Scorpions... (Phoenix, Mesa, Glendale: tornado, hoa, gated)

[Steve-o]

Dont be scared, just check your bed before you hop in it. ;-) Scorpions are actually beneficial to have around, they eat disease-spreading cockroaches (another problem bug in PHX). Dont be quick to kill them, put them in a glass jar (they cant climb glass) and take them outside. The AZ bark scorpion is a excellent climber (theyre arboreal) and can be found ALL over the house, even on ceilings. If you find one, that usually means there are more of them. Dont be afraid of them, theyre not out to get you. Its important to remember that. In fact, if you catch one, spend some time observing it, youd be amazed that, even though theyre almost blind, their highly sensitive setae (hairs if you will) let them know the size and location of their prey. Scorpions are really neat critters, I keep many as pets and in fact, just a few years ago, I was petrified of them. So much so that I almost cancelled my trip to AZ because my FIL found a 4" H. arizonensis on his back patio! LOL No joke! I jsut took a little time to study them and became a bonafide scorpion/arachnid nut. I now spend several weeks a year out in the desert (and in Missouri too) studying them in the wild. If you have any questions let me know, Im here to dispel any myths surrounding them.

[ms973]

So what about those chickens? (I cant help but laugh when i write that!!)

[brittZ]

Originally Posted by ms973

Steve-O you officially scared the s*** out of me!!
How do people sleep peacefully after they find a scorpion in their house???

They step on it.

[Steve-o]

Chickens arent a bad idea. Actually, in Mexico, they advocate the keeping of chickens to help control the scorpion population.

[ms973]

Well I guess I'll have to start a trend by keeping chickens in our yard! Then i'd have to worry about our dogs. Oh boy!

[sablebaby]

Originally Posted by ms973

Steve-O you officially scared the s*** out of me!!
How do people sleep peacefully after they find a scorpion in their house???

That is his unofficial job around here. The rest of us are here to calm you down and tell you it's not that bad.

I have seen a total of 3 scorpion's since I've lived here (my whole life!)

[brittZ]

In all seriousness if you move into an area that has been developed for many years you will most likely never see one. If you move to an area that is newly developed or is in a more rural environment, you might come across some. I would have to agree with Steve-o that you just put a glass jar down over them and take the off someplace where they are more welcome. They aren't especially fast and in some ways resmeble a tiny little tank just hanging around.

If the scorpions aren't enough, try the Solifugae, they are incredibly fast and always seem to be very very short tempered. They are not venemous and are very small but if you happen upon one and mess with it, it will be painful. But you are not likely to encounter one of them or any of the other interesting wildlife we have in the desert. There is always creepy crawly stuff in the desert, animals don't have the advantages of forests or abundance of water and shelter so they evolve to survive in a harsher environment

[ms973]

Originally Posted by sablebaby

That is his unofficial job around here. The rest of us are here to calm you down and tell you it's not that bad.

I have seen a total of 3 scorpion's since I've lived here (my whole life!)

I feel a bit better. I'd hate to think that our future plans are crushed by scorpions. My son (almost 2 yrs old) is my main concern.

[MaimounaKande]

We had many scorpions in our house. We're not from AZ, and it scared me for sure. But, people from AZ told us some of the "tricks." Like...

if you have a child in a crib, put the legs of the crib into glass jars on the floor. The scorpions can't climb the glass jars.

Make sure your sheets, comforter, etc. does not touch the floor--that's a "pathway" for the scorpions at night. Keep everything up on the bed.

If you have a choice, don't put the kids' room in the bedroom next to the door which goes out to the garage (they often come in through the garage).

Wear your slippers at night. Even our 2 yo caught onto this fast.

I don't know--I guess there are areas which have more than others, but our house definitely had them. Also, we had an exterminator, which has good and bad about it. The good is that it kills the scorpions. The bad is that sometimes the scorpions walk around 1/2 dead for a while before dying. Since they are "out of it" we'd see them during the day, not just the night, for a couple of days after spraying. Then they'd go back to only being seen at night.

All that said, we have never been stung by a scorpion. Personally, I'm much more afraid of snakes (and not just in AZ--pretty much anywhere!).

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by sablebaby

That is his unofficial job around here. The rest of us are here to calm you down and tell you it's not that bad.

I have seen a total of 3 scorpion's since I've lived here (my whole life!)

ms973, please disregard this poster. His/her unofficial job is to downplay a potentially serious threat. He/she has seen 3 scorpions, how many HASNT she seen? And of those 3, one of them (or all) could have been a bark scorpion, which could have ended his/her life had he/she had a bad reaction to the neurotoxic venom, it happens. To say it doesnt is an extremely foolish statement. You know all the stories about "it could never happen to me", right? Funny how it happens to 10s of 1000s of Phoenicians every year. Your odds of getting stung are high, more so for a child.

If you believe Im here to scare you, then Im sorry, thats not the case. Otherwise I wouldnt recommend you spend time studying them. 99.9% of the posters on here have absolutely no idea what theyre talking about when it comes to this type of thing. Just wait until they experience their first sting by a bark, or a bite by a widow, or a rattler bite and theyll be singing a different tune, GUARANTEED.

Now listen to me and listen carefully: do scorpions overrun homes and infest everything they see? No. Do they come after you? No. Do they inhabit homes? Most certainly. Do they hide in beds/clothes/shoes/etc? Absolutely. Some folks get LUCKY to not see scorpions on a weekly basis. Others have packed up and moved (ask my cousin in Mesa) because the problem gets downright annoying. If you have a 2 year old, you most certainly need to be aware of the potential for a fatal encounter with a black widow (Latrodectus hesperus) or a bark scorpion (Centruroides exilicauda). They can most certainly kill your child, no question about it. At that age, small children are especially at risk to dying from anaphlyactic shock due to the effects of the black widow/bark scorpion neurotoxic venom. Its not a joke, and people who say scorpions arent a problem are not 100% correct. Its true that theyre not everywhere, but theyre definitely there, and its VERY possible that one time a scorpion can be in the sheets in the babies' bed. Its happened LOTS of times before. In fact, some recommend that if you have a baby that you put the legs of the crib in glass jars so the scorpions cant climb into the crib. Also, keep the bed away from walls, as bark scorpions are extremely good climbers (the only one in AZ that climbs as a matter of fact). If you do end up moving, be sure to have AZ's poison control center phone # handy, it could save a life.

Last time I was in AZ I picked up this paper, looking for real estate, and guess what? A 3 year old was about 5 minutes from death, had the parents not known the severity of a bark scorpion sting and reacted quickly. Please dont take the issue lightly, and Im NOT here to scare you, just inform you to not take scorpions lightly. Dont forget, youre in THEIR home, and sooner or later youll have encounters, good or bad, youll have encounters. Snakes? Well get into snakes some other time...