As the summer heat intensifies in Prescott, Arizona, so does the activity of a particular pest that many residents are all too familiar with: the bark scorpion. These creatures are not only unwelcome guests but also pose a potential threat due to their venomous sting. This blog post will guide you on how to keep these critters out of your home, how to find them, and what to do if you or a small child get stung.

Understanding the Bark Scorpion

The Arizona Bark Scorpion is the most venomous scorpion in North America. Its sting can be life-threatening (two recorded deaths since 1966), but most often, it's just a long, very painful 24 hour ordeal. These scorpions are natural climbers, capable of scaling walls and even crawling on ceilings. They prefer an upside-down orientation, known as negative geotaxis, which allows them to find difficult-to-spot hiding places in your home. Small Bark scorpions can squeeze through gaps no wider than a credit card, or about 1/16th of an inch, making even small cracks or crevices potential entry points. They are carnivorous, hunting crickets, roaches, and other insects at night. If these pests are getting into your home, bark scorpions have all the reasons they need to follow.

Making Your Home Unwelcoming to Scorpions

To keep scorpions at bay, you need a strategy that goes beyond a can of store-bought pesticide. That being said, we HIGHLY recommend having a professional pest company come spray at least four times a year. In addition to that, here are some steps you can take:

1. Close the buffet: Scorpions are predators on the hunt for crickets, roaches, ants, and other insects. If these pests have access to your home, scorpions probably do as well. Start by cleaning your home of all easily accessible food for roaches and crickets.

2. Fortify your castle: Bark scorpions can fit anywhere a credit card can slide under (about 1/16 of an inch), but they often select the easiest means of getting into your home. Using caulking and weatherstripping, secure areas around windows, doors, and the foundation.

3. Clean up the neighborhood: In the summer, scorpions seek cool spaces to escape to during the day. This includes hiding under large rocks, under logs, in piles of leaves, and in cinder blocks. Remove these habitats by cleaning up loose debris and placing river rock away from your exterior walls.

4. Seek and destroy. Get a UV Flashlight and do a sweep of your floors at night before bed, as well we recomend doing a quick sweep of the areas within 10-15 feet of your entryways and garage doors.

Finding Scorpions

Scorpions have a special protein in their exoskeleton that causes them to glow a bright blueish-green when exposed to UV light. You can use a blacklight to easily spot them in the dark. A nighttime inspection with a blacklight is a good place to start. You can find good UV flashlights on Amazon for anywhere from $30 to $70, depending on the amount of power you want. I use and prefer the UV Beast M3. It is a veritable beast and suits our needs well, as we are hunting outside at night in the pitch dark.

What to Do If You Get Stung

If you or a small child get stung by a bark scorpion, it's crucial to take immediate action.

1. Clean the wound with mild soap and water.

2. Apply a cool compress to the affected area to help alleviate pain.

3. If a child under six is stung, seek immediate medical attention. Children of this age cannot metabolize the bark scorpion venom, which can lead to serious injury to the nervous system and, in extreme cases, can even be fatal.

4. Adults should also be cautious. While adults can metabolize the venom, multiple stings can lead to serious adverse effects. If an adult is stung, keep an eye on the sting, treat it with alcohol and ice, and monitor for signs of adverse effects such as dizziness, numbness, vomiting and foaming at the mouth.

5. Seek prompt medical care if severe symptoms begin to appear.

Remember, bark scorpions are not necessarily territorial. They'll sting when they feel threatened, but they rarely advance on people. Most stings occur due to accidental contact, such as your hand brushing up against a scorpion in the dark. Stay vigilant and stay safe.

During this scorpion season, we've been encountering a significant increase in bark scorpions around our home, with our nightly captures ranging between 15 and 30. We've decided to share our experiences with these fascinating yet unwelcome guests through live streams on our TikTok account, TikTok.com/@prescottdays. We invite anyone interested to join us on these nightly adventures. We typically go live at 8:30 p.m. Arizona time. Our goal is to keep the critters away from our house as well as educate people about this fascinating animal.

Recognizing the potential threat these creatures pose, particularly in rural areas around Prescott, we now offer a service to assist our community. We offer comprehensive scorpion inspections within homes and conduct extensive sweeps outside, helping you identify and mitigate potential infestations. We do this free of charge, as long as we are able to film the adventure. So join us on our live streams and stay vigilant during this hot, dry summer.