How to Prevent, Find and Kill Scorpions and Treat a Sting

If you’ve ever been stung by a bark scorpion then you know how much of a priority goes to finding ways to find and kill these nasty little bugs. Better yet, if you’ve ever had to watch an infant or toddler go through a scorpion sting, you know how life threatening it can really be. Without the bark scorpions anti-venom, I would have most likely lost my niece a little over a year ago who was stung by a scorpion.

If you have seen a scorpion in or around your home before, much like mice, there’s not only one. Most likely, there are much, much more. Some homes are built much better than others and have tighter seals around windows and along the foundation, but some older homes are extremely vulnerable.

Scorpions can get through almost any sized gap or hole. I’ve seen them crawl out and drop from light fixtures, hide on the back of picture frames, inside shoes and flip flops, underneath dirty laundry, under my pillow and just about anywhere else you can imagine. And it’s not like these little buggers run away when they see you. Whether it’s out of fear, self defense or hunger, they attack. They’re predators.

How to Find and Kill Scorpions

Prevent Scorpion Stings

The best way to avoid being stung is to prevent the sting. Here are a few tips for doing that:

1. Form prevention habits that you’ll do every single day of your life. Shake out your clothes and shoes before you put them on.
2. Look under your pillow and in your blankets before going to bed. I jumped into bed one night and was on my belly with my arms under my pillow as I felt something moving against my arm hair. I bolted up, switched on the light and sure enough, a scorpion was right under my pillow.
3. If you pick up anything, and I mean anything off the floor, check underneath or shake out.
4. Keep baby beds, kids beds, your bed, couches and anything you lounge on a few inches from the wall and up on pegs instead of completely on the floor. Scorpions love dark, damp places and love to climb up the walls. This won’t completely keep them from climbing on your furniture, but will drastically decrease their point of entry.
5. Surround your home with a line of diatomaceous earth. For some reason, when the scorpions crawl through the diatomaceous earth, it gets into their exoskeleton and kills them.

How to Find Scorpions

The most effective way to find scorpions, at least bark scorpions, is by using a black light, or UV light. UV stands for Ultraviolet. If you’ve ever seen neon yellow under a UV light, it shines like it has an internal light. Scorpions do that exact same thing when under a UV light. They stick out like a sore thumb.

You can buy UV flashlights at almost any big box store, however, most I’ve purchased there have broken within a month of use. The last UV flashlight I received was in exchange for a review and was from Amazon sold by Eleclover and has worked great thus far. It’s brighter and built more sturdy than the little ones from the stores. Price point is under $15 as well, which is nice and can also be used to find stains in carpet and furniture.

The best time to look for scorpions is of course at night time. I check every room in my home, usually doing a quick scan through the middle of the floor, underneath beds, along the base of the wall and then quickly all the way up the walls. If it’s there, it will shine bright yellow. If I know there’s a scorpion in a room, such as right after it has stung someone, I’ll search underneath everything on the floor until I find it and kill it.

A quick scan of the house every night can produce some great results if you’re consistent.

If you want to go on an all out war, head outside and turn over some stones, look around and in wood piles or logs, check along the base of walls, underneath porches or, if you have a cockroach problem, you can often find them where the cockroaches hang out.

How to Kill Scorpions

If you’re a do it yourself kind of person, then I’d go above and beyond the traditional scorpion spray at your local Walmart or Home Depot. I purchase a spray called Conquer from a local pesticide/fertilizer supply company called Fertizona. It comes concentrated and can last you an entire year.

Spray along the baseboards even behind furniture, across door thresholds, around the exterior of windows, around the exterior of sliding glass doors and anywhere you feel they might cross through or hang out. I usually spray every three to four weeks, even though the bottle might tell you to spray less frequently.

The nice thing about Conquer is that it’s virtually odorless. You can smell a faint insecticide smell, but it’s not overwhelming.

If you find a scorpion that’s just passed through Conquer spray, it will either be dead or lethargic.

If you decide to squish a scorpion, either flush it or take it out of the home. Rumor has it that scorpions are attracted to the smell of other dead, or squished scorpions. It really does sound nasty when you squish them and they tend to ooze some nasty tan juice, so be firm, but be gently. They’re pretty resilient.

Treatment for a Scorpion Sting

If you get stung by a scorpion and are over the age 8, don’t panic. Unless you have a specific allergy to scorpion venom, you’ll be just fine. However, scorpion stings are painful. The first initial sting feels like you just got the worst splinter you’ve ever had in your life. It burns and shoots pain which then radiates up and down your leg or arm for hours after the sting. Some people get a little shaky.

You can take Benadryl to decrease the symptoms. I’ve heard that baking soda paste applied to the sting area helps as well.

If your child gets stung by a scorpion, keep a close eye on them. If their eyes start bouncing around or rolling, they start foaming from the mouth or experience convulsions, rush them to the ER. Most emergency rooms are stocked with anti-venom, at least where bark scorpions are present. Once they receive the anti-venom, they’ll be fine shortly after. It’s pretty scary to go through, but it’s amazing how fast the anti-venom works.