Scorpion Identification & Prevention

Scorpions are predatory arachnids that hunt by grabbing prey with their strong claws and stinging it with their venomous tail. This paralyzes the prey and makes it easy for the scorpion to consume. Scorpions hunt mostly crawling invertebrates, such as cockroaches, silverfish, centipedes, and the like. This might make them good to have around the house – if they couldn't inflict painful stings on people, that is. Stings are the main reason you want to keep scorpions out of your house.

North American scorpions are generally not dangerous. Most scorpions can inflict a painful sting that causes swelling and redness at the site of the injury but little more. A scorpion sting might hurt for a few hours, but you will be no worse for the wear in the long run. There's only one exception to this rule here in the United States: the Arizona bark scorpion.

The Arizona bark scorpion is the only dangerous scorpion in the entire country. This scorpion packs a venomous punch that can cause serious systemic symptoms that require medical attention. Even with this potent venom, you are still unlikely to die from the sting of the Arizona bark scorpion. Furthermore, we Georgians don't have to worry about this particular scorpion at all, as it only lives in the Desert Southwest.

You usually wind up with scorpions in Georgia because you have an infestation of the things they like to eat. Scorpions will sometimes enter your home to escape freezing cold or floods, but they are much more likely to come inside if you have juicy cockroaches or tempting centipedes roaming around. This means keeping other infestations at bay can go a long way toward keeping your house free of scorpions as well.

You'll find scorpions where their prey is. This means you will often run into them hiding in dark, low-traffic areas of your home, such as crawl spaces and basements. They may also be inside cabinets or underneath appliances because this is where common household pests like cockroaches tend to be. Scorpions are also infamous for their habit of hiding inside shoes, so if you have a known scorpion infestation, you will want to be careful putting your feet in your shoes until you have dealt with it. They'll also hide in clutter. Any dark, quiet place will do.

If you want to get rid of scorpions, you usually have to first get rid of whatever is attracting them. This typically involves identifying other infestations plaguing your house. You will also want to make it physically more difficult for scorpions to get inside, as they will seek shelter from severe weather events like cold snaps and drought. This means sealing up cracks and holes in your home's exterior and foundation can go a long way toward keeping sneaky scorpions outside where they belong.

Unfortunately, it's often difficult to do these things to the level that they need to be done to keep scorpions away. Untrained eyes don't spot every potential scorpion entry point. And it's also often difficult for amateurs to correctly identify and eliminate scorpion prey. This is why the best thing you can do for effective scorpion control is to call the experts here at American Pest Control. We are Athens' premier pest control experts, and we can help get rid of not just stinging scorpions but the nasty pests drawing them inside.