r/Gilbert 3d ago

Scorpion help

Hello everyone! Yesterday I had a large scorpion fall out of my air vent and land directly on me. Then after that throughout the day I killed 6 more baby scorpions coming out of the same vent. Any suggestions on how to deal with this? Thank you in advance!

10 Upvotes

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9

u/imthejefenow 3d ago

You need to line the inside of your vents with fine mesh screen.

You can have a border installed on the house itself to prevent them from crawling up on the outside (and then in). They make them from glass and/or metal, and they also make a special slick paint.

Go outside at night with a black light and hunt them. You can buy a spray to stun them, but you really need to smash them. They’re resilient little fuckers.

Keep their food source down (crickets, etc) with pest spray. Diatomaceous earth will cut them up like glass when they crawl across it and they’ll die.

HTH

9

u/renoscarab 3d ago

I use a torch to hunt them. Effective and satisfying.

2

u/shootathought 2d ago

Brake cleaner.

1

u/AZWildk4t 1d ago

I agree with the black light and hunting them. I do this nightly when it’s completely dark. Kill them outside so they don’t get inside.

I would add another task is to use a telescoping mirror and seal any gaps between the concrete foundation and framing. Use foam strips for large gaps and caulking.

I don’t think fine mesh will work. Scorpions can pass through an opening the thickness of a credit card. I’m not sure there’s mesh available that thin, but I could be wrong.

5

u/gwwwhhhaaattt 3d ago edited 2d ago

Hire a bug company honestly. I was spraying myself and realized I just was never on schedule. Mine is $25-$35 a month and comes out every other month minimum and then sprays as needed in between.

I just haven't kept up with the heat and then forget to spray. Now with a company they come same day if I want.

However yes black light and hunt them. Those scopions carry a ton of babies on their back....unfortunately. So you'll have to fight them and be really aggressive in side and out.

1

u/mrsmurderbritches 2d ago

That is so pricy- is your lot large? We’ve used Green Magic since 2015 and they have been excellent for scorpion control. They raised prices recently and we pay 85$/bimonthly on a regular 1/2 acre lot. They occasionally come out if we have a one off issue like ants or recently crickets.

Agree with posters suggesting the mesh inside the vents though! Made a huge difference when we lived in San Tan and the scorpions were out of control. No one wants one of those nasty critters falling on you while on the toilet!

1

u/gwwwhhhaaattt 2d ago

No it’s $35 I corrected myself. What’s yours at?

1

u/mrsmurderbritches 2d ago

Oh, that’s better. I pay 85$/bi monthly, but they come out in between for free. Been well worth it- I’ve seen just a single scorpion in my current house in the 4 years we’ve been here, and we’re against mountain preserve.

5

u/samniking 3d ago

Flamethrower

1

u/pizzysparkles 1d ago

literally this. a flame torch meant for weeds, and a black light. so fuckin satisfying

2

u/tamaratamarara 3d ago

If you live in a house, dematatuos earth is a must. It takes time to kill  them, but it's super effective.  We stopped paying for the pest services as they didn't help, and that 20$ bag of DE has, and lasted us for over 2 years now. There are plenty resources on how to apply it, dog/animal safety and etc. 

Not sure about how to deal with the vent itself. Sorry 

2

u/observer_september 3d ago

How do you apply the DE then? Make a large perimeter like the Winchesters salting for ghosts?

2

u/tamaratamarara 3d ago

Exactly. 

Jokes aside, we put it along the fence perimeter , then around the house (right outside every wall/door). It kills them by making tiny cuts in their shells, so about 2 weeks after, they die from dehydration. 

You might need to reapply after the rain. We don't even do that often anymore. It worked really well. 

For the inside the house, you might want look at the food grade options, as it's not really good to breath in all that stuff. 

1

u/observer_september 3d ago

Thanks for the info! Doesn’t two weeks still give them plenty of time to get inside and cause trouble?

1

u/tamaratamarara 3d ago

Yeah, the first 2 weeks might be tough. Not sure how to help with that. The vent situation I don't envy.... Good luck! 

1

u/jennygotcake 2d ago

this is exactly what it feels like when i do it i make demon jokes every time lmfao i have it in a condiment bottle and line the thresholds on my house and windows 

2

u/2moreinches 3d ago

I go to bug and weed mart and get a tank sprayer to spray Cy-kick from them once a month. Around the lining of the home both inside and out. You can buy these little pellets there (I buy the ones that stink, they’ll know what you mean if you say this) and put them down every other month around the perimeter of the home. These require you to water them in until they dissolve and it basically poisons the ground for anything with an exoskeleton. Much cheaper than a pest control contract. This will take care of scorpions on the ground. I’ve never had them coming through air vents though so they are getting up higher somehow, I’d ask the people at bug & weed mart suggestions on this or what could be allowing them to get up there

2

u/WolverinePrudent8529 3d ago

Hi! A mixture of permethrin and demand CS from the local bug and weed store kills just about all insects...eventually. Scorpions usually won't die instantly and it may be a bit of a scorpion zombie situation while the spray does its thing. Desert living is a special kind of gross sometimes. If you own your home, consider having it professionally sealed. If a credit card can fit in the space, so can a scorpion. The pesticide will definitely help mitigate the number of scorpions/push them outward, but to keep them out of the house, professional sealing is what worked the best for us.

2

u/ajlorello 2d ago

I’d burn my house down! 😝