common. Knowing my luck I'd be allergic to them.

Ditto glad we don't have to many nasty bugs. Frost is our friend.

[starmac]

Az has some bugs much worse than scorpians. They have some sort of night flying bug that is made of lead, about an ounce of it. I don't know what they are or even what they look like, but two different times they have come very close to knocking me smooth off of a motorcycle. lol

[popper]

Worse when they go under the face shield and into your eye.

[Texas by God]

Worse when they go under the face shield and into your eye.

Worse when a bumblebee goes up your cutoff jeans on a motorcycle. The memory is still vivid after 40yrs!

[Boolit_Head]

Used to get them in the house when I was in the Hill Country. One on a towel stung me after a shower. One ended up in my wifes shoe. We used to spray the house with Ficam W once a month to keep them out. I am not sure you can still get it but it was the only thing we found that worked.

[nvbirdman]

I have a pet scorpion. I keep it in a glass aquarium, and feed it crickets. It's about two inches long in the body and another two inches for the tail. I caught it in my garage two years ago, and I found out they can live twenty years.

[marlin39a]

In my 17 yrs here in Paulden, never scene a scorpion. Plenty of black widows, diamondbacks, and Mohave rattlers.

[308Jeff]

In my 17 yrs here in Paulden, never scene a scorpion. Plenty of black widows, diamondbacks, and Mohave rattlers.

Don't really care for any of those three either! :lol:

[catmandu]

I don't think twice about working in my attic, or basement. I've always wondered how they get work done living in these areas.

Paul in WNY

[walltube]

192510

[308Jeff]

And one more.
192516

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Scorpion_%28SSN-589%29

[Boaz]

Grew up in Texas , scorpions were just part of life ..not a big deal . Burns like heck when they sting but never saw anyone die from it . Haven't seen but a few the last several years .

[deep creek]

the spray i use is called bifenthren,kills everything scorpions ,spiders,ants,termites you name it.when my daughter lived in az. she had scorpions so i brought her some ,it worked. its ground zero for most critters you just have to let it dry before walking on it.

[308Jeff]

Thank you.