We have encountered scorpians in our house on 2 different occasions this year near Joplin. I had no idea scorpians even existed here. Anyone else seeing these?
This is a strangely appropriate post.....my husband suffered some kind of bite on his arm last Sunday that required a trip to Urgent Care and meds....he still has a large and very sore knot just below his elbow. We are assuming a Brown Recluse.
I saw my only scorpion in our house many years ago when I was just a girl living at home. It scared me to death. Never seen one since.
You may have to call a pest control man. I am spraying the house with Spectricide. So far we have seen no spiders but I know all old houses have them.
When we first moved to MO there were scorpions in our house and ugly pale crickets with big legs. The house had been unoccupied. I haven't seen one in years.
Glenda sorry about your husband's troubles. It is not fun to go to the emergency room or Urgent Care. I suspect Brown Recluse. I see them in my house and every once in a while I take everything out of the closet and lay it on the bed, then I vacuum the closet and use a Webster or something. I run all the clothes through the dryer a load at a time and hang them back up. This is a lot of trouble and happens after I get a brown recluse scare like one slowly walking on something I have taken out of the closet. I get them in the sink or bathtub sometimes but that doesn't scare me. They seem to like damp places. If something has been on the floor like a comforter that slips off the bed, I run it in the dryer. It is a wonder I haven't been bitten. This time of year when you are putting on jackets that have been in the ends of closets is a good time to get careful.
Glue traps are good for spiders and bugs. I put them under furniture where the dog can't get his tail stuck in them or in the bathroom cabinet on the floor under the tub and pipes. I have put them under the bed before after I had seen a Brown R crawling on the ceiling. We had a storm and the dog I had then Lily used to get under my bed in storms terrified by thunder. She got caught in the glue traps and almost had a nervous breakdown dogstyle.
My father got stung on the arm by a scorpion several years ago. His arms swelled pretty badly. And I have seen them out on the chat piles, when we were out rock hounding. Have to be careful moving rocks, they tend to hide under them.
I use glue traps too for spiders. I didn't know we have scorpians here and have never seen one. Glenda - has your husband recovered from his spider bite?
Scorpians in Missouri will sting but are not poisonous. As with bees, wasps etc. any single individual can be highly allergic. A scorpion will not sting for the heck of it, you would have to step on it.
Hubs was stung by a scorpion last year about this time. It was IN THE DOG TREAT JAR! OMG! We had no experience with scorpions so I called poison control. They said to wash the area immediately with soap and water because scorpions are really dirty, and then to just watch for swelling, or feelings of faintness, or anything that might be out of the ordinary, and if that happened, to get to the ER. Apparently if half an hour passes and there are no adverse effects, the threat is over.
They also said that the scorpions we have in Oklahoma are not the same kind that they have in California and Arizona and that they are not usually dangerous. I would assume the ones in Missouri are probably the same kind we have.
The person that I talked to at Poison Control was very helpful, even waited half an hour and called back to make sure everything was ok.
Spiders, even tarantulas, also will not attack unless they are threatened, but the way they hide in clothes and such it's hard to keep from doing that. They are considered beneficial insects because they eat other insects. I have been bitten before by a brown recluse, though, and it's not pretty. I try to keep them out of the house, emphasis on the word "try". Both scorpions and spiders seem more active now, maybe trying to find good homes for the winter, so when you are working outside, be sure to wear your gloves, and If you leave your garden gloves laying around, be sure to flatten them out and press down on them before you put them on.
I thought Helen's account of the dog getting caught in the glue traps was very descriptive. Our dog would do that, too. my son brought me what he said was a "spider broom", it looks like a large pom-pom on a pole, he advised using it under the eaves of the house because spiders gain access through the ventilation vents there. It could be used inside, in corners and under things, as well.
gldno1
helenh
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