They appear when you least expect them!
Mylan and I were channel surfing last night and saw a commercial for a new reality show called “Infested!” on Animal Planet. This particular episode will feature the horrors of living with a scorpion infestation. I looked at Mylan and said, “We haven’t seen one of those for a while.”
I should know better. It seems as if every time one of us utters those words, we see one. It’s as if they have super-ultra-sonic hearing and send a buddy out to let us know that they are still here and were here first.
So it should not come as a surprise, as I returned from taking Bonnie outside for her bedtime duties, when Mylan met me at the back door, wide-eyed. “There’s a scorpion in my bed!” she whispered, as if saying it too loudly would bring more out. I went to grab our hand-dandy scorpion annihilator (actually barbecue tongs with the edges filed so that they meet precisely together – excellent for picking scorpions off of ceilings). Then thought again and grabbed a wad of paper towels. I was sleepy, my reflexes were slow and I didn’t want to chance losing it in her bed. This way I could come at it from above with some force.
Dramatic reenactment.
I approached her bed with the covers pulled back and there it was. Laying quite contentedly, curled up among the mint polka dots of her sheets. I held my breath and with one quick motion I came down, made contact and squeezed its exoskeleton until I felt it crunch. Next step was to get the black light and do a full perimeter search of her room to make sure that no one else was lurking to snuggle with her.
After the “all-clear” signal, she returned to her room. We surmised that it probably fell from the ceiling as we have yet to actually witness one in any of our bedding to this point. (We are careful not to use bed skirts or any covering that makes contact with the floor).
It’s always unnerving when you see these prehistoric creatures. I remember when we first moved into our house. Mylan was in the bathroom and screamed that there was a scorpion on the wall. As I just stared in horror, Evan rushed past and killed it. As an Arizona native, I had never seen a scorpion inside a house. Let alone, my house!
In the years since, we have grown accustomed to them. We all have been stung with the exception of Solvay, and (thankfully) have not had any allergic or horrible reactions to the stings. Still, I am thinking the next time the subject comes up I am going to reply. “I see scorpions all the time!” That way, if they are listening, they will know that I know they are there.
How to prevent a scorpion encounter.
MAY 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
Hunting scorpions outside at night can reduce the chances of finding them inside. Unfortunately, most people miss most scorpions using. $10 black light.
Get a cat!!! We never see them inside our house, despite living right behind untouched desert.
We have 2 cats that live inside! They will kill them if it’s convenient for them, but they are not the best hunters!
oh my…that is my complete nightmare….i was born and raised in arizona and have never encountered one. we recently moved to a very deserty area and i know they are here!!! i guess i am kind of glad to know you have lived throught it…sorry to find relief in your pain!!!
You do learn to live with the little critters – after the first initial horror of seeing one! Apparently we live on a “nest” in our area so there is no way to entirely get rid of them. The best defense is to keep their food source minimal and occasionally we go “hunting” at night with a black light!
We lived near Pointe Tapitio in an awesome condo. After living there for over three years we started to see about one a week. Once Emma was born we were very aware that we were sharing space, but at that point had not seen any upstairs. I had just set up shop in HAWAII on the beach with a girlfriend. I got a call from my brother that Emma had been rushed to the hospital and was stung by a scorpian. Daddy was taking a shower and she was crawling around on the bathroom floor. Sadly, we had already sold our house and were moving out upon my return. The ambulance drivers knew to take an infant (9 months) to Phoenix Children’s Hospital where the anti venom was on the shelf. It was not FDA approved so after a grueling 3 hours on the phone with the awesome doctors at PCH, we decided to give it to her. My entire family had arrived and my hubby and I sighed with relief when we saw/heard her start blowing raspberries. She looked up at everyone and said, “HI!” It was the first time that I felt the fear of a mama and spent the rest of the “vacation” sick in bed because my system just fell to pieces from the stress. When I got home I was extremely careful in packing and we had to take each item/box out to the van after inspection. I actually taped one scorpian to a box when I was packing up a few boxes before my trip. They are evil, evil creatures. My worst fear was realized and it was a blessing that I was an ocean away because I’m not sure how I would have reacted if I would have seen what my amazing hubby saw. No one has actually died from a sting in years, but I hope to never see one of those nasty things again.