If you live in Phoenix, it’s likely you’ve seen at least one scorpion. This is especially true in new housing developments where their natural habitats have been disturbed.
Scorpions will sneak into your home (after all, they’re just being neighborly) and wait in the dark to sting you. Want to know more? Check out scorpions 101!
While only 25 of the 1,000 species of scorpions are venomous, scorpion stings can still make you sick.
Here are tips to avoid scorpions stings that even the most seasoned Phoenician will find helpful:
- Don’t eat scorpions. Sounds like a no-brainer but it’s not. In some parts of the world scorpions are considered a delicacy but not here in Phoenix where a sting can make you sick.
- Know what they look like. Around since the dinosaur era, scorpions have a crablike appearance that includes four pairs of legs, pincers, and a long, segmented tail that curls. The tail is where the stinger is and depending on the type of scorpion, it can be venomous.
- Put your shoes on! The next time you think about going to your garage or yard in the dark without shoes, think about scorpions. They love nothing more than surprising a tasty pair of bare feet.
- Shake it out. Those shoes you should be wearing? Shake them out along with your clothes if they’ve been stored in your dark closet to avoid an unwanted scorpion sting.
- Move your bed. Scorpions love creeping up your bed that’s flush to the wall. Pull your bed slightly away from the wall to make it more challenging for them. They might even go somewhere else and avoid your bed altogether.
- Keep the kids safe. Nothing worse than a child being stung by a scorpion or other unwanted pests. One tip to avoid this – place mason jars on the legs of cribs and beds. Scorpions can’t climb up the jars.
- Landscape and garage safety. If you’re moving rocks, equipment, and boxes around your yard or garage, we recommend wearing long pants, shoes, socks, and gloves and carefully checking underneath anything you’re moving. You might be a little hot in the summer but you will avoid a scorpion sting.
- Put the blacklight away. We often hear of families “hunting” scorpions at night using a blacklight. While it’s kind of cool to see them all lit up, we don’t recommend touching them. That’s how people get hurt!
If you or someone in your family has been stung by a scorpion, the first thing to do is seek medical attention.
