[nickcarraway]

[brytlea]

I’ve been stung by a scorpion once (not sure what kind, clearly not a deadly one—I didn’t die). BUT it hurt worse than anything I’ve had sting or bite me. Burns like fire and then later, when it stopped hurting itched like the worst mosquito bite ever. Nasty critters!

[BibChr]

"Yeah. I'd eat that."

[downtownconservative]

Had one of these u-ugly critters crawl in bed with me one night when I lived just outside of Phoenix. Woke up around 1:30 AM to extreme leg radiating pain in the right buttock (as Forrest Gump would say). Hurt like nothing I have ever experienced for about 8-9 hours. That critter paid the ultimate pricer for my discomfort. I am glad it got me where it did, considering all the other possibilities.

[pallis]

I kill them when I see them.

[WayneS]

So exactly how loud do they bark?

They are pretty small. Can you HEAR them before you see them?

;^)

[skeeter]

Yikes. I’d definitely rather find a California Barking Spider in my sleeping bag.

[Joe 6-pack]

Cajun's jus' love dem water scorpeens...

[WayneS]

When you are trying to kill it, use something heavy because they have an exoskeleton.

So, you're saying .44 Magnum instead of .22, right?

[mikeus_maximus]

Yep, the smaller the pedipaps, the more dangerous they are—sorta’ their version of “little man’s disease”.

[ravingnutter]

Because they are active at night, many stings are to a person's feet when they walk through their homes without the lights on.

And it hurts like hell when they nail you on the big toe. Hubby came running with the .45 Ruger thinking I was being attacked. We keep the exterior of the house sprayed with some heavy duty pesticide now, haven't seen one in the house in a couple of years.

[Free Vulcan]

"When you are trying to kill it, use something heavy because they have an exoskeleton. A fly swatter or rolled up newspaper may not be effective. Also, pesticides may not kill them immediately when sprayed directly on them because the exoskeleton delays absorption."

Nuke it, it's the only way to be sure.

[Towed_Jumper]

I got stung in the middle of my back one early morning—while still in bed —little bugger fell off of the ceiling. It was extremely painful with sharp pain running down both legs. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Our family then began nightly “search and destroy” missions in our front and back yard armed with a black light and rubber mallet. (Scorpions fluoresce a lime-green color under a black light). Whenever we'd find one “WHAM!” goes the rubber mallet.

I killed 63 bark scorpions in our yard. We also had to put mesh screening over all of our air ducts, and filled in all of the holes in the walls where the plumbing entered the inside of the house.

Nevertheless, my wife also got stung 13-times on her shoulder and back one night when another scorpion fell from the ceiling into our bed and somehow got inside her nightgown.

I hate those little buggers.

[TADSLOS]

I’ve had numerous close calls over the years with these little bad asses, but no stings yet. I usually kill two or three every year in and around the house here in central Texas. Many years ago, I witnessed a buddy of mine getting stung by one as he leaned up against a pine tree. It went down his back under his OD t-shirt. By the time we ripped his shirt off and killed it, he had been stung 12 times. Two days later I was stripping off a set of funky,twelve day old jungle fatigues and found one tucked up under my shirt collar. No telling how long that little bastard had been there.

[MarkL]

In general, with scorpions, the smaller the pincers, the more powerful the venom in the sting. And like spiders, some species of scorpions are far more aggressive than others.

I remember seeing a large black scorpion with huge pincers once, and it was amazingly non-aggressive, and could be handled. I was told that the sting (even thought the thing about about 4” or 5” long) was about the same as a bee sting.

Finally, if you’re worried about stepping on one in the dark, carry a UV flashlight: They fluoresce.

Mark

[grey_whiskers]

As a former Phoenician, I can say on the basis of experience that they are dangerous. A guy in the cube next to me at work had to have his 2-year old hospitalized for convulsions following a bark scorption sting. He put diatomaceous earth all over the yard and at the ground-line of the house and the problem stopped. Short of this, the best treatment for bark scorpion infestations is a cat.

We would often come downstairs in the morning to find scorpion bits next to the cat's food dish.

Here in Minnesota, she prefers plastic grocery bags from target, or, preferably, rubber bands.

Cheers!