Scorpions and Pest Control. Ah, the sweet sounds of crickets chirping at night can be relaxing. That relaxing chirp can invite a hungry Arizona Bark scorpion to seek out its dinner. Bark Scorpions will eat most any bug including roaches and spiders, and all their favorite foods are roaming around your yard or house.
Taken at noon, at around 104 degrees. This fellow was a temporary occupant of my garage.
Arizona Bark scorpions do not forage or tunnel into the earth. They may sometimes seek out a preexisting bug or small animal burrow, but they mostly hide out under rocks, leaves, flower beds, cracks in walls and baseboards anything that keeps them out of the sun. They hunt at night and even glow in the dark under a black light.
Arizona bark scorpion glowing under ultraviolet light.
At one time, short of smacking a scorpion with a boot or spraying it directly with a pesticide, you could only control them at the food source. Kill the food, and the scorpions would move on. Now thanks to science there are microencapsulated chemicals. Scorpions can be destroyed from the residual (dried) substance after a pest control professional sprays.
Back to the food source. Urban development has not decreased the spread of the bark scorpion. In fact, they like it. Scorpions can co-exist with humans just fine. We provide them with what they need. Food and shelter. Our homes and yards are an attractant to all types of insects.
Scorpions are resilient and can live underwater for at least forty-eight hours. They can go for as long as a year without food. And, they can survive on just the moisture they get from their prey.
Of course, being diligent about keeping the house clear of bugs is still essential. Street lights and porch lights attract insects. Crumbs and leftover food too. Also in cold weather, a home is an attractive place for an insect looking for shelter. If the circle-of-life gets out of control an insect infestation can take hold. At those times all that is needed is to put out a welcome mat.
What Stormin’ Norman Does
Stormin’ Norman offers “The Phoenix Package” for your home. This means a trained Stormin’ Norman technician visits your residence or business every other month and uses the appropriate product made to kill scorpions. We will also evaluate your home or business and landscaping and apply this product in common places where scorpions like to hide.
Stormin’ Norman Pest Control offers the most efficient and “green” service to keep scorpions and other pests from entering your home. A home seal service along with our Scorpion Control Pest Control Service has provided excellent results in some of the most scorpion infested homes. The Stormin’ Norman home seal service will seal these gaps in and around your home, screen bathroom fan vents, seal the J-trim around your house, and seal plumbing areas.
Bark scorpions will glow under a black light. Stormin’ Norman Pest Control will provide a black light service to help reduce the number of scorpions in your yard. We will spend approximately an hour during each of our two services searching your front yard, backyard, and interior of your home. During these services, we will capture any scorpions spotted and remove them from your home.
What You Can Do
- Keep woodpiles and other stacked items away from your house.
- Change exterior lighting. Yellow lights do not attract bugs the same way white light.
- Is the weather stripping or door sweeps in your house cracked or in need of repair? If you can slip a credit card under a door, a scorpion can get through too.
- Caulk or plug all spaces where pipes, electrical, phone or waterlines enter your anywhere in your house. Look under sinks, around the exterior and interior chips or cracks in stucco.
- Overwatering plant furnishes a water source for scorpions and other pests. Sprinkler systems need to be leak free.
- Keep the grass mowed
- Keep plants trimmed and away from your home. Scorpions climb up from surrounding vegetation and can even enter through shingles of your attic.
- Scorpions love to hide under large rocks, logs, shrubs and any untrimmed decaying foliage included trees, palm trees too.
- Be creative, look for areas particular to your property and adjust your strategy accordingly.
- Call Stormin” Norman at (480) 804-1114 or click the word CONTACT.
Safety
Don’t assume a scorpion is dead because they are in your pool or puddle. Remember they can survive underwater for forty-eight hours.
Scorpions can live for extended periods without food if they have a reliable water source.
Wet towels on the ground in the bathroom, pool or spa attract scorpions. Pick up these items with care. Be ready if a scorpion crawls out with a long handle tweezer.
Scorpions will hide in clothing or shoes. Shake pieces gently, away from your body to check for an intruder. (Gently handle and shake clothing this will also help dislodge a brown recluse spider).
Do you use redwood bark as mulch? Scorpions love the stuff! Always wear gloves while working in those areas.
Sometimes kids will pick up a scorpion on their backpack, or the scorpion will get a ride inside your house on the back of your pet. Be aware.
Cover Photo
Brian Basgen, Musides at English Wikipedia [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Sources
http://articles.extension.org/pages/71097/ipm-action-plan-for-bark-scorpions
archive.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/20100513clay0513.html
https://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm266515.htm
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