How to Keep Scorpions Away from Your Home
Excerpt from Valley 101: A Slightly Skewed Guide to Living in Arizona, a collection of Clay Thompson’s columns for The Arizona Republic. (Originally published July 18, 1999.)
Q: Help! My house is overrun with scorpions, and I hate them.
A: How ungracious of you. First of all, the scorpions were here first, and secondly, they absolutely adore you.
And what do they get from you? The back of your Reebok.
And, in a way, it’s your fault there are so many of them in the first place. Well, not your fault personally, but our fault collectively.
There are about 35 species of scorpions in Arizona, but only five or six in the Phoenix area, including our personal favorite, the giant hairy scorpion.
All are venomous. That’s their stock-in-trade. But according to Marilyn Bloom, a microbiology research specialist at Arizona State University, there is only one species that really needs concern us: the bark scorpion.
This is a nasty little critter, skinny and yellowish in color, and it’s sting can cause intense pain, numbness and, at least in theory, death. Bloom said there are no accounts of anyone dying of a scorpion sting in the 40 years that records have been kept.
Bloom has an interesting job. With the help of three goats, she produces scorpion antivenin for distribution to area hospitals, doctors and veterinarians. During the summer, she gets a dozen or so requests for antivenin a week.
Here’s how to tell if your scorpions are bark scorpions: Only bark scorpions climb vertical surfaces. If your scorpions confine themselves to scurrying along the floor, you’re probably OK. If you’re finding them on the walls or in your drapes or climbing up the side of your house (or your leg), you’ve got a problem.
There are scorpions all over the Valley, but many of us have gone for years without ever seeing one, much less getting stung. Some people believe they are more common in areas where new housing is encroaching on the scorpions’ natural desert habitat. That’s only partly true, according to Bert Putterman, general manager of Arizona Exterminating Co.
Weather stripping and caulking and can prevent scorpions from entering your home. iStock
On a hunk of untouched desert, the scorpion count may be relatively low, Putterman said, “but when a development comes in, suddenly there might be thousands to an acre.” That’s because when houses and humans show up, “it’s just like a Furr’s Cafeteria moved in” to scorpions, he said.
“Scorpions are extremely environmentally compatible with us,” Putterman said. That’s because humans come bearing gifts, mostly scorpion food and shelter.
Our security lights and streetlights attract bugs, which, in turn, attract scorpions. Our rock gardens and woodpiles and laundry rooms and well-watered lawns provide shelter and water. We’re the best thing that ever happened to scorpions.
So, as the urban area grows, so does the scorpion population.
“Twenty years ago, when I first moved here, we’d get three or four calls a summer for scorpions, and we’d go out on them just as a novelty,” Putterman said. “Ten years ago, we could identify specific areas of infestation
(around the Valley.) Today, 75 percent of the calls we get are for scorpions.”
If you do have scorpions in your house, it’s probably not by their choice. Scorpions are most comfortable in conditions 75 to 95 degrees, Putterman said, and chances are the coolness of your house makes them sluggish. They’d just as soon be outside, perhaps under that nice cool damp towel your kids left on the lawn after they played in the sprinkler.
Because scorpions are nocturnal and most exterminators are not, spraying them probably isn’t going to have much effect. Short of a direct hit, most pesticides don’t really bother scorpions much. On the other hand, spraying will kill their food source, bugs.
But killing the bugs might not make that much difference. Bloom says a healthy scorpion can go nine to 12 months without eating. That means a bark scorpion would be perfectly content to curl up in the toe of a seldom-worn shoe for months on end.
Putterman and Bloom offered a number of tips for keeping scorpions away:
- Switch your outdoor lights from white bulbs to yellow. Yellow light doesn’t attract bugs the way white light does.
- Check your weather-stripping. If you can slide a business card under your weather-stripping, there’s enough room for a scorpion to wiggle through.
- Caulk or otherwise plug the spaces where electrical, phone or waterlines enter your house. Ditto in the kitchen and bathrooms where pipes come out of the wall.
- Clear away, or at least frequently move, woodpiles or any other stuff you might have stacked up near your house.
- Don’t leave wet towels on the ground around a pool or spa. Conversely, if you want to catch scorpions, leave a damp towel on your kitchen floor overnight. In the morning, pick it up, with tongs or with gloves on, and see what came calling.
- The redwood bark some folks use as mulch looks nice on flowerbeds, but it’s a scorpion magnet. If you’re digging around it, wear gloves and keep your eyes open.
Excerpt from Valley 101: A Slightly Skewed Guide to Living in Arizona, a collection of Clay Thompson’s columns for The Arizona Republic. (Originally published July 18, 1999.)
Eliminating crickets in and around your home seems to help. Scorpions love having crickets for supper. And I don’t mean as guests.
I use a machete on scorpions. First cut off the tail, then the head. Then with tongs the various parts go into the garbage disposal with lot if running water. Been bitten once, so grab my machete at the first sign of trouble.
Now that’s one way to get rid of a scorpion!
[…] up at the base and covering the trunk.Without that shading, they need the protection of paint.How to Keep Scorpions Away from Your Home – There are about 35 species of scorpions in Arizona, but only five or six in the Phoenix area, […]
Sheila, you have my deepest sympathy. I cannot imagine having to live with so many of the little buggers. It must be scary, indeed.
The big problem with scorpions is that powders and residual paints or sprays don’t work very well on them. They have very small feet and carry their bodies high, so they can go through powder or residual sprays pretty safely.
If this has not already been done, I would try to find a pest control company that will come out at night and use black light. Scorpions fluoresce under black light so, even if they are hiding in crevices, they can be seen more easily. They are also nocturnal (active at night), so they should be more easily sprayed directly, then.
I don’t know if I’m allowed to mention a business name here – I normally wouldn’t, but this seems like a desperate situation – but I was told by someone from Captain’s Pest Control that there is a fairly recent insecticide compound that they use in battling scorpions. If I understood his explanation correctly, it is comprised of a sticky “carrier” and tiny microbeads. The microbeads contain poison. The substance is painted or sprayed in strategic places. When a scorpion walks through it, some of it sticks to its feet. When it tries to clean the substance off of its feet, it ingests some of the microbeads and is killed by the poison. I don’t have anything to do with that company, but I do know that they have been successful in dealing with a scorpion infestation in a large commercial job. It would be worth contacting them, or at least calling around to find out who else may be using that method of control. Best of luck!
Another bug point-of-entry indoors — the exhaust fan openings for bathroom, kitchen and laundry rooms. Block them by cutting screen door material to fit the fan opening, remove the fan cover, then glue the fitted screen to the bottom of the ceiling around the edges of the opening, and reinstall the fan cover.
I took your advice and did this. As well as putting cedar mulch in our flower beds. And putting window sealant around all the windows. I also noticed that everywhere there is a plumbing entry into my home, the builder left huge gaps open to the interstitial wall cavity. I have now plugged all of them with plumbers putty. We have not seen a scorpian in about 5 months now. THIS IS A RECORD!!!!! This is working, and I am now sleeping with the lights off!!!!!
Good work, Sheila! Keepin’ ’em outside is half the battle. Good riddance!
We spray every month and plug up every little gap we can find and yet we have seen two scorpions in the house this spring, however by this time we usually see 4 or 5 so things do seem to be better. I would suggest if your having problems placing sticky boxes in area’s you may be finding an un-welcome visitor and also scorpion powder next to your doors, provided you don’t have pets. Apart from that just be careful by wearing something on your feet when walking around the house and knocking your shoes out before putting them on just in case. My wife has stepped on and been stung by bark scorpions twice over the last 7 years. It’s not fun so I’d say the most important thing is to knock out your shoes and look before reaching into blind spaces just in case.
I have a scorpion infestation, and I am ready to sell my house and move on. Over the last 5 years, I have killed approximately 40-50 scorpions inside my home. I have had the exterminator out many times, but it doesn’t seem to help much. Sticky traps have been my best defense so far. I am thinking about plugging up all the weep holes in the brick exterior, and covering the vents on the soffits with a window screen, and maybe putting sticky traps in the attic where the vents are. Does anyone have any other ideas? I have already surrounded my bed with sticky traps so they can’t get us at night.
I’m at the point where I can’t sleep with the lights off any more.
try dryer sheet around your mattress use about 10 or 12 on the edges
Does it matter what kind or scent of dryer sheets?
Get the kind that smell like dead scorpions, and then the live scorpions will fear you.
DONT USE THE KIND THAT SMELL LIKE DEAD SCORPIONS, ive killed prolly a dozen or but they creep me out so I just left most the bodies where they were (outside). I had a friend who like them so they gathered all them up and had them on a paper plate on the patio, left it outside maybe 4hrs n boom two scorpions walking on my patio when I havent seen one in months checking bi-weekly. Scorpions are attracted to other scorpions pheromones, and the scent can linger for years. DESTROY YOUR DEAD SCORPIONS
I live here in San Antonio Texas relocated from Massachusetts due to be closer to my Family! We have had a few scorpions I. The house the past month! 2 dead and one I. My master bath very small! Last summer I was determined NOT to EVER see one I. The house or I was going to move back North East lol we screened all weep homes got all hardwood floors with water padding and black protection underneath and after all that the moldings so I sealed all molding even tho it was cement floors I went under the sinks sealed them all up got all new doors! Except. Garage door does have some seal issues on which I need to replace found a few dead ones in the garage and sticky traps on the corner and have found a few dead and stuck! Our house if cement and brick and high off the ground I after finding that alive one last week in the bathroom that has no windows or doors near it it freaked me out as how it got their! So I went around screening up the ac and vents! They say they don’t come from them!! Crap it’s a hole in the ceilings and that it to HOT about 140 and too hot for scorpions! I also have been sleeping with the lights on by sick of not sleeping well! We do live on a green belt and love our house because of The privacy but hell I need these critters to go away for I will have to leave the state
Scorpions will always find a way in, it seems! Hope you are able to get them under control!
hello, I know this is an old post but I have the same problem here in my home that i Just bought!! I have a 1 year old and I been here for 1 month and 2 weeks and Ive seen 5 of them 2 outside and 3 inside am absolutly terrified! i purchased something that its called d fense sc .. hopefully it works. But were you able to get rid of them????? a
Get a good pest control company, start sealing up any cracks in the house around plumbing under sinks, walls, electrical outlets, weather stripping around doors and windows, block walls, vents on roof, etc. Sprinkle borax laundry detergent around your home, buy a black light and go hunting every evening until the numbers drop.. It took us 1 year, however we went from finding 7-8 every night to maybe 1-2 every so often, very rare. We also got rid of queen palms where we think they were nesting on the property.
I would move in a heart beat…I don’t mind a few now and then but the amount you have OMGosh,
I don’t see how you do it…. God Bless
Each of our beds and end table feet (don’t laugh, it works!) sit inside glass. Scorpions can’t climb up glass or glossy plastic. We’ve never had one in any of our beds. We also have sticky traps around the cabin (northern Georgia were we get lots, though smaller in size)…most are killed using this method. We also hire someone to come in every month, not quarterly, and the hubster sprays as well. We keep everything as clean as we can and have only seen these buggers on the floor. Mostly dead in the sticky traps, but a few have been alive, though slow movers. These I squash with my shoe. We have indoor shoes and wear them at all times. Because of all of these methods of control, we’ve never had one scorpion get up to the master suite. YAY!! It’s the one area of our home we are free to walk barefoot. What a relief! If I’d have known these suckers were here we’d never have purchased the place. We’ve had four killed thus far this spring/summer….and I’m always on alert. Visitors are told to bring slippers and to keep them on the end table shelving versus the floor. Thus far no stings. They are manageable, but what a pest!! We also use diatomaceous earth powder around the perimeter of the cabin. Have to spread it again after rain, but it seems to really help.
We use Tempo SC Ultra insecticide. It’s works for keeping them away for about 3 months outside. We also use it inside around doors and under the sinks and around the perimeter inside our home. I know it’s not supposed to be used inside but I will take my chances on doing it 2 times a year. I don’t have pets or children to worry about. It was used by a local pest control for termites on our home. I use this around my entry doors more frequently. We have lived here for 3 years and have seen a lot of them inside and out. Our neighbors don’t have any across the street or next door. I was told our house was built on a lot of rock so this might be the reason for our infestation of scorpions. I like reading all the comments form everybody on here and will have to try the Diatomaceous Earth Powder.
Don’t use diatamcious earth . the bug and weed store told me that stuff is dangerous to humans and pets. Although it doesn’t say it is. Its like getting powdered glass in your body if you breath it and he said over time it will cut up your insides.
Diatomaceous Earth is made from sea shells. It is absolutely not harmful to humans or animals only exoskeleton bugs.
There is a powder called Diatomaceous Earth it is a fine powder put it down in a line around your house that works well.
Cy-Kick spray on amazon, I use it with a Hudson sprayer, I’ve got you best…I’ve killed about 500 in and around my house in the last 4 years….I haven’t had any in my house in 2 years ????
This stuff absolutely works!
give it a little time and you will not be disappointed.
Same here with the Cy-Kick, I mixed to directions in one gallon sprayer and spray twice a year and the scorpions have marched of to other grounds.
Right-on!
I wouldn’t move out of your house just because of those little guys. It can be concerning if you have children, or curious pets (like I do), but even in that case, scorpions are virtually harmless. As long as you’ve got your vaccines and arent allergic you’ll be fine (and, that’s just being cautious). The worst you’ll get is a really painful sting from a bark scorpion, but they’re easy to identify if you do your research (unless your bare foot sees it before you do). Most scorpions in Arizona (where I’m assuming you live too) won’t give you more than a pinprick.
I know the last person you want to hear advice from is someone who loves, scorpions, but I would say identify wherever they could be getting in and plug it up (that one is your best bet). Don’t leave your outdoor lights on at night. Wear flip flops or something around the house during the night as well. And, learn to admire them. They’re here to stay and they’re not trying to bother you.
Monthly, I spray the interior of the garage, the entire edges of the patio and the whole exterior of the house at the footing/base level. A few years ago a gentleman told me about a DYI spray that worked for him. I ordered from DYO (Do your own) or DYI a gallon dispenser w/hose nozzle and a plastic bottle ($40) of TEMPO SC Insecticide and began the above process. Staggering results and the scorpions disappear.
[…] How to Keep Scorpions Away from Your Home – There are about 35 species of scorpions in Arizona, but only five or six in the Phoenix area, including our personal favorite, the giant hairy scorpion. […]
For many years, we have put a line of “diatomaceous earth” around the parameter of our house.
It is most commonly known as the white powder used in pool filtration systems… (Not sand)
“D.E.” is known to cut the under surface of the scorpions…Also, it sticks to them and they end up carrying it back to their nest where it spreads to others..
Seems to be one of the best defenses.
You have found DE to be effective? I just covered our back wall with DE and have a perimeter around the outside of our house. Here’s hoping?
DE has worked very well for you?
When buying DE only buy the food grade. The pool kind is not effective from what I’ve heard. Also, the food grade kind is inedible do it’s safe for small kids and pets.
I tested DE for fun. Simply put a scorpion in a plastic jar with DE then it dried out (meaning killed) the scorpion within 5 days. according to my two tests. In addition, test with “food grade DE” worked better, 3-4 days to kill the scorpion vs. 5 days with non-food grade DE.
It also works for ants. I sprinkled DE around the house and the ants lined up on my counter top were gone. If DE is wet, it won’t work any more. Hope DE works for you!!
Not sure if anyone is still having trouble with scorpions (but I’m sure you are since they’re tough to get rid of completely :P) but ABC15 is advertising a story that airs on Monday, May 6 about scorpions, hunting them with blacklights and things that do/don’t work to get rid of them: http://bit.ly/168HmuN
If you’ve found a scorpion in your home or your backyard, calling Scorpion Hunters with ABC15 might be a good idea. They’ll tell you how to kill it and how to prevent them from getting in your home. There’s a story that’ll be airing on Monday at 10 p.m. in case anybody’s interested! With the weather warming up and more scorpions coming out the play I highly recommend it: http://bit.ly/10d4QGK
We just moved into a new ranch home about two weeks ago and already have had four scorpions in the house, as well as one black widow. All of the scorpions were bark scorpions, I believe. Assuming that number becomes the average then we are looking at encountering about 100 scorpions a year in the house. Considering that we have small children I’m taking this very seriously. On top of sealing all the nooks and crannies, I’m wanting to put some sort of perimeter around the house, but I’m concerned about what’s child and pet friendly. I mean ACTUALLY safe, not just “advertised.’ Does anyone have any experience with this? I saw the comment about diatomaceous earth, and I’ll be researching that as an option.
Dave, I haven’t had much success in blocking scorpions from the outside. We’ve had much better success in sealing off the entry points from the INSIDE. We caulked baseboards, and sealed every location where water pipes enter the house, the we removed all the A/C vents from the ceiling, and caulked around the metal vents so that there was no space between the sheetrock and the duct itself. Then we bought window screening material, and cut it into small pieces and put in inside the bathroom vent fans so that its not just open to the attic. We also bought strips of foam sealant and put them around the gaps surrounding all windows (from the inside). It has been a LOT of work. But we have not seen a scorpion in the house so far this year. When our house was being constructed, we put a line of diatomaceous earth in the interstitial wall space, completely around the entire house. Apparently it was no help. Previous to this year, we had about 50 scorpions in the house, beginning about 1 month after move-in.
Well… It happened. after 6 months of no scorpions, I just found one in the living room. It’s almost midnight… Lucky I was up and found him. I’m looking at him right now… Have decided to experiment with him rather than just the usual shoe-smash. First I ran him up into a glass jar to see if its true that they can’t climb smooth glass. Good news -they can’t!!! Next experiment: I put three strips of two-sided tape on a paper plate, and dumped the scorpion onto the plate near the tape. I think you see where I’m going with this. Unfortunately, he seems to be able to maneuver across the two-sided tape, although it has slowed him down considerably. I think with a better grade of tape, something thicker and stronger, he might get stuck on it. This would be better than typical sticky traps, because the areas of use wouldn’t be limited by the boxy size. I can envision wrapping this around the feet of the beds, as well as around entry points that can’t be completely sealed off (like doors). I’m also wondering about the possibility of sprinkling diatomaceous earth onto the two-sided tape so that he gets cut by the diatoms, but they remain lodged in place on the tape. I wish I could post a picture of this… He seems to be tiring from trying to finish getting across all three strips of tape. Tomorrows list of projects definitely includes searching for industrial strength two-sided tape..
After a few hours of resting, the scorpion easily walked across all three strips do scotch two-sided tape.
That’s supposed to sat “the scorpion easily walked across all three strips of scotch two-sided tape.”
Dang these tiny iPad keys……
We don’t open our sticky traps. I place them between baseboard and fridge and just leave it open. Do the same under cabinets and furniture on legs…I check them weekly and remove once I have caught one. Last week I had two (mommy and little one I’m guessing). I LOVE my sticky traps!!! They catch about 90% of the ones who get into our cabin.
Diatomaceous Earth is water soluble. Meaning that if it gets wet it dissolves. Its not EARTH (like dirt) its ground shells that cut into exoskeleton bugs.
My neighbor has had a bunch of them & used the diatomaceous earth. He said it really helped. There are many types though….Just make sure you use the FOOD GRADE DE. You can get it at local feed stores.
Sorry, meant to add that the food grade DE is safe to use around kids & pets (other types are NOT). My neighbor sprinkled it all around, it looked like a mini snowstorm, but it apparently worked.
Ortho home defense. Inside and outside. We have small and large dogs, hasn’t bothered them….
I moved to a house that backs up against the desert preserve. The previous owner said they had bark scorpions, so it has been my mission to defend my house. These are my actions, and so far I now only find 1 or 2 scorpions per week outside – no more inside.
1) buy a blacklight flashlight and the regular can of RAID. No other bug spray is as effective as RAID on scorpions (trust me – I’ve tried them all). Just a 1 second spray will kill em. GO out each night 10-11:30 pm. Look along the bottom of your house and along the block wall fencing.
2) Go buy the cheapest acrylic/silicone caulk and fill the cracks at bottom of house where foundation meets the stucco. Fill all the cracks in your block wall since scorpions live in the block wall during the day. Fill all cracks around water pipes, AC pipes, electrical wires enter the house.
3) use caulk to fill cracks on inside of house – like where water pipes enter below the cabinets.
4) use caulk to fill crack at bottom of baseboards.
**note- you can always paint the caulk to match**
5) buy new weatherstripping/door wipers to reduce the size of cracks around doors.
6) sprinkle diatomaceous earth along base of block wall and along base of house.
I have heard of putting your bed posts in glass bowls since scorpions cant climb glass, but this is only temporary and you should follow the steps I’ve listed above.
The final tip, which I haven’t had to do is to get a chicken. They eat scorpions and all other bugs. Of course now you have a chicken to deal with.
Trevor, thanks for the excellent suggestion of the chicken to get rid of scorpions. I am searching for ideas since a scorpion bit 2 tiny kittens i have been caring for. It is very alarming when something tragic likes this happens. I care for many animals, so the most eco-friendly is my choice. I already use Dearth, but they have gotten past that barrier and made it to the 2nd floor of my home, so we know they scale walls.
When I was in Texas I found a dead one on top of a door. I guess it was crushed when the door was closed. We used a home defense spray around the outside of the house; all doors and windows, as well as the inside. Don’t store things in card board boxes. I’ve found them between the folded flaps on the bottom of the boxes. I was stung by one that was climbing up the inside of my pant leg. They are one of the reasons I’m now living in Tacoma WA. I never tried DE or sticky traps, but hearing the success stories, I will when I go back to visit. What I’m wondering about is if there are sticky traps with pheromone bait so the scorpions are actually attracted to them.
You’ve had luck with DE?
lol @ “now you have a chicken to deal with.”
So we moved here about three weeks ago and ahave already found 2 bark scorpions inside our apartment, one was today and it was in a bowl on the kitchen counter. I’ve already talked with the apartment people and they have exterminators every Wed / Thurs. We hadn’t seen any then I saw they spraying Thurs right outside our place and this weekend two showed up.
Could use some help keeping them out
Tom, if you can see all the comments in this thread, follow all of them. That’s the only way I have found to keep the scorpians out. Over the past 6 years, we had about 50 in the house. Then I did everything I found on this thread, and haven’t had a scorpian in 6 months. But word of caution, I would not fill the weepholes with concrete or sealant, as some have suggested. The weepholes are necessary to prevent buildup of humidity and thus Mold, inside the walls. You can cut small pieces of window screening and “fold” them into the weepholes, thus blocking them to scorpians, but still allowing airflow.
Scorpions are too heavily armored for diatomaceous earth to be very effective on them directly. What it *is* effective on is crickets, roaches, and similar insects on which scorpions feed. Scorpions will eat almost anything, including each other, so, if you can reduce their food supply, they may actually feed off of each other, including their own babies, and reduce their population. At the least, they will go in search of better hunting grounds than your house. This is why it is important to keep bark, plant clippings, and leaf litter away from your home. Crickets love them. It’s a scorpion buffet.
Completely sealing scorpions out of your home is just about impossible. Scorpions can flatten themselves and get through spaces you wouldn’t dream they could fit through. Obviously, it varies a bit with its age and species, but, if you can slide a standard size paper clip through a space, a scorpion can get through there, too.
I still recommend getting an exterminator to come out to your home at night and use a black light to pinpoint the scorpions’ locations, or getting your own black light and go scorpion hunting yourself. It may help you know which areas to treat and how best to treat them.
Just curious, where did you get information on the scorpion being to heavily armored for DE to be effective?
I’ve read that DE doesn’t work so well to directly kill scorpions because they are too high off the ground. It’s got to get on their body. It might work on some types. I don’t know. But it does work on other insects that might be their food source so it might be worth using.
I just killed one in the garage. First one I’ve ever seen on my property in 25 years and it looks just like the one in the picture in this article. Well it did until it became road kill.
One correction to this story although it applies statewide is there is one death attributable to the bark scorpion in Arizona down south in Sierra Vista approx. 2002. My next door neighbor was stung multiple times over a few years and the last sting killed her. When I got stung in 2005 poison control said to me don’t worry only one person has ever died and “unless you live next door” your chances are pretty slim.
There is a new way to stop scorpions from coming into your home and backyard. There is a company in phoenix called pest borders. There product really works and its a one time installation. There website is pest borders.com
well, yeah, it’s your OWN company, so of course you say it really works! Transparency, transparency…
Your right Terri
We were very inexperienced at the time with these types of websites we should have deleted that comment some how. We apologize.
But it does work and we now have satisfied customers in both Arizona and Nevada.
That’s all that matters… 🙂
Scorpions have been reduced with Pest Borders…for sure…better than pesticide. However, I found 6 scorpions in the crack of my garage floor last month in Tucson, and one squished inside the slats of my exterior garage door. I also have found 3 scorpions inside the back door to the garage, so I’m assuming they’re coming from the garage, and that the product installed in the garage doesn’t work so well, or as well as the glass. Still waiting for the past year for you to follow up as promised Mark. I’ve called and texted multiple times, with you only answering from a different phone number. The product was installed in wet conditions, and I have bugs and nests trapped behind my glass where sagging occurred and gaps were left.
And…I still have the termite trails under the pest borders glass, which I can’t get to, without pulling off the glass. Pest Borders claims to prevent termites. If anyone uses Pest Borders, make sure you exercise your standard Arizona two year warranty. I may have to, or redo the work myself. I had even wanted to add product, but can’t get a call back! I even referred a friend who had the glass installed. Too bad. Great concept.
I came across this thread by accident but its a subject that interests me. The first thing I did was to search the thread for the word “cat” and was surprised to get no results. We moved to Wickenburg in 2003 and dealt with Bark Scorpions on a daily basis. After limited success in chasing them down and stomping, I refined the technique of approaching them very slowly with a rubber mallet and when close enough not to miss, deliver the kill shot. My Scorpion hunting days ended, however, when we adopted 2 cats. I haven’t seen a scorpion in years. Not so lucky with Rattlesnakes though.
Call pest borders the only guaranteed way to keep scorpions out of your home!!!!!!!!
Hi everyone. I’m from Wisconsin and living with my aunt and uncle this summer for two months in Phoenix Arizona. I was laying in my bed at approximately 10pm and noticed a small little creature scurry across the edge of my pillow. I called my uncle into the room and it turns out it was a scorpion. It was very small (about the size of my pinky finger) and it’s tail didn’t even curve up how most scorpion tails do from pictures I’ve seen. Although I do not know exactly what kind of scorpion it was and why it was in my bed, I want to know if this is a problem or not. My aunt and uncle were also very surprised that one was in the house because my uncle sprays and they do not see them at all in here. If anyone could give me a few tips or info on this that would be great. Because like I said I’m from Wisconsin and I’ve never had to deal with anything like this before and it freaked me out. Thanks!
When I was little, I was taught to always shake out my boots and shoes because of scorpions. Since I was almost stung a couple of time at a young age, I still have this habit today of tapping and shaking my shoes out. Amazing what will turn up in your shoes even in a house you think is bug free. Same for camping. I am in Florida now and have to deal with all kinds of bugs, mold and animals. The most recent problem is the monitor lizard which ate my cat. 🙁
I like to deal with pests in the most environmentally friendly way, but pests belong outside. Make sure you do barrier treatments. In walls, cracks, etc., I use boric acid and diatomaceous earth. Keeps insects out, and the predators which feed on them. Ants, carpenter ants, roaches, bed bugs, and others are affected by the DE. Use Food grade. Use it in your garden bed to keep plant eating insects out and it will not hurt earthworms.
You can seal holes with a product from the hardware store that your spray in the cracks and it expands to seal the hole. You can also add steel wool with it to add to the plugged hole and keep mice out.
My father used boric acid powder with a little sugar and water to keep ants and roaches out of a YMCA he managed. It worked. Now they sell it as Roach Pruf, but boraxo or straight boric acid powder is what we used then– 50 years ago.
Best wishes.
We traded places. I was in Florida and now I am Nevada. Sorry about your cat. Those lizards are out of control. I went back to the keys before I moved here and saw tons of them there. They were killings small dogs and cats in Ft. Myers/Naples before I left Lee county. smh….
Last house was infested with scorpions after one neighbor built a pool and another did construction….my whole neighborhood got infested as well. Nothing we did worked 100% but we cut them in half by my mask wearing son putting food-grade D.E. all over the attic early in the summer. You have to put the D.E. in the attic before it gets over 100 degrees, after that they come down into the house.
In my currently house I wasn’t putting up with it so before I moved in last year I paid over $800 to have the home sealed and I spray every 30 days only outside with the chemicals they recommended (and exactly how they told me like you have to spray around ALL windows/doors and the pillars on the block walls), but I admit I use a slightly stronger concentration. IMHO….if you don’t eliminate the crickets you’ll never get rid of the scorps.
We also have lots of birds here that eat bugs right out of the block wall. Also lots of feral cats roam around my house at night….I’ve never had a pet cat but ALL my friends with pet cats have little or no scorpions…certain cats eat them.
I have two cats, they don’t touch a scorpion they alert me but don’t go after then … Just saying and my DE. Work the first season but didn’t do any good this year ???? I try putting a live one in a glass with De didn’t do a thing but make it mad!!!!
After 8 years of battling scorpions, I’m still working on new ideas all the time. Have found 3 inside the house this year. But over the past 8 years, approximately 60 in the house. Sticky traps near the doors are great. Have also done lots of sealing and blocking. We are now trying a product I just found on the internet called “Wondercide”, or “Cedarcide”. It is OK for pets, which is great since we have 3 cats and 3 dogs. Unfortunately, our cats are not the kind that kill scorpions. We are spraying the “Wondercide” around the house hoping it will repel scorpions and snakes. The snakes are another issue entirely. So far we have only done one treatment with the “Wondercide”, but haven’t had a scorpion in the house since we did it. I did find one on the back porch though.
No need to panic my friend,
I got stung last night in my garage by a scorpion, pretty sure it was a baby desert hairy but when they are little it is hard to tell. The sting was mild and no more painful than a cholla spike in the toe. I had no additional pain or swelling and today I am fine. My fault for walking around in garage with no shoes.
I was told by an experminator the best repellent is Diatomaceous earth. He said to buy a bag and fill in all sidewalk cracks and gaps under doors and windows with this stuff– circle your whole house with it. It is like glass shards to the scorpions becuase thier chitinous carapace gets cut into ribbons when they slide over it. They avoid it completely. Its very cheap stuff and it is sold in the pool aisle of lowes. Also buy a few good black lights and go out at night with tongs and remove them manually– up to you what to do with them after that. Personally if I have more than 5 I woudl take them out to an un inhabited spot and let them go. They eat bugs and are beneficial to the desert environment.
Thanks, Cavecreekgirl,
I did put diatomaceous earth in the interstitial wall cavities of our house during the building process 8 years ago. I might be helping some, but it didn’t help completely, because I think they are coming in mostly under the doors. I catch a lot of them on sticky traps there. I do need to buy some more diatomaceous earth and go around the outside of the house once again. Oh, and the black light hunting really works. I was doing that for a while, but after a couple of encounters with snakes, I have scaled back on my nighttime excursions outside.
I’m glad the sting didn’t hurt you much last night! Carry on.
There is a wonderful new product that really works in keeping scorpions out of the home.
It’s called pest borders you can find it on the web.
yes, and it’s YOUR company – you should be upfront about that.
I have always had scorpions outside my home, but lately I have been finding them crawling around upstairs in the bedrooms. Any advice how they get up there?
There is a wonderful new product that really works in keeping scorpions out of the home.
It’s called pest borders you can find it on the web.
Hey Mark,
You’re getting annoying. Everyone knows it’s your company and no one will call Pest Borders since you clearly are trying to hide the fact that it’s your company.
Dear Elpedia,
If you will please take notice my posting and I do not deny that I posted it was back in October of 2014, it was a single posting and if I could retract it I would. I apologize if that single posting is annoying to you, I made a mistake my intentions were not to decieve but to get the word out.
There have between more than four postings!!! So you are still being deceiving! Jackbag!
Please stop, its annoying. So are the scorpions.
Stop spamming this group with your company info!!!! Pay for advortizing like every other business. Maybe you’re not that good if you have to pimp your business every other post. Good buisnesses get referals.
All of these suggestions are greatly appreciated. We live in southern CA in the desert. We have had them in our home for 5 years at least. No one believed me when I said I’m pretty sure they’re bark scorpions. I used to hunt with a black light, but we saw less, so I let my guard down. We adopted a cat, ordered sticky traps, hired a pest control company to spray. A few months ago someone in our development contacted our local Vector Control who collected them and sent them to the state entomologist for identification. They are bark scorpions. 8 days ago our 13 year old son was stung by one while at the kitchen sink doing dishes. He had an allergic reaction. Over the course of hours all 4 limbs became numb-but he could still use the. He had tingling in his ears, and random numb spots in his face.ER and Poison Control all told me we don’t have bark scorpions in CA. They persisted in arguing with me. They did attach a handout on bark scorpions at discharge, but it was evident by their interactions with me, that they had written me off as a crazy Mom who had no clue what she was talking about.. Nurse practitioner at our pediatrician’s office was also dismissive on a follow up visit. She said, “Get some Benadryl you’re kids will be fine. They’re not lethal. I had them in my house in AZ, and got stung. It just hurts.” I didn’t bother to correct her since she was so dismissive, and certain she knew all there was to know about them. I have to add find a new pediatrician that will take me seriously to our list too. We have 4 kids all with allergies and asthma. Moving is not a feasible option at this point in time. Anyone else have suggestions, or things they have done to reduce their numbers? I assume they will always be here, since we live in the desert, but I’d like to reduce their numbers. I tried arming the family with black lights a few years back too, but the kids just used them as toys. I will do this again, since our 3 oldest have now seen what can happen. Our youngest is too little to get it. Anyone know if there it’s possible to convert a nightlight to a black light, to light his path at night? They blend right into our tile so keeping lights on doesn’t work. We are back to tapping out all shoes, checking bedding, etc.
Katie I’m really sorry to hear about your story, and I can understand how frustrated it must be when the official, as well as medical personal are so dismissive about the scorpion issues. We too have scorpion issue, in fact I was stung once almost a year ago.
My suggestion for you is to follow some of the things suggested by other people here (most of them from 2014). One thing I find extremely useful was to seal up the cracks in your backyard fence. Most of the fences out in AZ are stone blocks, and when they develop cracks scorpions make a home out of them. Also, use black light to hunt scorpion outside to reduce the numbers, as well as doing nightly sweep should help as well.
As far as for your kid, I’d say that you need to sit them down to have a serious talk with them. You should let them know how serious scorpion can be. Also, I have what I called “Scorpion kit”, it’s basically a bucket (so you can throw scorpion in it, or put items from the Scorpion kit), a clear Pyrex glass bowl (this works very well to temporary contain the scorpion), black light, and a scorpion grabber (home depot). The “kit” should remind at the same location in the house and you as well as the kids should be able to get to it. I taught my wife to cup the scorpion, should she found one when I’m out of the house.
Katie,
Sorry I’m a bit late in reading this…but I’ve just moved to the desert SW & I’m dealing with the issue too. If you haven’t yet found a solution, here are a few of the things I’ve read about more than once:
* Sprinkle ground cinnamon around the base of house outside.
* Cedar (either spray or dust)
*Lavender (plants outside, spray inside)
*Peppermint spray
*Boric Acid
*Food grade diatomaceous earth
Personally, I”m thinking of trying a combination…better to be safe than sorry, right?
Good luck!
There is a company now pest borders that puts a permanent barrier on around your home that the scorpions cant cross it keeps them off of your home and out of your home.
Seriously mark, you’ve been called out so many times now it’s embarrassing. How about “I own a company called Borders and I give free estimates!” instead of “I heard about this company…” And if you’re advertising for a business you need to check your grammar before posting. 🙂 Good luck!
Hello im from Lubbock tx and my boyfriend found one on his boot this morning while getting ready for work we Both have NEVER seen one ever!!!- he put it in a jar should i be worried that we have more? how common are they in the tx pannhandle! I also have a chicken soo lol ???? Idk please someone whtt yall think??-
Yes I believe they are pretty common there as well. I live in southern new mexico not to far from lubbock amd my house has them bad. We usually see them about June July up until september. Probably 4 -5 a month. We usually just kill them when we see them but now having a small child in the house I’m looking into ways to keep them out. My sister found one in the sink today in a bowl. I hate them. Buy I will be trying some of the ideas in this thread.
I just bought a home in the area of tolleson! and I just saw two scorpions in one night in the drive way, am so scared I have a 1 year old baby and to me this is so scary. Ive never been stung by one but am afraid for my baby since she is so curious of everything. I am just so upset I should be happy about my new home but I am not. Please help
I recently was stung by a Bark Scorpion when I grabbed a pair of shorts off the floor. I felt the sting on my thigh and then saw the two pincers as it tried crawling from under my shorts. The sting was not too bad but, it did as if it was still crawling around my leg and it left it slightly numbness with a kind of throbbing sensation for a day or so.
I use cinnamon to keep them away. It really works. I have not had any in my house for over three years. Just sprinkle it under sinks, around doors , windows inside and out. Trish me on this one it sounds silly but you will be shocked at the out come
i have used Cinnamon with good result and lavender too …if you live in AZ. you will eventually do biz with a scorpion.buy bulk ,when the weather warms and the monsoons bring the little ones inside.trace your foundations /window areas and doors regularly …positive scent as-well…good luck…
I have not read all of the posts but I just wanted to give a warning about the DE used for pools. It is NOT the same thing as the Diatomaceous earth used for scorpions.
Some places sell diatomaceous earth that is for swimming pool filters – that is definitely NOT what you use
.Crystalline silica is a respiratory hazard and a carcinogen when breathed in”.
.DE sold for swimming pool filters is ineffective for insect control because it has been heated and chemically treated. Much of the surface area has been removed and it’s more dangerous to breath in this form. Because of its high crystalline silica content, pool grade diatomaceous earth should not be used for anything other than filtration. The pool grade contains up to 70% “crystalline silica.
Diatomaceous earth does not kill scorpions on contact, it cuts through the exoskeleton and irritates the scorpion, it will avoid the powder and move on, If cut it will eventually lose fluid and become dehydrated then eventually die.
http://www.diatomaceousearth.com/natural-scorpion-killer/
The sticky traps work great, but you have to remove them when you catch anything or else the dead/trapped insects will just attract more scorpions.
I also use the sticky traps when I find one in the house. I cut off a strip of the trap (with the paper still on), remove the paper and grab it with the claw of one of those long-handled grabber tools (search for “grabber tool” on amazon) and then press the sticky side down on the scorpion. I then put the trap strip in a empty plastic grocery bag and run it out to the trash. I like the grabber tool because you can keep a pretty good distance away from the scorpion.
I also go out at night with a black light and look for them. I use Raid Max Scorpion and Spider spray. One thing I’ve noticed is that they tend to play dead by not moving and/or balling up. You know a scorpion is dead when it doesn’t move AND its tail lays straight/ flat.
It’s easy to check for gaps in door seals and weatherstripping at night by just going outside and seeing if you can see any light through the doors. Of course make sure any porch lights or garage lights are off.
I saw someone post about not sealing the weep screed between the stemwall and stucco. I agree. It’s there so moisture can drain. But I don’t know about inserting screen material up there. You probably want to use some sort of synthetic screen material. Metal screen material could rust with the moisture and stain the stemwall.
hey everybody-good stuff! I found the ground cinnamon to be effective in repelling the little rascals-went a year without seeing one inside then found one 3 days ago so liberally sprinkled again at all doors and window sills ext-smells nice too Also try to keep the food/insect and water source away indoors and it seems to be a prevention key Also a backlight long handle thongs and proper wear-gear and you can identify where they are actually nesting outside-you can kill them or re-locate them and learn where they most likely are sneaking in If you do get stung by a bark try to stay calm,take benadryl and ibuprofen ice on/off every 10 min or -call poison control if necessary Be careful not to get stung a second time as you kill/capture for ID -good luck
I wasaw taught buy my husband who’s grandfather was a scorpion hunter (he milked the venom so they could make the anti venom) how to hunt them from my yard. We go out at least a few nights a week and gather any in our yard and dropen them in bleach. After the first few weeks you find one or two but it keeps them out of your house.
We just purchased a house in surprise Arizona how common are scorpions in this area
I have also purchased a house in Surprise AZ. The first couple of months (April-May) I found only 2 in my house but lately (July) I have been finding at least two a week. Just the other day there was one in my bathroom sink. I don’t know if it came up the drain or just fell in and couldn’t get out. We have sprayed around the house but they are still getting in. Last night I went out with a regular flashlight and found about 10 crawling on the block wall around our yard. Not sure what to do next. I think I will try a different spray and get the Diatomaceous earth.
We had alot of scorpions in and around our house. We tried everything. First spraying by a couple of different pest control companies. Then we were told that sealing the house would work, but we still had them. We would black light hunt every night. Finally we came accross a company called pest borders that places a glass barrier around our home. Since then we have had zero scorpions inside and have stoped the spraying.
Really mark? You came a cross a company?? That you own?? Hmmm….????
I like that you stay on top of this guy. I’m on site for first time and he is very annoying with his personal spam.
If his company so good it should need no mention because other people would be raving on it not just him.
Stop mark SCAMMY Individual. I’ll never call you
Seriously Mark!?!?!?!
I WAS going to call your company, BUT now I am not. You are a shady individual. You SHOULD of said something like “Hey I own a company that can help with the pest problem, come check us out.” But now you are trying to pass yourself off as a costumer?? Um NO.
I hunt at night in south central TX, hill country, with an LED black light flashlight and the cheapest wasp spray; cheaper than the Raid spider/scorpion spray that I keep for indoor emergencies. Wasp spray doesn’t kill instantly, but a second squirt once they are stunned will kill them, plus if they are high on a wall it will drop them. As soon as the daily highs reach 90, it is time for night hunting. Also find that the space between my wood deck and concrete deck is a favorite spot for mamas with babies in late spring, early summer. Also use plenty of sticky traps in the attached garage, near the sides of the door, along wall perimeters and by the entry door to house. You will be amazed at the variety of critters icluding spiders & crickets, scorpion food for sure. The baby geckos are a sad peripheral casualty, although I have an ample supply that protect my home exterior.
I have been reading that lizards dine on scorpions as well as grasshopper mice. Has anyone tried introducing those critters to their yards?
I have noticed over the years with backyard pets, whether cats or dogs, we have a dozen scorpions a year inside. I spray the sills and buy the time they are two feet inside they are slow or dead.
However, without pets now for over a year, the rabbits have taken over, and only two scorpions have made it inside.
Do rabbits eat scorpions or just cause them to move to the neighbors?
[…] Oddities mentioned in a 2011 blog post that there are five common species of scorpions in Maricopa County. Out of these varieties, the […]
I truly appreciate this article.Much thanks again.
Lavender is the #1 enemy of scorpion. Use either the dry or fresh one. Pure the dry one by the windows and doors from inside the house.
Brake cleaner or carburetor cleaner kills them instantly and is cheap. Plus it evaporates, no mess. Get the generic brand from walmart. Spray up and down each column on your block wall into the crevice. They will fall out. Hunt nightly. Be relentless.
We had alot of scorpions in and around our house. We tried everything. First spraying by a couple of different pest control companies. Then we were told that sealing the house would work, but we still had them. We would black light hunt every night. Finally we came accross a company called pest borders that places a glass barrier around our home. Since then we have had zero scorpions inside and have stoped the sprayin
I moved into a new home that I found to be plagued with scorpions. The exterminator helped some but we would still find them in our home. I stopped the exterminator and bought chickens to free range just because we wanted fresh eggs. I haven’t seen one scorpion or other bug in our house after that.
We live in an apt complex. The scorpions come under doors & windows AND up sink/tub drains. We all know to put an extra plug on the sinks/tub (or a glass jar over the drains). But around windows/doors I use peppermint oil mixed in mineral oil (or simply in water) in the tracks, they won’t cross it. Lavender has never worked for us We’ve been told by other tenants to remove the covers on our outlets and using a PLASTIC spoon put DE in the outlet (I would think cinnamon would work also). Then screw the covers back on. DE doesn’t work well in apt complexes because of the landscaping sprinklers. DE also works on roaches. The complex will spray chemicals for pests inside/outside – but I’m allergic and we have pets.
Does anyone know if stings will hurt dogs?
I’ve lived in my new-old house for a few summers now in south Texas Hill Country. I’d start seeing scorpions in the Spring, and usually one or two a week inside until the Fall. I did two things differently this summer. One, I bought the most powerful LED black light I could find, and went out for nightly scorpion hunting patrol. I consistently killed about 10-20 per night. Second, I keep the air conditioner set to 70 degrees inside. I’m surprised no one mentioned trying that yet. I still have scorpions outside, but didn’t see a single one inside all Summer, through September and in to October now. I’m figuring the temperature is just too cold for them inside.