Scorpion problem question

anthonyk · May 28, 2005

I live about 40 miles northwest of Houston, TX, and have a mostly wooded 12 acres homesite.
Lately, I've been finding scorpions all over the place, including
inside the house. Not fun. Fortunately, they're the brown ones, not the black deadly ones, but they're still mighty painful I've been told.
I've tried all the stuff from Home Depot like Bayer advanced bug killer and Ortho Max. These are the types you put in the rotary spreader to cover the yard and water in. No luck.
I've also tried the professional types like "Pest Tab" killer, which is a tablet you dissolve in a pump sprayer and hit the foundations with. Doesn't seem to do much.
I'm open to any and all advice.

Thanks, Anthony

OKnewguy · May 29, 2005

You should give this place a try http://store.doyourownpestcontrol.com/cgi-bin/pestcontrol.storefront/42992b0a00a74192273f4200c1480618/Catalog/1150 , this is great stuff.
A couple of years ago we had a major investation of scorpions and spiders (due to some construction nearby), I bought the Cynof insecticide, and it worked like a champ. It last about 3-4 months and is Cheap. It is very concentrated, so a little goes a looong way.
Good luck

Unclebuck257 · May 29, 2005

The easiest thing to do is get a couple of cats!! Make sure they're neutered though because you'll have 50 within a year if you don't. They'll keep the scorpions and snakes away. I used to have both and sprayed every year, under the house, on the sides of the house and around the yard areas. What I used is now banned, so it doesn't matter. A couple of years ago, a stray cat showed up and had a litter of kittens. We fed her, gave away all but two of the kittens and then had Momma and the two we kept spayed. They live here permanently now and we feed and water them daily. Not a snake one or a scorpion since!! No spraying necessary either!

JayC · May 29, 2005

Lately, I've been finding scorpions all over the place, including
inside the house. Not fun. 

I'm afraid the only thing I can suggest is to move to Michigan. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

LBrown59 · Jun 17, 2005

( Lately, I've been finding scorpions all over the place, including
inside the house. Not fun. 

I'm afraid the only thing I can suggest is to move to Michigan. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif )

Or OHIO

Treed_in_TX · Jun 17, 2005

I lived just outside of Austin for 5 years. We quit counting at 250 scorpions. Most outside, some in the house. Our cats never did any good with them, we have 3. They would however catch snakes and bring them in the house. We ended up hiring a pest service that came out and sprayed boric acid in all the cracks in the exterior of the house. I mean tiny cracks. They can wiggle in through the smallest spaces. We had French doors (Freedom doors?) in the Master bedroom upstairs and they could get under those. The boric acid treatment worked well. You might consider having a service out once and see where they spray the powder, and duplicate what they do the next time yourself.
Most grocery stores sell boric acid in the pest control area. Look at containers labeled for roach control. Luckily it's cheap.

GaryM · Jun 17, 2005

Back when I had a garden, I used to use Diatomaceous Earth to eliminate pests. The product is inert and will not harm humans or pets. It's abrasive in nature and works by getting in the joints of the exoskeleton and rubbing off the protective layer. Then the insect dehydrates. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

More information here: http://www.biconet.com/crawlers/DE.html

I bought it at the pool supply store or got it from a friend with a pool. It's used in pool filters.

Says its good, or bad, for scorpions!

froggy · Jun 17, 2005

Diatomaceous earth
"DE is the skeletal remains of fresh or salt water diatoms consisting of mostly silica, a little aluminum, sodium and iron and lots of trace minerals, including some that are rare. Natural DE is dug from the earth, ground into a powder and sold as an anti-caking agent for stored foods and grains, a natural insecticide, and a natural food supplement for pets and livestock. It is approved by the USDA to be used in food up to 2% of the food volume.

Swimming pool or filter DE on the other hand has been calcined (partially melted) and often chemically treated. It is dangerous to breathe because of the high level of crystalline silica and has no use for anything other than in filters. "

GaryM · Jun 18, 2005

I'm not arguing with you, but the bags my friend bought just said DE. Now this was over 20 years ago and things certainly could have changed in that length of time. I first read about using it in Rodales Organic Gardening magazine, and at least back then, using the pool stuff was their recomendation. Maybe that was the only source at that time.

Regardless of source, it seems to work well.