One of the hazards of living in the southwest is the wildlife. The native animals refused to leave when the people moved in.  Coyotes run through the streets and hawks attack pets. Even a javelina has been seen taking off with the neighbor’s Hallowe’en pumpkin.  The animal that really upsets people is the scorpion. Newcomers to Phoenix get to hear all about scorpions and how they can be found inside the house, in the bed, in shoes etc.

Many people tell me if I go outside at night with a black light you find lots of them.

DougT may find this marvelous but we are taking the ‘don’t ask don’t tell’ approach.

I don’t want to know they are there.

 

So far we have encountered 2 scorpions – one was in the garage; the other was indoors crawling in front of the TV. (The later prompted Someone to call the exterminator).  I think I stepped on one once which I wrote about here at Spo-Reflections.

 

For a man who runs screaming like a girl at the mention of tarantulas, I am not fazed by scorpions. They make me wary but I don’t go into hysterics.  

 

As a public service, I thought I would tell you about the types we have. I don’t think I can match the scientific quality of DougT at Gossamer Tapestry, or Cedrorum at Mutual Causality but I will give it a try.

 

Scorpions live in the wild in your house. They are more active in hot weather and when you move in. In general the larger scorpions are less venomous, relying on size to scare you.

 

There are 3 primary scorpions in this area and they are all nasty.

The giant desert hairy scorpion

The rock scorpion

The mature bark scorpion

 

The Giant Desert Hairy Scorpion is four inches long and 3x larger than the rock scorpion. It has no redeemable qualities but it is large enough to be seen from afar so you can more readily run away screaming like a girl or shoot it with several rounds of ammo (This is Arizona after all).

 

The Rock Scorpion is a smaller version of the GDHS and more likely to sneak up on you so look out Mary. Both types have tails either behind them or over their bodies in a ‘hook’ position guaranteed to frighten the daylights out of you.

 

The Bark scorpion is about the same size as the rock scorpion, 2.5 inches long. The bark scorpion looks frail compared to the others but it has the nastiest sting.  It wraps it tail around the side of the body. The tail segments are longer and thinner than the rocks’ which are more short and thick. Either way both should be stamped upon real good with heavy boots.

Bark scorpions are found mostly around homes and yards. They are more active at night time. The bastards scorpions are more like to sleep in clothes, towels, very small cracks etc. At night time they crawl around the house up and are up to no good.

 

As a “scorpion bonus”, here is a mnemonic I learned in med school.  It helps you remember all the different types of drugs that could be abused.

 

ACH! SCORPIONS!

 

Alcohol

Cannabis

Hallucinogens

Stimulants

Caffeine

Over the counters

Rx (prescription medications)

PCP

Inhalants

Opiods

Nicotine

Sedatives