scorpion question

anthonyk · May 26, 2004

I just finished construction on my new home, about 40 miles northwest of Houston.
When I was doing the final walk through, I found TWO small scorpions, about 2 inches long, light brown.
One was hiding in the gap between the carpet and the wall, and the other was behind a stack of extra tile.
Needless to say, I was unpleasantly surprised.
No idea how they got in, the house is practically airtight, and there's no food, it's completely empty.
Any suggestions for making sure my new home stays free of these nasty buggers?
Any and all help would be appreciated.

Anthony
Century 3647, 12 acres.

Slamfire · May 26, 2004

We've got black ones about half that size. We found several in the sink. I think they came up from the septic system before we started using it. Kinda feels like a bee sting when they git yah. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

RanchMan · May 26, 2004

You can spray your yard and the outside walls of your house with pesticide. Ravap (cattle dip) always seemed to work pretty well for us.

During the Summer months, they will come up to the house in search of H20. (don't suppose you have that problem right now with your recent rains.) For those that you don't wipe out with the pesticide, just step lively and keep a big shoe with you. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

BTW, speaking of shoes, if you're having scorpion problems, make sure to check your shoes before you put 'em on in the morning - seriously.

polecat · May 26, 2004

!!!!!!!!!!!that's what it is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THank u ranch man...when i used to live in alabama i bought a gallon of that stuff thinkin i would use it as insect repellent and it came back up here to maine with me and ($70) a gallon....had the original price tag when i bought it an old fellows flea mkt after he passed on} the original tag has been lost and the only thing i remembered is that the stuff was high $$$$$....now can i use this stuff on my horses for black flies/mosquito's and the like or am i jist holdin on to something thats no use to me as i don't have any cows?????
and what mixture as don't wanna kill my horses ...the stuff smells terrible......... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

mikim · May 26, 2004

That's particularly common with new construction - Take steps to control 'em - keep a watchful eye for awhile - especially in the bathrooms - but you shouldn't have a problem next season - and like was said - dump your shoes before putting your feet in 'em.

DAP · May 26, 2004

Todd ... not sure a horse would take to that stuff the same way a cow would. I'd check with a vet first.

Everyone who has horses on their property already knows their aint a product made worth a bucket o water that can keep the bugs off the horses - at least not very good or without killin the horse. We've tried many of them products and were disappointed each time.

Our best remedy we could muster up is to add a garlic pill or 2 to their oats, use a fly mask and a fly sheet and have the tiger balm ready to put on any bites.

Down here in NY, in July, the horse flies carry FAA certification papers with em. At least those bombers are slow and dumb. One of my mares begs to have her hind quarters flogged when they're about. Normally, you play ring around the rosie just trying to lay a hand on her rump. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

RanchMan · May 26, 2004

Polecat -

Yep - that's about the price it goes for. They don't give it away, that's for sure - but I've found it far more effective at killing scorpions (and cost effective too) than getting an exterminator out. Plus, it gets all the other "critters" that like to bite you while tooling around your yard (ticks, chiggers, etc.) I've never used it as a dip on horses and can't say if it is OK to do - checking with the vet like DAP suggested is probably a good idea - but using it on their premises should be fine. Here are some mixing ratios from the label where it specifically mentions spraying "horse barns" and the like for "premise use."

When spraying for scorpions around the house I just pour some in one of those hose-connected sprayers and spray the lawn and a little up the walls. Depending on the size of the yard you want to hit, it would probably take a pint or two to get a good coverage. (I always made sure to pin up the dogs for a few hours until it dried so they didn't get any directly on them while it was wet.)

As far as the smell, that dissipates after a few days after spraying.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Treed_in_TX · May 27, 2004

Most insecticide remedies will work by killing the food source for the scorpions. We had them in Austin TX until we sold the house this month. We sprayed around the outside killing most of the scorpion's prey. We still got them in the house from time to time but not nearly as often as before the spraying.

garchib · Jun 18, 2004

I lived in Arizona for 5 1/2 years and an ASU professor was
doing research on scorpions and found that the bark scorpion
can be submerged in cyanide and will still live /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
There are very few pesticides that will kill bark scorpions, but
I hear that Diatamacious Earth dries them out and can kill them. They are evolutionary tanks that have survived just like the cockroach. I was stung in bed one night and never really slept that soundly again in AZ until I moved back to New England /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

fishman · Jun 19, 2004

They are all over around my house but here's how I've been keeping them out of my house.

Spray entire perimeter (foundation) of home with Bug-B-Gone. Spray around all entry points to the home. Those include, but are not limited to gable vents, soffit vents, dryer vents, entry points for the central air unit, and around all doors and windows. Also spray the bottom two feet of every tree that is close to overhanging the roof, and the base of every tree that contacts that one . . . you get the idea. This usually takes about 15 minutes, including mixing of the chemical, and costs less than fifty cents. It's best to do it every 3-4 months, but I have stretched it to six.

That method was getting everything but the scorpions, and had reduced the scorpions to one or two every year. One stung me in bed, what a lousy way to wake up. Previously, before spraying, the award went to the time the scorpion fell out of the exhaust fan in the bathroom . . . while I was sitting on the throne. Fell in my hair. Not a pretty sight. I screamed like a little girl. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Anyway . . . Found the point of entry by process of deduction. They were coming in the air conditioner drain line (pvc) and popping out the top of the vent hole. I put a screen over the top of it and we've gone a year now with no scorpions or other nasty surprises in the house. Keeping my fingers crossed.

The spray method I described keeps out all other lesser bugs, and can probably be successfully applied just about anywhere.

Bird · Jun 19, 2004

( One stung me in bed, what a lousy way to wake up )

I think I was six or seven years old when one got in bed with me; got me 3 times before I bailed out screaming, and even after Dad killed it, I slept the rest of the night in another bed, and didn't sleep too well either. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif But I never forgot it and hate those things. When we bought a new house in '72, one evening the first week we were in it, we found 2 scorpions in the house, and I had professional exterminators out there the next day. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

And since then, I've been doing the same thing you're doing, two or three times a year, but this is the first year to use Bug-B-Gone. I've been using Diazinon most of the time, occasionally Malathion instead.

As for having one fall out of the exhaust fan, I can imagine what an exciting time that was. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

StoneHeartFarm · Jun 20, 2004

( That's particularly common with new construction - Take steps to control 'em - keep a watchful eye for awhile - especially in the bathrooms - but you shouldn't have a problem next season - and like was said - dump your shoes before putting your feet in 'em. )

Living here in the great wet north, I know nothing about scorpions. Why do you have to be extra careful in the bathroom? Bare feet? Why does new construction pose a problem? Because of openings?

Steve

fishman · Jun 20, 2004

Yes Bird, it was very invigorating to say the least.

The worst visitor we ever had in our house was one of those giant red-headed centipedes. It was about 8" long and my daughter saw it trying to climb a wall. Come to think of it, she sounded a lot like I did that day in the bathroom. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Anyway, being the tender soul that I am, the fact that he hadn't hurt anyone, and because I'd never seen one before, I trapped him in a cardboard box, videotaped him, and set him loose in the woods.

We figured he came through the door to the garage, which had been open for a while that day. Since then, I spray around the garage door AND around the entry door, and it never stays open longer than a few seconds.

We see lots of juveniles about but only rarely do we see the adults.

Oh, and don't get me started about the tarantulas. My place is an entomoligist's dream come true.

garchib · Jun 21, 2004

.....I have heard similar techniques from other people that match what you guys are saying......basically, if you kill their food (cockroaches, etc.) they are not as plentiful.....while I lived in AZ, I heard that many of the exterminators who advertise "scorpion control" use the technique of physical removal, coupled with closing up any and all home entry
points ;-)

Golfgar4 · Jun 21, 2004

We lived in Tuscon, AZ for 1 year when my Dad was in charge of building a golf course. I'll never forget the day we went to see the house we we're going to be renting for the year. The realtor was giving the family a tour, and she very calmly mentioned that we should shake our shoes out each morning before we put them on. My mother asked why we should do that, and the realtor said to make sure there weren't any scorpions in them! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

I still believe to this day that my mother NEVER took off her shoes for the rest of the year until we moved back to the midwest! /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Tdog · Jun 21, 2004

Ah, yes. Shake out your shoes in the morning.

I was raised in central Texas & know about these critters. I've been got more than once. However, I've been in the New Orleans area all my married life. A few years ago we were vacationing in Big Bend, having driven for some time to get there. My girls [both New Orleans kids] were cranky & at each others throats. Well, we had rented a cabin in the park - - & since it was a cabin, both girls got their own bedroom [& so did my wife & me!]. As we headed for bed, I told everyone to shake out their shoes in the morning. They wanted to know why, so I explained it to them. They just nodded. So what did we find the next morning, but both girls in the same bed. They were looking to each other for protection, I guess.
The other thing that shut them up that first night in Big Bend [did I mention they were fussy after a long day on the road?] - - I put down the tailgate of the jeep, told them to lay down & look up. I could almost hear them catch their collective breath as they saw that sky chock full of stars. Best baby sitter I ever had.