“Have you seen any good scorpions lately?”

By

Gerry Niskern

Are you new to our valley? How well do you know your neighbors? Have you met any of our resident scorpions yet?  The swift venomous arthropods are everywhere.

When you live in the desert, you have invaded their territory; especially when you dwell in an area where the ground has been disturbed for new housing construction and their nests are stirred up. The stinger is at the end of the tail; the sting site can be extremely painful. It generally does not swell, but there is instantaneous pain and numbness. Young kids and seniors are most at risk.

Almost everyone has a scorpion story. I saw my first scorpion years ago. It was a rather large one, on the wall above a sleeping newborn’s crib. The proud parents had invited us in to see their infant, and there on the wall was the culprit. What a lucky intervention that was.

We’ve had them quite often because we live in the Dreamy Draw area that is especially known for its scorpions. Our son gave us something handy to keep from stepping on one at night; plug in Limelites  that cast a faint glow on the floor, enough to throw a scorpion’s shadow to alert you.  I recommend getting one.

My resident historian took off his socks one night and surprise, there on the bottom of one sock was a squashed scorpion. He was lucky that time. It pays to shake out your shoes before putting them on. Sometimes you hear them first; they make a slight scratching sound on a hard surface.

Most pest control companies will tell you that you cannot kill them. Scorpions usually follow other bugs into a home. What actually can be done is to spray for their prey thereby eliminating the scorpions.

I remember walking into the kitchen one morning and seeing one on the telephone sitting on the counter. I came back with the flyswatter and to my amazement, I watched that tiny scorpion run down the wall, under the locked and what we thought was an airtight Arcadia door and out onto the patio. They can crawl through a credit card size slit.

Last year, we were at a friend’s new home in the Sun City area. She leaned down to pick up what she thought was a piece of dry grass from the carpet. Guess what, it stung her!  Her pain from that scorpion sting lasted several hours.

Another friend tells about the time when he was in high school and the family had just moved into a new home. He thought he saw a scorpion run under the refrigerator. Determined to get it, the high school boy got down on his hand and knees and looked under the frig. The little pirate dashed out and stung him on the nose!  Of course, the repercussions were serious from that sting.

According to the emergency room staff at John C. Lincoln, children under six and seniors are the only ones they normally to give antiserum for scorpion venom. It’s very hard on you. But unfortunately with children, if they are crying loudly, and it appears to be quite painful, they have to assume it’s probably a scorpion bite.

According to my research, there are 1,300 species of scorpions worldwide, and many varieties are non- poisonous. However, the poisonous ones live mainly in the Southwest Deserts. Watch out!.