Content

• To step
• Tips
• Warnings
• Necessities

While scorpions make excellent pets if they are given a good shelter and cared for, most people will not be happy if they crawl around their home uninvited. You can buy chemicals to keep them away, but why choose them when there are many natural solutions too?

To step

1. Catch and release scorpions. While this method is not effective in the case of a scorpion infestation, it works great if you have an occasional "uninvited guest." Scorpions are usually found near water, so it is a good idea to carefully search the sink, shower area, bathtub, and damp areas in the kitchen or kitchen. If you find a scorpion, place an appropriately sized plastic tray over the insect, slide a piece of cardboard under the rim of the tray so that the tray is covered, then take your guest outside.
   • If you have an insect trap, you may find it more convenient to use it instead of the plastic container and piece of cardboard.
   • If you don't want to release the scorpion back into the wild, kill it humanely by squashing it firmly under your shoe sole. Use a fly swatter to remove the crushed body. However, it is better to release the scorpion back into the wild than to kill it, because the insect has a positive effect on your habitat.
2. Fill holes and cracks to make the house a less inviting place. Seal off any holes and other possible passageways through which your pipes and other pipes enter the rooms of your home. Starting at the basement, work your way up from there and seal any gaps around pipes, drains, connections, along the edges of walls, around the ventilation, etc., where a scorpion can enter through the house. This also includes connections in the ceiling, as scorpions can climb.
   • Pour bleach down the drain of your chemical toilet. Do this weekly if you have noticed scorpions entering your house through the drain. Use two tablespoons weekly to keep away the crawling burglars.
   • Also look outside. Check the mesh covering the outlet of your dryer and see if you can find crevices around it. Look wherever cables, wires, and pipes enter the house, as well as look for holes in the walls, doors, and windows. You should also check the entrance and exit (s) of your heating and air conditioning.
   • Do not seal properly closing windows and doors. Make sure all windows and door screens are in good condition and have no holes or cracks.
   • Fix leaky faucets, pipes, and other dripping sources of water.
3. Let the friendly spiders live. Allow harmless pests catching spiders to enter your home. They may well try to kill scorpions that come near them. Just make sure to keep away food sources for insects such as crickets, cockroaches, cicadas and ants.
4. Plant lavender. You can plant it around your house, buy the dried variety, or buy lavender oil, which you use to clean and refresh your home. However, fresh plants seem to have a greater effect than the oil or the dried plant. Lavender is easy to grow and maintain and smells wonderful.
   • Plants of the genus Citrus are also considered as repellants. You can put citrus plants in pots near your entrances, and use citrus oil based cleaners for your bathroom and other wet areas around the house.
5. Clean up the garden. Get wood piles from (near) your house. Another method to get rid of scorpions naturally is to clear away their hiding places. They love piles of firewood, stones and planks and can also be found in compost piles. Whenever possible, place these scorpion sanctuaries further away from your home. Then you should have fewer intruders.
   • Regularly mow the grass in your front yard, trim shrubs and prune overhanging branches to keep them away from your house, garage and shed walls.
   • Place trash cans and compost bins on bricks or something else that keeps them off the ground. Cover the bottom of the compost bin with gauze; this also stops rodents.
6. See if a pet will resolve the situation. Cats are more likely to catch and kill scorpions in and around the house, and some dogs will too. You may see this as cruel, but it is a very natural method for clearing your home of creepy crawlies. However, not everyone is a fan of this method, due to the potential danger to the pet in question. You should therefore make sure that this does not happen if the scorpion in question is very poisonous and could pose a danger to your pet (most scorpions in the US are not very dangerous, see 'Tips' to find out what the dangerous areas are); it is usually okay, as long as the pet is naturally fast and has the killer instinct.
   • Never force a pet to catch a scorpion. Only a few pets will naturally and happily hunt scorpions, and have the courage to do whatever needs to be done.
   • Let your chickens eat the insects that scorpions call food. The chickens don't care - they will also quietly eat a scorpion that crosses their path.
7. Consider doing some hunting and moving at night. If you are willing to hand scorpions out of your garden, it is best to do this at night. Scorpions fluoresce when illuminated with ultraviolet light, so you need a blacklight or an ultraviolet lamp to search for them. Also wear sturdy shoes and use long barbecue tongs to collect the scorpions in a container and then bring them out of your garden. Release them into the desert, forest, grassland or whatever their natural habitat is, instead of killing them, as they make a positive contribution to the ecosystem.

Tips

• It's not safe to leave things on the floor by the door! If you have, shake or look into them before taking them elsewhere.
• You should always check under old things or stuff in your shed!
• It's always smart to check what you wear, what you sleep in, and what you take with you, especially if you are camping in a place where there are many scorpions. Before putting them on or using them, look in shoes, gloves, bags, sleeping bags, tents, etc. and shake out those scorpions you find.
• If your child has been stung, you must take him or her to hospital immediately.
• Don't forget that scorpions are useful to have around. As predators, they will eat other annoying pests in your yard, so try to keep the balance by keeping them out of your home but allowing them where they won't interfere with your home life.
• Mulch can hide scorpions. As a gardener, you need to find a balance between the method of keeping your plants moist and the method of keeping your scorpion population small. This is possible, but you will need to be both vigilant and consistent. It is recommended not to put mulch along the house walls and to keep the soil around your house walls dry; this wards off scorpions. Keep space between your house walls and the garden, and always wear heavy gloves when handling the soil or plants.
• Natural pest control products are available to rid your home of scorpions. Please contact the distributor in question for more information.
• Contrary to popular belief, scorpions are not that dangerous at all. The sting of most scorpions is usually painful (about the same order as that of a wasp or hornet), but almost never fatal. However, it is important that you know what kind (s) of scorpions live in the area and how poisonous they are. Also, although they are not that dangerous, you shouldn't take any unnecessary risks, especially where children are involved.
• The world's most dangerous scorpions reside in North Africa, the Middle East, South America, India and Mexico.
• Poison control is available for various scorpion species, including the Arizona bark scorpion that has a painful sting.

Warnings

• Avoid storing firewood in the house. Always wear gloves when picking up firewood - scorpions aren't the only creatures that can lurk in a pile of firewood, so this is always a wise precaution.
• While protecting your home from scorpions, be prepared to run into a few. By being prepared you can avoid getting stung.
• When dealing with scorpions, it is important to remember that they carry their young on their back. Be careful, because if you pick up a scorpion with its brood just like that, up to 30 baby scorpions can climb on you.
• Scorpions "shed," which means that they shed their exoskeletons as soon as their bodies become too large, and new exoskeletons grow in their place. Once the old exoskeleton has been shed, a scorpion will sometimes not fluoresce for days on end when illuminated with UV light. Fortunately, scorpions are very passive during molting and hide during this time. However, this is not always the case. So always check if you see one of these quiet crawlers!
• Some scorpion infestations simply cannot be overcome with natural remedies. If you've tried all the methods described above and the scorpions just don't want to go away, you should call a professional exterminator. Once again, you can ask for a natural, professional pest control method to be used. So please inquire about this.

Necessities

• Plastic container and a piece of cardboard, or an insect trap
• Kit and other means to close holes and other passages
• Bleach
• Plants of the genus Lavandula or Citrus and products made from them
• A bright pet