I have grown up with these guys and they donâÂÂt really bother me. Kind of sucks when you are woken from a dead sleep due to a sting but other than that there ok. LOL. I use 2 methods to rid them. Lots and lots of sticky traps which I place in spots of entry ie edges of the garage doors and ect. The more pads the better. On top of that I have purchased a CREE blacklight from ebay for like 20 bucks. The brightest and best blacklight money can buy. The cheap ones at Wal-Mart or in stores just donâÂÂt compare. I then go out every night and hunt the back and front yard. After a week or so you will learn their favorite spots. I collect them with needle nose pliers and dispose of them. After a while you will find less and less and at the same time you will dramatically reduce them entering the home. The problem I have found with scorpions is if you have an infestation then is very possible itâÂÂs not just you and it is your location. This means your neighbors have the same problem and if they are also not addressing the issue and removing them it will just make your job that much harder as they cross into your property. Happy hunting and good luck!

There is no poisoned bait. Scorpions eat live insects, period. I do like the glue trap idea above a lot...while I hate those outside because it seems like they always trap birds of all things, but inside the home or garage, shed, etc. where birds don't have free access, ya man! Unless you have kids still too young to know stupid.

5 inside or outside the home. Outside, not that big a deal. That is where they live. Inside, work hard to rid yourself of them, but you have already hamstrung the best solution.

1. Pest proof the house. Seal the doors. Dual door entry or screened security doors. Unfortunately it doesn't take much of a gap for entry.

2. Fumigate the home--I know not an option for you. You worry about the fumes, I worry about young kids getting stung. If scorpions are inside the home they must have a food source. Get rid of the food source by fumigation and the scorpions go away. Bugs in your home must be eating something, keep the home clean reduces their numbers without pesticide use.

Potential control (organic) relatively low impact, but every pesticide has risks especially for young kids, pets, fish:

http://www.arbico-organics.com/product/EcoPCO-D-X-Dust-Insecticide/natural-organic-insecticides-home

http://www.arbico-organics.com/product/safer-ant-bed-bug-insect-killer-diatomaceous-earth-de/natural-organic-insecticides-home [inside and outside, doesn't degrade, and I suspect scorpions will not like it, certainly their prey won't.]

http://www.arbico-organics.com/product/boric-acid-puffer-insecticide/natural-organic-insecticides-home [reduces prey inside home]

bay leaves in cabinets --- works to repel roaches

3. I suppose you can trap them somewhat by providing mobile resting spots moved around the yard in the day and inspecting them daily for scorpions. My old wine casts were popular upside down.

4. UV patrol in and out. Remember they are keeping insect populations down outside. Removing substantial numbers of scorpions may have unintended consequences outside and eventually inside.

5. Provide habitat and friendly environment for their predators.

Note, I didn't say spray for them. Pretty useless control method.

Here is a link that might be useful: scorpions

This post was edited by Fascist_Nation on Fri, Aug 22, 14 at 12:44

We've had pretty good luck with Diatomaceous Earth. Haven't found a live scorp in the house in the years we've been using it--knock on wood!

We used to use an exterminator, till he spilled the beans that his chemicals were killing our lizards.
DE kills insects mechanically, either by slicing and dicing their exoskeletons or by clogging their breathing apparatus. It is totally non-toxic to people and pets (you MUST get Food Grade at the feed store) and is used by farmers in feed to deworm livestock. You should avoid breathing it, though, because it can irritate the lungs. If I have to spread it on a windy day, I wear a mask.

A 40 lb bag costs less than one visit from the exterminator, so give it a try.

Glue traps in places that desirables do not inhabit. I have them in the backs of low cupboards and rear floor of pantry, as well as garage. The only creatures that I have ever found on the glue traps indoors is scorpions. Ironically, I was stung last night during a power outage. This is my second sting adventure in my rather long life. So, glue traps aren't perfect, but they do help.

control the crickets and roaches - scorpion prey - and that helps.

Caulk doors and window cracks

Don't take trash out at night

Wear shoes

I tried sticky traps but gave them up after I caught a lizard. I felt sooooo bad. Using them inside like Facist said would be great.

Scorpions favorite foods are crickets and cockroaches so by eliminating them, your populations will be dramatically reduced. The DE mentioned above is perfect but must remain dry to work. Boric acid powder is also an option. It kills crawling insects by acting as a stomach poison.

Scorpions like damp, dark places especialy large river rock 'streams' in landscapes. Check around your home and eliminate those areas. Or place a piece of old carpet over a damp area and in the morning pull it back to reveal hiding scorpions.

The link Facist gave you is a good one.

One thing which really is our secret weapon I forgot to mention was to have a cat. Not cat fan myself but my fiance is and that cat does work. They love to kill scorpions and hunt for them at night while you are sleeping which is also when the scorpions roam

Great suggestions. Yes, these are found inside the house. I don't care if they are outside. They are slowing invading almost all the homes in the neighborhood whereas in years past no one had them. I have DE already so I will spread more around the outside of house, but since it's been raining that might not last long. We actually have pill bugs and earwigs coming in too but can't figure out from where. Haven't seen any cockroaches as I have cock roach liquid bait everywhere and it works well. Do scorpions eat pill bugs and earwigs? What other predators eat scorpions that I don't need to keep as pets? Don't know what habitat will attract predators. I will do the glue traps and take up the new hobby of hunting them with uv light.

Keep suggestions coming.

Just wanted to second the cat suggestion. Cats are said to be "immune" to scorp stings, but the more plausible explanation I've read is that their very thick skin is pretty much impervious to the stinger. Either way, they really go after the little buggers, God bless 'em.

You can also use the DE inside around any possible entry points you find (I use a flour sifter). And remember that scorps can only crawl and fall, not jump or fly. I saw an episode of "Infested" where the people literally had them pouring down from the ceiling, so the aim is to head them off before they can get above you.

Also, they live for a long time, have to eat only very infrequently, and throw off lots of babies, so you may have stragglers for a while after you get the situation under control.

Good luck!

The flour sifter reminded me - I use a large shaker can with handle, made for flour dusting or salt/pepper, to dispense DE. Works great!

@toucan: I wouldn't be overly concerned. Deal with the immediate situation of course, but you probably shouldn't project forward. Like many creepy-crawlies, scorpions can have bloom years -- you may not not see a single one in your home next year. They are thick here from time to time, but nearly absent at others. I have never treated or done anything other than remove individuals from my home as I find them.

Thanks germanstar. So I shouldn't get worked up in a frenzy? I ordered the black light. There are so many entry points I can think of. Door ways, garage, fireplace. They better not fall onto us from the ceiling. I sure hope this is an unusual bloom.

Cats are not a possibility due to multiple people being allergic. Don't really like cat smell either. Maybe someone can rent out their scorpion hunting cat or chicken for a day.

That was going to be my second suggestion. Chickens love scorpions not to mention you get fresh eggs!

If I found 5 scorpions in my house I would move back to the snowy Midwest. I hunt them outside my house with a big UV light and I look in my house with the light every night. Germanstar neglected to tell you he has been stung in his bed from a scorpion. I hate those things.

One little sting in seventeen years. It wasn't so bad, honest!

I found five scorpions in my home in FH the first month after I moved in, not so many since -- only two this year that I recall. We have giant hairy scorpions and camel spiders outside that eat the little fellas! They are just a normal part of the cycle of life here.

{{gwi:416627}}

Have you considered arming some kids with hemostats, black-lights, and gloves, and offering a bounty?

"No, you can't have an Otterpop until I see two scorpions in that jar!"

Just kidding. Maybe.

I think the bounty idea is great as long as the kids were careful. Can children be bribed anymore with a popsicles?
GS, you are more of a man than me to have that many scorpions inside and still reside.

Lordy. Reading this gives me the creeps. We have lived in this house 17 years this Fall, and I have yet to see a scorpion, nor a roach. A few crickets manage to get inside which drives my wife nuts, but I can't hear them. But we do have tons and tons of ants. Just found two big colonies of ants in our garage last weekend. .Had to move everything and spray like mad. Always fighting them somewhere in the house. These chicken wire and stucco houses they build today the walls are not sealed well with the foundation. Use Amdro and Raid but they just keep coming back. Our hummingbird feeders are always loaded with ants. They climb up the metal poles the feeders hang on. I've coated those poles with petroleum jelly - but I think they eat their way up the pole then. We do have lots of fence lizards, I thought they were supposed to eat ants?

When you get rid of the food source you get rid of the scorpions. We use DE around the place and this year we only had one so far in the pool. I think they are drawn to the water. We had one last year and it was also in the pool.
Our neighbors don't spray for bugs or put out anything to kill the bugs so we believe they come over the brick wall straight into the pool. Keep kitty and dog food inside. Note: You can not spray for scorpions only their food source.

Moved here in 2000, never saw a scorpion until last year when I was sitting in front of the computer and got bit on the ankle. Never occurred to me what it was, even thought my yorkie was playing and got nippy. Looked down and got totally freaked out. Those are ugly critters! Now, Sexton pest comes over every few months for maintence control. They spray for fleas at the same time, works out well, not expensive either. Hope you can get rid of those things.

I agree with everyone about cricket and roach control - kill off the food and you probably won't see scorpions. if you can slip a credit card underneath your door, a small scorpion can get in. we live on acreage, and small scorpions come inside usually in the spring - only a few, and about 1" long. the best thing I have found to deal with them is to spray all along the foundation of the house and around the doorways with a scorpion spray. I purchased this from Home Depot. its a bright yellow gallon container that says "scorpion spray" on the front. it will kill them. the ones that come inside the house have no choice but to cross where I have sprayed, and they die right inside the house. you will have to re-spray after a hard rain. also keep debris picked up - wood piles, leaves, etc. I have some big rocks piled up underneath the spouts where the rain runs off the roof (flat roof), and I run the hose on the rock piles every so often, and sometimes a scorpion will come out.. they are easily killed with a stick, or just by stepping on them. sticky traps will work also, but only use inside the house or garage, as they will also trap other critters like birds and geckos.
good luck
Debbie

Thanks. I'm sure a lot of people like spraying but it's not for me. Cockroaches are notorious for surviving everything and breeding fast so would need to spray directly on all the cockroaches to get enough of them to be effective in my opinion. The ones that survive get even stronger. In the mean time I'd be exposing myself to all the fumes. I have tried to keep any debris away from the house. I have a door where even with weather stripping you can still see a little light so they could be coming in from there and many other spots.

Good choice toucan. Unless there is a serious home-invasion afoot (of any creepy-crawly), I wouldn't consider spraying either. I believe you'll find an occasional scorpion in your home not so troubling after a while. They (not always but...) tend to hug walls when they travel and typically move about at night. I have seen tiny specimens on walls, but they generally stay on the ground and represent a minor danger only to those walking about barefoot. As I mentioned above, I was stung once in 17 years -- the sting is rather like a bee sting, a far more fearsome creature that actually flies!

My powerful black light arrived and I hunted for them and fortunately didn't find any because I wouldn't be able to sleep if I did. Found a lot of interesting things that do show up in uv light. Plants leaves look very interesting.

Did find a dead scorpion while in the swimming pool today.

toucan-As I stated above that is where we have been finding ours in the pool at the bottom. I hope that is were they stay!

Thanks for mentioning the CREE light, TJB101084. I purchased one plus the batteries/battery rechargers (unusual Japanese batteries; not something easily found at Home Depot etc) on ebay too. THANKS. You're right, it's amazingly strong compared to the regular ones I had purchased at hardware stores.

I've lived here 15 years and have seen only one scorpion at my previous house, and it was dead. However, over the last two weeks I've suddenly found NINE this house so the backlight has really helped. I'm not loving this situation, LOL, but the backlight does help. I do use the sticky traps inside.

Stay safe all, shudder, lol,
Grant

I wonder if chickens will eat them. We have scorpions and rattlesnakes here, but they stay out of the valley floor. Maybe because of flood irrigation. I've seen my chickens eating frogs and snakes before so maybe they'll eat scorpions. Bantam chickens don't dig up flower beds or eat all your vegetables either.

Lowes has a sticky pad picker upper... I highly recommend that (stock up on the sticky paper refills) and the cree blacklight. Check the house, the garage and the yard once a week for four weeks, then you should be good to just do it once a month.

Those sticky tapes catch more than just scorpions as shown in a recent post about a friendly garter snake. Just say no to sticky tape traps please.

We've lived in our house for 16 years and never saw a scorpion until this year. Our next door neighbor said he started finding them a couple of years ago and now other neighbors and finding a lot of them. We got the cree lights and my husband and sons go out every night and find as many as 6 each time. We found one on the wall of a bedroom which freaked us all out, I have 2 grandchildren living with us for a while, 5 yrs and 5 months old and concerned for them if they get stung. I didn't think anything killed them on contact except for a shoe or a rock but we got a spray from Bug Mart that kills them within a couple of minutes when sprayed directly on them or sprayed into cracks in blocks if one runs in to hide. I don't like cats and my husband is allergic but there is one called maine coon that is "hypo allergenic" as much as that is possible. My daughter has one and she's always been allergic but has no problems with this one. We spent 5 days with her in may and my husband didn't have a reaction so I may look into that, they're pricey though. I just hate scorpions, I've lived here in the desert all my life but still.....

Just found 2 more scorpions. One was moving fast within an inch of my kid. Getting those sticky traps today for the indoors only. Thinking of getting the bantam chicken but that might cause other issues. I have no idea how to raise chickens plus what do you do with it while on vacation.

And I don't think you want just one chicken. They are social and a solitary chicken will be unhappy. That's what I think anyway, could be off as I've never kept them for the reason you state, but it seems that's what I've heard. We like to go camping for 3 of 4 days at a time and it's hard enough to get the garden watered when we're gone.

There is a fairly active chicken/farm animal board at Valley Permaculture. You might wander over there and see if you can engage someone in a covnersation. There's often someone offering free chickens to a new home. phoenix permaculture dot org

Instead of chickens, how about a couple of kingsnakes? They eat scorpions and don't want to have anything to do with you. I know it will freak some folks out, but we had a terrible mouse problem in the back yard when we had chickens. One night we saw that a big kingsnake had come into the back yard, and the mice started disappearing until they were completely gone. Then the snake wandered off. Kingsnakes are also supposed to keep rattlers away.

Didn't know snakes eat scorpions. I'd rather have scorpions though. My scorpions seemed to have disappeared after I put the glue traps down and more roach baits around.

Didn't know snakes eat scorpions. I'd rather have scorpions though. My scorpions seemed to have disappeared after I put the glue traps down and more roach baits around.