Critters....Scorpions etc......have Me Scared and I Can't Sleep!

H.,
I am 33 years old **barf** LOL and I have been here just about 31 years straight & I can say I have never seen one in my home. Neighborhoods that have undeveloped lands next to them or dirt backyards are at risk.

I've lived here for 15 years and never saw a scorpion until I moved near the mountains 4 years ago. My daughter was stung by a scorpion and I freaked and called the pediatrician. He said don't worry, the scorpions here are not deadlly and are like a bee sting. He said watch for any allergic reaction, bring her in if she has one. She had nothing, it stung for a minute and went away. My cat also got stung and he wasn't even bothered by it either.

First of all chill. You will know if you live in an area that is more "buggy" than others. My mom lives near a small mountain and does tend to get more bugs (Scorps, cockroaches). If you live where it's more dense and less open space, you should be fine. If it's closer to open land or a mountain, you'll probably have some.

I've seen many in my mom's house. Mainly they come in through the piping, so put a cover over drains. And I've seen some in the vent system, so you can take the covers off and hot glue some screens on the AC vents. They come out in the summer at night, not when it's cold. And they like to eat cockroaches, so if you see cockroaches deal with them. I've never remotely come close to being bitten. Where I live now, I've never seen one b/c it's more developped. You don't need to live in constant fear. You can get a blacklight and go around at night in the summer and look around if you are concerned. They glow. You can also put sticky traps out and see if any get stuck in there.

Hi again
I definately had this concern before we moved here and I did a lot of research first. We have never seen a scorpion in our home or in the wild. But there are neighbors who have problems. They are territorial and it is the luck of the draw. There is only one poisonous scorpion, "the Bark Scorpion" which is a golden color and they can affect the elderly and young children if they sting. But it only affects certain people. Some people react and some don't. You just have to keep an eye on your child and see if they become disoriented. The local hospitals have the antivenom, so you just take them to the emergency room and they will be fine. Everyone our here sprays around the outside of their home everymonth and the inside every year. It costs us about $27 dollars per month to have someone do this, but it is worth the peace of mind. You get in the habit of not leaving shoes outside and checking the inside of them if you do, before putting them on. The scorpions hibernate during the winter and during the other months, they come out only at night. Before you buy or rent a home, ask if they have had scorpion problems. There are also black widows abundant, but if you spray, you can keep them at bay. Scorpions cannot climb up glass or plastic, so there are things are are recommended for cribs,like putting plastic cups around the legs of the crib, so they can't climb up. But they do climb up walls, etc.
K.

Don't worry. I brought my four month old to AZ and never had a problem. In the 10 years I have lived here we have had about 8 scorpions in our home. While every time I see one I am startled there is really nothing to worry about. I have had friends who have been stung (note the word) and they compare it to a really bad bee sting. When I first moved out here I thought they were really poisonous and should freak but that is not the case. They are not going to stalk you, just sting you if you walk on them. One thing I highly recommend is getting an exterminator to come out to your house every quarter. There are safe treatments they can use indoors.
In all these 10 years I have only known one person who was bitten by a rattlesnake. She was 4 years old and had to be airlifted to the hospital but was fine. Enjoy your time here and don't let this bother you.

All great advice. depends on where you live. I have been here 33 yrs, all my life, have lived in OVER 12 homes all over town & have NEVER had one in my home =)
When I worked at the AZ biltmore hotel, 3 people in 4 yrs DID get stung by one out at the pool. They were all fine after a few hours. It was scary as they had numbness but no one went to the hospital (after talking to poison control).
We DO have black widows...never in the house but MANY outside. they mostly come out at night. we just keep our walkways cleared to the car, etc & stay out of the backyard at night..but I have only know one person who has been bitten.
Overall, its nothing I worry really about at all!

Hi H.,
I know how you feel. I'm from New Mexico, and came out here back in 99. I've encountered a few scorpions. They like DARK places, and they can live in your piping. Here at our house, we've only encountered ONE scorpion. Our cats found it. We have pinchers, and silver fish, and carpet beetles. How we keep them managed and out of our house, is that my hubby sprays once a month outside, and inside with ORTHO pest control. You can get this at Home Depot.
If you keep your house/apartment sprayed once a month, especially around the doorways, inside and out, there will be little to no 'critters' in your home. :-) Being from New Mexico, I certainly don't miss the cockroaches! ICK! I saw those a lot over there. Not here though.

There are critters everywhere you go. Just get some home defense spray and keep up on it every month.

I have never encountered a bug in my shoes, nor my son's shoes, BUT, however, it is a very good idea to ALWAYS check your shoes, and your kids's shoes before they put them on, because sometimes they will get in there. I saw a documentary about a couple who's baby had a scorpion in the shoe, and they didn't know it, they put the shoe on their baby, and it bit their baby. They had to take the baby to the hospital of course, and she's fine now. That freaked me out when I saw that on TV. I always check my son's shoes now. :-) Even mine. Having three cats really help too, to keep the bugs away.
We still get the occassional pincher, carpet beetle, or silver fish in our house. But, no more scorpions. :-) Try to keep your house free of excess clutter, so that the bugs don't have hiding places. :-) If your closet doesn't have light in it, just keep a check around the wall areas because scorpions will cling to the walls, and check around the baseboards. Keep your baseboards clean as much as you can, and your kitchen and bathroom floors mopped at least once a week. Bugs don't like the chemicals we use to clean. :-) Yay for us. LOL

I hope this helps and I hope I didn't scare you more. Your friend needs to understand that anywhere you go, you will encounter all kinds of critters.

Remember, scorpions like shady areas. They mostly come out during the summer time. If your baby gets stung by one, take him/her to the ER if you cannot get a hold of your doctor. Your insurance may have a 24 hour nurse hotline and you can call them to get heads up on what the proper action to take if you get stung.

Scorpions will not attack you unless they feel threatened. They won't come running after you to get you. :-) Just the opposite. They will try to get away from you.

Welcome to good ol' AZ. :-)

You can stop worrying. Like others have said, I've lived here all my life (38 years) and only seen 1 scorpion in any of my homes. It really depends on the neighborhood. My brother has a problem with them because it's a newly built home in Gilbert. Everyone in their family has been bit by one, but they all survived. :) If you're worried about the baby, put the legs of the crib into Mason jars so the scorpions can't climb up the crib.

I grew up in Tempe and played outside barefooted and camped in the desert...and never got stung by a scorpion until this year, when I was getting into some old company files in storage boxes at work and one dropped on me. The sting felt like a bee sting, but there was a tingling feeling for awhile after. Ice and a benadryl were all it took and no side effects. If you are worried about a sting, capture the critter and bring it with you so that they can give you the correct anti-venom. In my experience, scorpions are only in new subdivisions where new ground is being broken and they are being displaced, or in old storage areas. Scorpions like to eat crickets and they are all over, but you can treat your house for them. But, having said that, I have never had a scorpion in any of my houses in Arizona for 55 years, even though I have had lots of crickets.

Hi H., I'll tell you about our encounter with a scorpion sting. I was always SOOO afraid that one would get one of my kids. Last August, my 3 year old daughter picked up her life jacket by the pool, and let out a blood curdling scream that I'd never heard before. I knew what had happened immediately - my husband and I ran over, and we saw the scorpion running away. It had stung her on her finger. I immediately dialed poison control (from anywhere in the US call 800 222-1222). They were great - said to wash it, and keep cold (not ice) water on it. They told me signs to watch for that would indicate a reaction. My daughter was feeling the sting for about 1/2 hour and crying lightly during that time. We basically pampered her for the rest of the afternoon (she took advantage of the 'free ice cream' we kept offering her), and she never had any symptoms other than numbness after the pain wore off. Poison control checked back with us a couple more times to make sure she was ok, which she was. Anyway, after this incident, I have to say that I am a lot less frightened of scorpions. I certainly wouldn't want another incident, and I would be a bit more concerned if my 10 month old were stung.

Hi H.,

First of all, welcome to Arizona. Secondly, don't be afraid, just educate yourself and you will be fine. AZ, just like any other area, has things that are prone to the area, like scorpions.

The best defense against scorpions is to make sure your house is properly sealed. Good fitting doors and windows. Scorpions like cool dark places and I have a friend who was stung three times as scorprions would get in their shoes. Just check the shoes before putting them on.

Secondly, you can use a black light to see where the scorpions are. If there is a problem, you can call an exterminator. There is no real way to "exterminate" them but many companies use a white powder around the perimeter of the home and the scorpions hate to crawl through it as it makes them very thirsty and hurts their shell.

Lastly, scorpion stings are painful but not harmful to most people. They will sting and then the area will go numb for quite a while. However, scorpion stings can be fatal to children and the elderly. The poison can actually induce seizures due to the pain and excessive salivating. If a child gets stung, it is IMPERATIVE that the child be taken to one of the hospitals with the anti-venom serum on site. Not all hospitals in the valley have it. I do know that Scottsdale Shea and Scottsdale Osborne have it and I believe Chandler regional carry it. I learned this about a year ago so more hospitals may now have it on hand but it would be good to check the hospital that is closest to you.

I hope this helps.

L.

Hi, Extreme Gardening by Dave the garden guy says cats and toads eat scorpions. If you get his book it tells you how to get toads to come to your yard. We have 5 acres and lots of toads and I haven't seen a scorpion yet. You can use a black light flashlight and "hunt" for them at night the ones you should worry about glow green and then step on them. Dave's book is great to just read, LOTS of organic pest controls to keep the kids and dog safe.
Good Luck :>)

Someone moving here from TX and being told to beware of the critters, oh PLEASE!!! Doesnt that silly person know TX has TEXAS-sized everything, including critters!!!

Seriously - no need to worry. I too worried when I had just moved here (into a brand new house in a new neighborhood development) and had a nearly 3yo son at the time. The only encounter I had was when I got up with my husband one EARLY morning (we're talking pre-dawn 4 am here) and I turned on the light in the hallway and saw something move on the tan carpet. I realized it was a little scorpion (my first time ever seeing a real one) and put a glass jar over it, scooped it up and put a lid on it. It was little, only about 1-2 inches long. I sort of panicked and talked to my friend who lived here and she said ohh, no problem, they're harmless (the brown ones) and they're more scared of you, leave them alone and they wont hurt a thing! Hmm, I was still nervous though! (My husband thinks he can navigate the house in the dark just fine.) I wear slippers and/or turn on the lights!! I have never seen another one since.
Oh wait, I lie. I sort of saw one another time later on. This was late late late one night when a friend was leaving after a Pampered Chef party and she and I were standing outside chatting and she heard a cat meowing and chasing a bug underneath my husband's truck in the driveway. Apparently this kitty decided to snack on a scorpion (we think - she smashed it up real good and buried it in the rocks before we could really see what it was ha.) and it must've stung the kitty's paw, which seemed a little bit swollen and she started limping on it. The animal shelter said not to worry, it would be fine by morning, but we still felt sorry for the kitty. (I think it got cheated out of a tasty bite, after suffering a sting for it, poor thing)
Chickens LOVE scorpions, they are a delicacy to them. Scorpions apparently dont sting chicken (or their tough feet & beaks aren't bothered esp if they get the scorpion first.) I imagine they are spicy tasting??

Whatsthatbug.com is a wonderful (and interesting to certain people) source to look up whatever weird critters you've found. (WTB prefers you shoot them with a camera, NOT anything else, btw!! Generally bugs will not hurt you. Only a very few are poisionous AND aggressive.)

I have, maybe 3 times now, come across a weird weird bug/spider thing (biggest I saw was only an inch or so, not to worry). Nothing has ever bitten or stung any one of us. The worst is the crickets!!!!

Keep in mind, we live in a newly built house in a new development out in what *was* the desert. We've been here nearly 4 years now. If you are in an older neighborhood or the city, and if you get pest control, you have NOTHING to worry about!!!

Hi,

Any neighborhood could have bugs, just spray monthly and that should be okay.

Regarding scorpions:
Certain neighborhoods have scorpions and certain ones don't. You'd should ask your neighbors if they'd ever had problems with them.

I am 30 years old, lived in Arizona my whole life and have lived in 7+ different apartments and 10+ houses and never had scorpions, until now. We moved in April to a very nice neighborhood and it has scorpions! I educated myself on scorpions as soon as I found out that this neighborhood has them and have done the best I can to protect my family.

Here's what I can tell you:
- They are less present during the winter.
- They come out more during the hot times.
- They can go 6 months to a year without food. YES, it's 100% true.
- Scorpion bites are different for everyone. Some people it doesn't bother them and is much like a bee sting and other's say they feel terrible pain. Call poison control 1-800-222-1222. If a child under 2 gets bit, I'd go to the ER just to be safe.

Keep in mind the last person that died from a scorpion bite was in the 60's; we have anti-venom available. It may hurt but you'd be okay. :)

Here's my advice:
1) Have monthly pest spraying.
2) Seal your home.
3) Do not keep anything you own in boxes, use totes. Scorpions can not climb on slippery things such as glass or slippery plastic.
4) Keep glass jars at home. Trapping scorpions is better than smashing them. Scorpions carry their babies on their backs and if you smash one carrying babies you will have 10-50 baby scorpions let loose. They are hard to see so I'd never risk it.
5) Keep scorpion spray around the home. Trap it & spray it or just spray it until it dies.
6) Buy a scorpion net and place it over your babies crib.
7) Buy glass bed pedistalls and put them under your babies crib legs so scorptions can
not climb into the crib form the floor. Again, they can not climb up glass. You can do that for your bed as well if you want.
8) Don't put the crib directly against the wall, space it an inch or two.

***We didn't do 6-8 but you can if you want, IF you have a problem, you may not have a problem. But steps 1-5 you can do just to protect your home from all critters in general.

FYI.....
Scorpions have very hard shells that are difficult, to penetrate. The more often you spray, the more "present" the chemical is and the more the scorpions will come in contact with it. Their shells are difficult to penetrate, not impossible.

We had our home "sealed" also. I'll tell you for FREE what the company did to "seal" my home that cost me $2000.

Go to a hardware store, buy these items:
- clear caulk (depending your house size, start with 10)
- caulk dispenser
- mesh screen material (something similar to the stuff your screen door is made out of)
- Foam
- industrial tape (something similar to duct tape, the hardware store will have a lot to
choose from)
- Buy thick weather stripping to replace all the old weather stripping around your doors.

“Sealing your home” is to literally seal every opening and crack in and outside of your home with caulk and foam. Sealing your home does exactly what it says, seals scorpions, along with other bugs, from coming into your home through vents, outlets, light fixtures, plumbing fixtures, holes in the walls, cracks in your baseboards, etc. as well as seals the scorpions and bugs that are currently living in your walls from coming into your home through any of those openings.

Most of my friends and family have never had problems ever. So don't worry!!!

Please contact me with any more questions, I'd be glad to help.

Good luck.

Critters are a natural part of life. Educate yourself on the critters of the area and you won't be as scared. Take a first aid class that talks about caring for bug bites, stings and snake bites. Learn what to put in your first aid kit in case you do have a bite. I don't want to give out any misinformation, so I would just google some critters and see where that takes you.

Newer areas in Arizona seem to have a higher incidence of critters, especially scorpions. Locations where there used to be orange groves have the highest incidence. We live in SE Mesa and have yet to see ONE spider, scorpion, centipede or snake in the past year at our current house. In our previous house we lived further north and found scorpions quite often and even a few lovely rattlesnakes. One rattlesnake was within 10 feet of my three year old! Yikes!

If you are worried about scorpions in your babies crib, put the babies crib legs inside glass bowls. They can be any size, as long as the crib is still sturdy. Scorpions can not climb glass. Check your shoes before you put them on and pull back your sheets before getting in. Scorpions like cool, dark places. Treat your house annually or biannually with a professional pest control company. There are other natural remedies to keep critters away, those of which I do not know. If you are worried about snakes you can buy Snake Away at Lowe's. I hope this helps a little. Educate. Educate. Educate and you will not be as afraid.

Hey H., I moved to the Phoenix area from Northern New Mexico 8 years ago. There were definitely no scorpions there, so I was also a little freaked out when we moved here. I have not seen a single one EVER! So glad for that. I have heard only 2 times of someone I know here having one in their house. The only time we ever came in contact with one was when we were visiting my brother-in-law in Midland, TX. My son was sleeping and felt something on his arm. He woke up and turned the light on. It was a scorpion, and I was so relieved it didn't get him. I have heard of putting glass jars on the feet of your baby's crib because I guess they can't crawl up into the cribs with those on. Try that, maybe. I just wouldn't let it put that much fear in you, just be aware and your children also. Otherwise you will go crazy!

OK...I've skimmed over a few of your responses and have to clear up a couple of things. I live in a neighborhood that does have scorpions - our neighborhood is 14 years old, and we built new. We do get them. The Ahw. Foothills are bad in that way. Spraying them is ineffective. They are arachnids and the bug spray doesn't affect them. However, you have to eliminate their food, which is.....bugs. So spraying will help in that way. We used to spray, and have seen absolutely no difference in the # of scorpions before when we did have a professional come in, or later, when we stopped poisoning our home.

Secondly, scorpions don't jump or fly. They can scoot quickly, but you can be faster. They do not bite; unfortunately, they sting, with their tails. The sting does hurt, but isn't fatal to most - they are only dangerous if there is an allergy, just as with bees. Don't go by advice from the web. A lot of it is flawed and even dangerous. Call poison control - in fact, to ease your mind, call them before anything happens. We have a UV flashlight, which many dept. stores carry, to check out areas, but most of them like to be up on the walls. The idea of the mason jar around the crib legs is a sound one, and was used years ago before all the new pesticides came into vogue. Some even put kerosene in a tin pan, which is super dangerous and a bad idea. Scorpions cannot climb glass (although the gross camel spiders/wind spiders can).

When we see one, usually on the walls, we get a glass jar (we keep a few on hand) and put it over the scorp, then slide a card (like the cards that fall out of magazines) between the wall and glass, then tip the glass upright. We then fill it with water and drown it.

My husband has been stung, and it did hurt and numbed his arm. But he has no scar. It's not a little problem at all, but it isn't usually fatal. Yes, some have had their in their bed. I check my bed and ensure no blankets are touching the floor. My son had one on his bed, but fortunately saw it before he got in. Ironic, since he's always putting one of his fake ones out to scare me. They terrified me, too, when we first moved in to our new home. Now they irritate me. This is MY home and they don't have a right to infringe and threaten my family - but then again, we infringed on their home when the land was developed. Keep vigilant, and try to get each one you see. (We use a rubberized broom to get them off the wall if they're too high.) And don't squash them. They leave a horrible stain.

Since spraying doesn't work, if you are plagued with them, you can get your house sealed by one of the companies that do it. Our homes aren't sealed tightly these days, which is good for our breathing, but bad for bugs. People I've talked to have said sealing has stopped their scorpions. However, many never see them, especially if they live where farmland was, because pesticides were used for so long that they don't get many bugs anyway (scary thought, when you think of it - of course, I live on International Harvester testing grounds, so certain areas here aren't much better, chemically).

Call poison control and talk to your Dr. to be reassured and prepared. Get educated by reliable sources on the web.

It's not really that bad! put glass jars under your kids bed and scorpions cant climb up. also move the bed slightly away from the walls like 2 inches.
your dog is fine. we had friends who had a bad scorpion problem, because of overgrowth in their yard and construction around them. but they actually borrowed like 6 of my parents chickens for 2 months and never saw a scorpion again!
go outside or in your house at night with a black light and you can see if you have a scorpion problem. there are no other critters I can think of besides scorpions that we look for!

Don't overreact! I've had experience with scorpions and I've found they are not interested in "hunting" humans! They would much rather be out of sight and minding their own business. Think of bees, they only sting you when you tick them off - same with scorpions. They are hibernating now, so you won't see any for some time, if at all! If you are worried, a good exterminator once every few months can give you peace of mind. Also, keep in mind that if you remove the scorpions' food (crickets, spiders, roaches, etc.) then they will move on. A good exterminator will keep that in check for you so you won't have to worry. Also, your dog will be fine, scorpions will stay away from something that big! And no, they don't lay in wait in your baby's crib. Who told you that???????

I moved here 12 years ago and still worry. I HATE spiders and such. It depends where you live really. We live in the desert. We're on 3/4 acre with no fences between houses. Last year, we saw 5 snakes (none in our yard), had about 6 tarantulas in our yard (which scared the living day lights out of me), one scorpion (my husband saw it, not me), TONS of havelinas and lots of cyotes. The biggest hassle are the havelinas and we put up a fence so the kdis can be safe when outside. They are basically blind and stupid and will attack anything that moves.
For the most part, the smaller critters stay away from people. We get our house sprayed. They actually don't spray anything inside, just outside. It's worth the money. Our neighbors get scorpions all the time and we have only seen one, and that was outside.
As long as you live where people are (like a master planned community), get your house/yard sprayed, don't leave shoes outside and alwasys shake off towels or anything left outside, you don't have anything to worry about.
In the 12 years I've been here, I have personally only seen 3 scorpions.
If a scorpion stings you, you can call 911 and let them know what it looked like. In most cases, they will just tell you to wait to see if there is abnormal swelling,etc. I've never heard of any baby being stung where something terrible happened to the baby. I was worried and my doctor said I had nothing to worry about unless it was tiny and translucent.
Good luck. I'd love to move out of state too. :)

I have lived here for 14 years and have never seen any scorpions in any of my beds or in any of my homes. I too was paranoid and thought that my parents were crazy to move us out here to Arizona from back east. I thought that there would be snakes and scorpions all over the house and in my shoes I would have nightmares. lol but it was just the over active imagination of a 12 year old.

I have lived in AZ most of my life and grew up with a healthy respect for scorpions. Most people have some pain and numbness but get over it in a few hours just like most of the comments. However, I have to warn you that if you or a family member has a severe allergy to bees, you may experience what I did a couple of years ago when I had my first scorpion sting. I was barefoot at night in my driveway loading a grandchild into their car seat. I felt a sharp stabbing pain in my foot and my daughter ran over to see the scorpion crawl under the car. It was a small one and I hear they are the worst since they usually dont' know how to regulate how much venom they use yet. Immediately my foot was on fire. I put my foot in cold water. My husband called poison control and they said that I would be "writing in pain for several hours". I truly know what writing in pain means. It was excrutiating pain. No pain killers helped and I had to endure pain and numbness up to my knee. After 4 hours of nightmarish pain, it finally subsided but I had numbness for a couple of days. The reaction can be more severe for people with bee allergies, my physician said, so if you have a bee allergy, take more precautions. I have a friend whose 8 month old baby was stung and she had to be rushed by ambulance due to difficulty breating. I have my home exterminated monthly and haven't seen a scorpion since, but just wanted to let you know that SOME people have bad reactions, but not MOST.
J. F