KTMster

Member
Mar 27, 2001
268
0
We were sitting around the campfire this weekend at Stoddard Wells & along comes this scorpion right in front of us. I know that if you turn on a blacklight that they will glow an erie green. I was wondering if anybody has tried this theory out?

I am contemplating on purchasing a portable blacklight to take to the dez so that we can turn it on and see the scorpions before they see us. Getting stung by a scorpion could have really put a damper on our weekend & I want to make sure this never happens.

Not even five minutes after we seen the scorpion, along comes this big ol' tarantula. He was so ugly, he was almost cute. I also know that tarantulas eat scorpions so I am thinking that maybe he was just chasing after a little dinner. :)
 

Yamaholley

Member
Jul 12, 2001
175
0
I saw the blacklight trick on Discovery channel! I guess it must work, but I have no idea where to get a portable blacklight, maybe you could get a bulb, and put it in a portable lamp?
I don't think we have to worry about them here in Oregon, at least I haven't seen any.
 

smb_racing

Master of None
LIFETIME SPONSOR
Jul 31, 2000
2,085
0
I'm with KLX4smoke, I'll take my copperheads and timber rattlers of ohio anyday :confused:
if you had your camp set up close to your truck you could buy one of those blacklights that plug into the cigaretter lighter.
 

motochick

Member
Mar 10, 2001
122
0
Here in AZ, people go scorpion hunting. Especially the those down in the Phoenix area. They get out the black lights (yes, they really glow), big boots, and a trusty pair of hemostats.Then, what you do is walk around your block wall with the light and when you see one, grab it with your hemostats, and smash it with your boot making sure you flatten and spread the insides as much as possible. Reason for this, is so any eggs that the scorpion might be carrying, will not survive and make more little "problems".

My uncle does this about twice a week. When we were there, they got about 7 of them. It is really wierd to see them glow like that. We live up higher but still have them. Our pool seems to take care of about one a week for us...but not the one that got my hubby in bed!! Talk about icky!:eek:

As for getting a portable black light, just go to any "home" store in Phoenix. They sell them already with the right bulbs in them because of the demand.
And I never saw a scorpion in Ca in the 29 years I lived there. Guess I was lucky.

Brenda
 

Jamir

I come and go
Aug 7, 2001
1,939
0
Go to a fishing store or the fishing section at Wal-Mart. They have portable blacklights to see fishing line with. It is really cool, they do glow. We don't see many of them in Missouri so we have to use the black lights to do other things, like make yourself go blind. That reminds me, blacklights will make you go blind if you look at them for long.
 

KTMster

Member
Mar 27, 2001
268
0
Motochick, how sick did your husband get when he got stung by a scorpion? Thanks for mentioning that they fall in your pool, I'll have to keep an eye on our pool even though I have never seen one around our house. This was the first scorpion we have seen in the dez, but when we lived in Lake Mathews we found two in our front room. :eek:

Thunder33, I will check out the fishing department for the portable blacklight. That sounds exactly like what I am looking for. Thanks!
 

LoriKTM

Super Power AssClown
Oct 4, 1999
2,220
6
New Mexico
Originally posted by dhoward
I've got a black light 'Scorpions' poster, does that count?
:p

LMAO! Ya know, that's what occurred to me when I first saw the thread. Made me think of all those black light posters covering my bedroom wall as a teenager. Oh, the memories...

NEVER would have thought that those little dudes glow in the dark. Thankfully, the only scorpions in NY are down at the local pet shop. I wonder what the owners would say if I walked in there with a blacklight? :confused:
 

KTMster

Member
Mar 27, 2001
268
0
Originally posted by LoriKTM
Thankfully, the only scorpions in NY are down at the local pet shop. I wonder what the owners would say if I walked in there with a blacklight? :confused:
Well, I'm thinkin' you outta go do it & let us know their reaction!:)
 

motochick

Member
Mar 10, 2001
122
0
KTMster, he actually got hit twice. It was under the covers and the scorpion crawled halfway up his chest before he realized what is was. I don't think he stung him full on, maybe just a love tap. He said it felt like he got poked with a pin, then nothing. I think he got really lucky. This morning after I wrote the first respone, I scooped one out of the pool!

Where is SoCal do you live? We lived in OC then San Diego for 29 years and never even heard of scorpions there. Maybe in the high dez like Lucerne or Barstow. We have really big centipedes here too. Those things are nasty! Like 12 in. long.

Brenda
 

ktmboy

~SPONSOR~
Apr 1, 2001
2,474
0
I've only seen a couple scorpions up here in the Hi Dez, and one centipede. He was almost a Kawasaki green, and was crawling like a snake, also about 12" long. I about messed my pants, as he came out from under a piece of plywood I had just lifted off the ground.
The insect that most scares me is the Black Widow spider, as I was actually bitten by one, and became deathly ill. I fear them more than rattlesnakes.(Seen quite a few of those out here!)
 

yzracer49

Member
Mar 19, 2000
118
0
Man, I'll take my sub-zero winters anytime over all your creepy crawlwers! :scream:

About the worst we have here is the occational (sp) wood tick and mosquitos that will carry off small children if your not careful. But nothig that will/can kill you. ;)
 

KTMster

Member
Mar 27, 2001
268
0
Originally posted by motochick
Where is SoCal do you live? We lived in OC then San Diego for 29 years and never even heard of scorpions there. Maybe in the high dez like Lucerne or Barstow. Brenda

Motochick, we live in Riverside. Before this we lived in OC ourselves, Huntington Beach to be exact, and we never seen any there either & I wouldn't imagine you would find any in San Diego either since these are beach-type communities. We lived in Lake Mathews when we encountered the two in our living room. Lake Mathews is in Riverside County, a very desolate, desert-type area. Everybody there lives on a minimum of two acres. It was great living there because we could ride our bikes straight from our garage out into the hills, but one of the downsides of living in the sticks is that you do have to deal with the scorpions, snakes, mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes & the such.

Your husband sounds like he was very lucky. The reason I asked how sick he got is because I heard that once you get stung by one that it is like fire in your veins, but I think they are talking about the black ones. We have only encountered the clear/tan ones here.

Thanks for all your input & help! :)
 

YZr1der

Member
Aug 17, 2001
74
0
the black light only works on certain types of scorpions.... we bought one that turns green for our teacher because her whip-tail scorpion died.

p.s. some scorpion turn red:p
 

yzracer49

Member
Mar 19, 2000
118
0
- Have you read the Gator thread. I'll take my snakes and scorpions any day over those critters!

At least you wont accidently crawl into bed with a gator hidding in the sheets.

:eek: Well... There was that one party.... but we wont go ito that right now.

I have a hard enough time with harmless creepy crawlers. I was "deweeding" my track today and pulled out a 2ft gartor/gardrn snake :scream:
Gave me the hebe-jeebee's for quite a while. Though my dog thought it made a grewat chew toy.
 

JeffK

Member
Sep 9, 2001
209
0
I live in Upstate SC and my house is right in the middle of the woods.. Apparently the type of scorps that live here are about as poisonous as a wasp stinger... I've never been stung but I have done a little research to be sure.. There are only one or two types of scorps that can Kill a person and thank god they all live on or near the West coast with you guys!!

I find these critters everywhere, in the pool, in the garbage can, crawling up the wall, under firewood piles.. it got so bad that I had to call the exterminator to keep them out... now I only see one or two a month near the house... I'm not sure if the blacklight trick works on these or not but I will be getting out my blacklight next time I see one (and a BOOT).

Where I live we have all sorts of spiders.. I know it sounds sick but I pick out one or two that live in the yard and feed them all summer - it's fun to watch them eat - and sometimes if I am brave enough at the end of the year I try to put the two spiders against each other - It's like no show you have ever seen before.
 

zio

Mr. Atlas
Jul 28, 2000
2,291
0
Originally posted by ktmboy

The insect that most scares me is the Black Widow spider, as I was actually bitten by one, and became deathly ill. I fear them more than rattlesnakes.(Seen quite a few of those out here!)

Man, that's my biggest fear, numero uno on zio's Top Ten list, by a long shot. I've got a wicked case of the heebie jeebies just from thinking about them right now. I scream like a girl if I find one crawling on me. My wife has to kill spiders in the house, I won't go near 'em.

I don't live more than 250miles from you, and so far I've seen 8 in my yard in the last 4 months. Most recent- the one I doused with poison yesterday (don't worry, I was several feet away and ready to jump if he so much as looked at me). We called the Orkin Man a short while back, and it seems he got most of them, but I don't think they spray the whole yard. This one yesterday was behind our pool, in the back corner of the yard.

I'm more scared for my son, he's 2, and heavy into the exploration stage. So how old were you when you got bit? Did it hurt (stupid question, I know)?
 

spanky250

Mod Ban
Dec 10, 2000
1,490
1
Originally posted by ktmboy
The insect that most scares me is the Black Widow spider, as I was actually bitten by one, and became deathly ill. I fear them more than rattlesnakes.(Seen quite a few of those out here!)
We have this lovely little spider here that lives in crawl spaces under houses called a Brown Recluse. The venom from this spider causes Gangreen and severe Necrosis. I think I would rather just get sick than to start having things rot off of me.:eek:
 

ktmboy

~SPONSOR~
Apr 1, 2001
2,474
0
Zio- This happened 5 or 6 yrs. ago- I could feel the venom slowly move through my body. It felt like fire! I thought I was a real tough guy, and I could tough it out. Started getting the shakes, and hot and cold flashes, and my body ached everywhere. When it started affecting my breathing I had my wife load me up in the car for a trip to urgent care!
 

J_dem_Bones

Member
Jun 23, 2001
197
0
I have found Scorpions in the cayon between Miramar lake and Poway in San Diego County. I have friends in Valley Center who have found them in their yards. I found one in my boot when I was camping in Ocotillo Wells. I drank a bit much and kicked off my boots around the fire, of cource I passed out in the trailer, but when I went to put my boot on in the morning I found a little scorpion in there.:scream: It scared the @h!t out of me. It didn't get me but that was my little encounter.
 

longtime

Member
Oct 7, 1999
846
0
We've so far got scorpions, centipedes, black widows, tarantulas, coyotes, rats and bobcats (100lb'ers) in our little cul de sac in OC. Hot dry parts of Cali. do indeed get the critters.
 

johnnymoto

~SPONSOR~
Nov 9, 2000
89
0
scorpions

We have them in north Louisiana,too. They usually come out right after dark and do all they can to break into your house and scare most of the family members. I have tried the blacklight theory, it does work but you have to have a bright light to get them to light up. I have been trying to invent some kind of trap to capture them. Around here they look for crickets and moths that are grounded. They usually just appear in our house around 10-11 pm. Must be their time to get out and prowl. I do spray chemicals outside(our yard should glow green) just to keep them away. Anybody have any other suggestions?
 

KXaggerator

~SPONSOR~
Feb 4, 2001
252
0
As a kid we moved to the outskirts of Lawton, OK into a large two story Victorian house. The first week we were there a tornado hit just over a block away from us. Two weeks later a drunk driver hit the power pole in front of our house and dropped live wires in our front yard. The next week there was a tarantula in my moms room and the final straw come latter that week when she went into the attic and found hundreds of dead scorpions. We moved out soon after that. :scream:
 
Top Bottom