scorpions in the house

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This is our t3rd year here & we haven't finished the house yet. It's all closed in but we haven't finished drywalling & such. Anyway about this time every year we get scorpions IN THE HOUSE. Usally kill 2-5 a week. We've sealed every crack we can find & it's really tight. Last year my husband went under the house & sprayed with diazanon (misspelled). Nothing has seemed to work & I've about had it. We have to tear our beds apart every night because I got stung in the middle of the night. Any ideas? This is going to drive us nuts if we don't get a handel on it this year. Thanks

-- Sherrie Holcomb (ester@communitygate.net), April 08, 2000

Answers

you didnt say where you live or what kind of scorpions. I ve heard of people traing cats to catch and kill them. Most cats are immune to arrachnids. I got stung while I was in the army once, hurt like I never felt before. Good luck

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), April 08, 2000.

We have these guys also, we are in East Texas. The first time my daughter was stung I called poison control. I am from Southern California and those scorpions in the desert are poisionious. Here they are the small brown guys and it is like treating a bee sting. If you are alergic seek medical attention. Or scream "I am going to die" like my 16 year old did! Though the cats eat rats and lizards, we keep the scorpions at bay by keeping the lawn short and the weeds down around the house. We spread diazonon around the perimeter of our house for fireants, wood roaches and only see one or two scorpions a year. Good luck with this. My girl friend had a copperhead bite 3 of her doe kids just last week! I think we are in for it here in Texas, with flies, fleas etc etc!!! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), April 08, 2000.

Good Heavens, you folks really make me appreciate Maine! No scorpions, no fire ants, no killer bees, no venomous snakes, no chiggers, just non-malarial mosquitoes and the ubiquitous black fly, but for a relatively short season. Our biggest pest is tourists, and although we have a tourist season, it is not like deer season. Can't even enter the lottery to get a permit like you can with moose. No wonder the folks said to stay away from the south (Hartford)! Good luck with all your creepie-crawlies!

-- Brad (homefixer@mix-net.net), April 08, 2000.

I'm about 90 miles east of Dallas, TX. And we also have cottonmouth, copperheads, fles flies and so on..The dogs keep the snakes back & screens keep the flies out but, these scorpions are something else. By the way Vicky..when I got stung in the middle of the night the first thing I did was call Poison Control. I checked with the County Ag Agent & found out ours are called Wood Scorpions, they are brown and have a wide black band running down their back ( You have to look hard to see it) and they aren't poisionious. But let me tell you, it hurts like nothing you've ever felt before. My husband is wondering about useing Diatomaceous Earth. Has anyone tried it on scorpions?

-- Sherrie Holcomb (ester@communitygate.net), April 08, 2000.

O.K. I'll stop complaining about the snow where getting!Warmer weather would be nice but I can't stand bugs or snakes! Good luck to all.

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), April 08, 2000.


Hey, Brad - now, that's not nice to pick on those of us in CT - we try not to pick on you Mainiacs!!! (LOL)! Although, I'm far enough away from Hartford, I won't take what you said personally. Have pity on those of us in CT - between our gasoline taxes, income taxes and cost of living, it's tough being lower-lower-middle-class! Much less homesteading among those which think roughing-it means not finding the right bottled water at the grocery store (*gag*).

Judi

-- Judi (ddecaro@snet.net), April 08, 2000.


Sherrie,

You may want to try contacting several professional pest control firms in your area. Obviously, others have had the same problem, so someone around you should have experience. They may be able to recommend something on the phone. If you've about had it, as you said, it probably would be worth paying them.

The worst problem I've had here in eastern Maryland is keeping the mice and black snakes at bay in a 102 year old farm house. I would agree with the one track you were on. Closing off the holes. I believe with any pest, several approaches work best.

It took about 4 months of regular work to tackle the mice problem. Step one was plug every hole or crack around the foundation. I was surprised to find some pretty big holes as I crawled around in a tight crawlspace under the house. In the dark underneath, you can find holes better as the light shines through holes and cracks (don't think I'd want to crawl over a scorpion though - use a flashlight).

Secondly, sealing off other access holes or cracks up to the house and inside the house to stop entry. It can be tedious work, but every hole has to be filled. They have to be getting in from somewhere. Don't leave one inch unexamined. Once you've got all the holes stopped off, follow up with traps (if they have such a thing for scorpions -probably not) and deterrants (such as the sprays and powders mentioned). Hope this helps.

-- Derrick Comfort (dcomfort@ccnmail.com), April 09, 2000.


Sherri, If you have insulation in the walls, the scorpions may be hiding in there (already reproducing as well). Getting your sheetrock or paneling nailed up should put an end to the problem (provided everything else is sealed of course). Scorpions like to hide in cracks and come out at night like roaches (at least that's one pest we don't have in our area). Check all vents, place screen wire over vent hood outlets, etc.. 2 to 5 a week isn't too bad though, I've heard of people having that many and more per day. Shake out your shoes before inserting feet! Diatomaceous earth works great around baseboards and door ways. We get a scorpion come in occassionally through a wood heater flu opening if I don't keep it packed with aluminum foil. Since I've never been stung, I'm not afraid of them (my wife gets hysterical though). Now getting bit in bed by a 16" long chinese centipede is something etched into my memory forever. Seeing one of the black, green, and orange devils is enough to have us go to any lengths to track it down and kill it (highly poisonous). Hope it all gets better!

Larry

-- Larry Gowdy (sesquiq@mail.com), April 12, 2000.


Scorpions! They're nasty little critters that just love new houses. I agree with a post above regarding putting up sheetrock and closing all holes but you're gonna have'm for a couple years or so. Ask a professional exterminator for help. Consider yourself lucky-it could be politicians that 've moved in with ya! LOL. Good Luck. Matt. 24:44

-- hoot gibson (hoot@otbnet.com), April 12, 2000.

Sherri, I forgot to mention that a lot of bugs come in through the plumbing vents. Run screen wire over the roof vent. Also, if you run tub water out onto the ground, be sure to seal up the tub's overflow drain hole with aluminum foil or such. Having the tub stopper closed won't do it (overflow has an open line to outside plumbing). That's where ours were mostly coming in at (took me a year to figure it out, duh!) In our area scorpions and such come in search of water during dry spells, and come in looking for a dry area during wet spells. Pesty critters!

-- Larry Gowdy (sesquiq@mail.com), April 13, 2000.


I NEVER HAVE SEEN SO MANY POSTS THAT DON'T HAVE A BIT OF HELP OR/AND ANYTHING TO DO WITH SCORPIONS.HERE IS THE ANSWER IN IS CALLED "FICAM" ...GET IT AT A PEST CONTROL SUPPLY HOUSE....DUH!!! JAMES FROM HOUSTON (WHERE THE SMART PEOPLE MUST LIVE)

-- JAMES MEYER (swcad@yahoo.com), December 17, 2001.

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