How do I kill or prevent scorpions?

Question: I moved from Wisconsin to Phoenix, Ariz. Scorpions are the “norm” in Arizona. How do I kill them?

Answer: Scorpions are difficult to control and difficult to keep out of houses. You can start with reducing the vegetation that is around and close to the house. Scorpions can use this vegetation as a hiding place. They also hide under rocks and bury themselves in loose sand. Care must be taken when working outdoors, it is best to wear gloves!

There is little that you can spray around the outside or inside of the house to get control. They are most active during warm periods when temperatures are above 75 degrees F. Most insecticides may not last long enough to have a long-term impact on scorpions. Indoors they move around so much that there would be few predictable places to spray.

There is no easy way to keep them out of the house. The first step is to seal the door thresholds. Indoors, you can use a black light to periodically inspect the house. Scorpions glow a yellowish green under black light. You can use an aerosol or a vacuum to pick up the scorpions once you locate them with the light.

There are somevenomous scorpions that occur in the southwestern United States and Mexico. The species that are the least dangerous produce a local swelling, or red spot on the skin, much like a bee or wasp sting. The species that is the most venomous is the Baja California bark scorpion (Centruroides exilicauda) as opposed to the Arizona bark scorpion (Centruroides sculpturatus) which is not considered to be as dangerous. These two variants of the bark scorpion are considered to be medically significant. The location of the sting may become quite painful. In case of a scorpion sting, no matter which one, see a physician immediately.

Read more about controlling scorpions.

Related Questions

Orkin used the information above to also answer the following questions submitted by Orkin.com users:

Question: Hi. I’m in Oklahoma City, Okla., and I would like to know if you take care of scorpions? I also would like to know if there is any house sealing treatment that you offer to stay protected from those? My house is a new one, and in a new neighborhood, and I already found three scorpions in the house in the last three months. Any advice?

Question: We have seen a few scorpions in our house in the past, but recently I have found several. Is there something I can do to prevent them from getting in? Also, I find them in locations not near a door or window. Could I have some living in our home?

Question: Why am I seeing scorpions in my house?

Question: I have a house in east Texas that is infested with bark scorpions, and I have an absolute phobia of them. Can you eradicate them?

Question: Why am I seeing scorpions in my house?

Answer: It may be a seasonal thing.