I hate scorpions!

[herr_oberst]

[mreid]

Desiccant in the attic.

Dries them up without poison, plus they are extra tasty when crispy!

[KevinTodd]

We get them in our mountain cabin--alot of them. They always seem to migrate to the bathrooms, I suppose in search of water.

I hate like heck stepping into the shower and seeing one by my foot. The instantaneous naked convulsing on one leg is almost as frightening as the scorpion itself.

[jwgn777]

I'm the only scorpion in my house. However these are the guys I don't want in my house. LOL ORKIN COMMERCIAL "Broken Down" ~ Carlton Wilborn - YouTube

[R K T]

When we lived in Prescott, AZ we had a big problem with them. I would go out every night with the black light and hammer routine. They still got in the house.
The ones to be very afraid of are the Bark Scorpions. They are smaller and are almost translucent or see-through. One got in our bedroom and our little dachshund bit at it and had it in her mouth when my wife yelled at her to drop it. We didn't know if it had stung her or not. Wife called the Vet and he told her to stay calm and stayed on the phone with her for about ten minutes. He then told her if the dog had been stung, it would most likely be dead by now. It only takes about seven minutes to shut down the nervous system on a small dog and there is basically nothing you can do. Same scenario would happen to a baby or small child.

One thing you can do is surround your house with a small mound of diatomaceous earth. It blocks the scorpions "innards" and kills them. Much safer than the chemicals a pest service will spray everywhere.

We no longer live in Arizona!

[tweezers74]

Originally Posted by R K T

One thing you can do is surround your house with a small mound of diatomaceous earth. It blocks the scorpions "innards" and kills them. Much safer than the chemicals a pest service will spray everywhere.

We no longer live in Arizona!

I heard it takes copious amounts of diatomaceous earth to kill one scorpion. That they would have to basically roll in it for several minutes to do anything. I guess I should research that. I also heard that it takes a "special diatomaceous earth". Not the kind that is readily available. I guess something is better than nothing. I will research where I can get some.

[GWN7]

Diatomaceous earth.....isn't that what they make kitty litter out of? Wouldn't that leed to another problem of all the cats in the neibourhood visiting your yard?

We have no scorpions up here so I have no idea what to do with them except from what I have read.

Caulk every crack and crevasse in your foundation/walls. Block any drainage holes with steel wool. Weather stripping on all doors/windows. If you have a attached garage do the same to all walls/doors inside the garage. Remove all debris from the exterior of the home (wood piles, compost piles, ect.) Cut grass regularly (the lawnmower chops them up). Remove shade plants near your walls along with any bark ground treatment.

Basically stop any point of access and remove any shade/source of water for them.

I'd put out sticky traps along the foundation and in the garage. Black light and a stick sounds like a good idea too.

[Rick Lee]

We've only had two or three in the house in three years and never had the place sprayed. The trick is to eliminate their food source, which is crickets. And we have lots and lots of crickets. Spreading DE around the outer foundation does help. It gets crickets too. DE is totally safe. You can mix it with your food. But it kills exoskeleton critters. I go out with a black light and mapp gas torch. I have gotten as many as nine in one night, but usually around 1-2. Brake cleaner really gets them, but the torch is cheaper and faster.

[R K T]

I bought DE in Prescott at Lowes or Home Depot. If you look at DE under a microscope is is jagged with very sharp edges. When it is "inhaled" by the scorpion it gets blocked and kills the pest.

Tarantulas are basically harmless and love to munch on scorpions.

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by tweezers74

Lee, you are nuts. Wanna come to my house and do a scorpion sweep? Twice a month? I will send you home with home cooked Asian meals. Does your family like Asian food?

We like ALL food! I'd be happy to do a sweep, but we should wait a bit until it's a little warmer at night.

Funny thing about scorpion hunts at my house... we have a catch and release policy. My daughter is all about nature. Once she got to be about 4 years old she didn't like the fact that we squashed the scorpions with a rubber mallet. So now we catch them by the tail with a pair of forceps and drop them off in the desert later. There's a pretty good sized vacant lot next to the post office near us where we deposit most of them. I've always wanted to go there at night with the black light. We've released quite a few scorpions there over the years.

Originally Posted by R K T

The ones to be very afraid of are the Bark Scorpions. They are smaller and are almost translucent or see-through.

Bark scorpions are just about all we see. Probably 95% . I find striped tailed scorpions occasionally. They're way more aggressive than the bark scorpions, but relatively harmless. Every few years we get a Giant Desert Hairy. They can be pretty big (5" or so).

[s_morrison57]

I've been stung a couple of times, ya it hurts but not a big deal really, the pic's that people have sent have no reference so its tough to tell the size of them but they look small compared to the size I usually see, a big one in the jungle is bigger than the palm (no fingers) of a large mans hand.
I bought one once from a local guy that was an inclusion in a piece of Copaul, Copaul is South American Amber and is about 2 million years old compared to 10 million year old Baltic Amber, I paid 40 bucks for the piece and a friend sold it at a gem show for 5K about 6 months later.
I see them all the time, they make a great sound when you step on them.
Finn

[356racing]

Best thing you can do is get a young cat inside or chickens outside. My wife hates cats, so we have scorpions instead. They love newer stucco tract homes, look at the metal flashing at the bottom of your stucco. See vents? Those are gateways for critters!

[enzo1]

My 1st house had them..... they were in the drains and septic system, they need water edit: if you see them in the sink or bathtub that mens they are in your drain system

[M.D. Holloway]

The cat idea seems the best bet...or a lizard of sorts.

[gacook]

And if you can't prevent them...make sure you "scorpion-proof" your home. Cover your shoes at night (they love to climb in them and surprise you in the morning--my sister learned this the hard way), never just step into a pair of shoes...always shake them out first. I grew up in Tucson and saw scorpions, snakes, gila monsters, tarantulas all the time...outside and in the house. Never quite understood how the snakes got in, but it was always fun when they scared the crap out of mom. Down in Sierra Vista, we get rattle snakes, but I've never seen any around my house; never seen any of the other "fun" critters, either.

[KNS]

Tweez,

Scorpians are territorial, if you have them in/around your house, nothing you can do will get rid of them. Your next door neighbor, meanwhile, may have none! The best thing you can do (which it sounds like you've done) is seal the house and hunt - kill them.

We're lucky at our house, we see maybe one in the house in a year. Our neighbor has got a problem with them, however.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by masraum

I think someone here has posted before that he goes out just after dark with a black light and a hammer.

Originally Posted by R K T

When we lived in Prescott, AZ we had a big problem with them. I would go out every night with the black light and hammer routine. They still got in the house.

OK, so I was wrong. I very specifically remember the mention of the hammer. It must have been R K T.

Originally Posted by R K T

Tarantulas are basically harmless and love to munch on scorpions.

Yeah, but they are darn ugly big spiders. Only good place for a tarantula is far away from me or in a terrarium.

My big thing is that I don't want to find one by surprise that's just wandering around.

[rnln]

wow, this can be dangerous.

Originally Posted by LeeH

Ahwatukee is a scorpion hot spot for some reason. I've gotten used to them. We averaged three/week inside the house when we first moved here. I took the fight outside and started going out every night with a black light when the weather warmed up. Years later, it's very rare that we find more than a couple inside over a summer.

This was a pic I took in 2008 or so when I went out for the first hunt of the season. There were >20!

[intakexhaust]

Scorpions go down good!
Use a very small small amount of orange juice
3/4 oz light rum and the same amount of dark rum
3/4 oz brandy
1/4 oz triple sec

Cut a half lime and squeeze into shaker with ice. Add the above, shake and strain over ice cubes. Add a slice of lime.

[gacook]

Originally Posted by masraum

Yeah, but they are darn ugly big spiders. Only good place for a tarantula is far away from me or in a terrarium.

If you think tarantulas are big ugly spiders, try dealing with camel spiders