Scorpions Questions
|
|
SCORPIONS
FOUND IN MARIN COUNTY - DANGER?
ELIMINATION?:
|
|
Email |
We live in Novato and found a
scorpion in the back of our leather
chair on the ground floor. The ground
floor has crawl spaces underneath. I
looked at the picture and description
in the Western Exterminator web page
and it is definitely a scorpion, but
more browning in color. Only the legs
and stinger end of the tail are
yellow. It is about 1 inch long.
Should I have an exterminator spray
insecticide in the house and in the
crawl spaces? How can they be
eradicated? How poisonous are they and
what physiological symptoms could they
cause? Help, I'm afraid of putting on
clothes because I read that they hide
out in clothes! (Thu, 14 Dec 2000) |
|
Answer |
Small scorpions are common in the
parts of the bay area. Their sting is
similiar to that of a bee sting unless
you have an allergic reaction to the
venom. Scorpions hunt at night and it
is correct that sometimes they can be
found in shoes, etc that left on the
floor or outside the door. I suspect
that it wandered in from outside via
the crack under a door and you will
not be bother by anymore. A good
cultural control for scorpions
invading homes is to simply eliminate
entry points by using rubber molding
under the doors, or by placing a towel
down to block the gaps. |
|
SCORPIONS
IN MARIN - DANGER?:
|
|
Email |
We got your email address from the
Citybugs website, and have a question
for you. We were recently shown an
inch-long, yellow-brown scorpion by
someone who said he found it in his
house in Marin County. Are there
scorpions in Marin?? And, if so, are
they dangerous, to human or companion
animals? (Mon, 11 Dec 2000) |
|
Answer |
Yes there are scorpions in Marin!
There are scorpions throughout many of
the warmer parts of the Bay Area where
development has not wiped out their
habitat. These small scorpions-if it
is a native one- are not dangerous and
might have sting the equivalent of a
bee sting. They are generally not a
problem and enrich the ecosystems in
which they persist. Having said that,
there are dangerous scorpions that
people may keep as pets and it is
possible that your friend ran across
someone else's pet, so the best thing
to do is to gently sweep the little
creature up in a bag without touching
it, and release it away from the house
out in the woods. If it is a
non-native one it will probably die
and the native one will be happily at
home. |
|
PSEUDO
SCORPION IDENTIFICATION:
|
|
Email |
Can you tell me what this insect
might be? I tried to use your online
system but it did not come up with
anything like this. This critter was
living under an old portable spa in
Scottsdale, AZ. (Mon, 22 Jan 2001) |
|
Answer |
The creature is a pseudoscorpion -
Class Arachnida: Order Chelonethida/
Pseudoscorpionida. I am sure that you
will find information on the web using
pseudoscorpion as a search term.
Sometimes, these sorts of creatures
make really cool pets - for the
entomologically inclined. Oh by the
way great digital image..... |
