Are striped bark scorpion stings dangerous?
A striped bark scorpion sting hurts, often like a bad wasp sting, with burning, swelling and numbness that can last for hours. Texas scorpions are not considered life-threatening to healthy adults. Get medical care right away for a sting on a small child or an older adult, or for anyone with an allergic reaction or trouble breathing.
Clean the sting with soap and water and hold a cold pack on it to ease the pain. When in doubt, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 and ask whether to go in. If you can trap the scorpion safely under a jar, keep it so a doctor or technician can confirm what it is.
Pets get stung too, usually on the nose or a paw. Call your veterinarian if a dog or cat is stung and seems to be in pain or acting oddly.
Why do scorpions get into the house in summer?
Heat and drought push striped bark scorpions toward the cooler, damper spaces in and around homes, and Texas A&M has warned that hot, dry summers send them indoors. Around southwest Dallas, that means more sightings from June through September, especially after a long run of 100-degree days or right after a hard summer storm.
Blackland clay plays a part. As the ground dries and cracks in August, crickets and roaches crowd the shaded edge of the foundation, and scorpions follow their food. Once they are against the brick, weep holes, gaps under doors and holes where pipes enter give them a way in.
The scorpions in Dallas homes guide walks through the season in more detail and lists the spots to check in your own house.
Why do I find scorpions in my attic and on the ceiling?
Striped bark scorpions are strong climbers. They go up brick, siding, fences and tree trunks, slip into soffit gaps and attic vents, and then drop from light fixtures, vents or the attic hatch. A scorpion on the ceiling usually means some are living in the attic, so treatment has to reach it too.
Attics in the 1950s–70s brick ranch homes of Redbird and Wynnewood, and in pier-and-beam Oak Cliff bungalows, often have gaps at the roof returns and around vent pipes. The technician applies dust in the attic where the label allows and points out openings to screen or seal.
Indoors, check bedding and shoes, shake out towels and keep beds a few inches from the wall with bed skirts off the floor. Those small habits cut the chance of a sting at night.
Do UV blacklights help find scorpions?
Yes. Scorpions glow a bright blue-green under ultraviolet light, so a UV flashlight after dark makes them easy to spot on fences, walls and rock borders. It is a simple way to judge how many you have and where they live. It does not remove them, but it shows the technician where to focus.
Walk around the house about an hour after sunset with a UV flashlight, gloves and closed shoes. Check the base of the walls, the fence line, landscape stones and woodpiles. Never pick up a scorpion by hand; use long tongs or leave it for the technician.
What makes a yard less inviting to scorpions?
Scorpions need shelter and food, so take away both. Move firewood, bricks, landscape stones and lumber away from the house, keep mulch thin and pulled back from the slab, trim shrubs off the walls and switch porch lights to yellow bulbs that draw fewer insects. Fewer crickets and roaches mean fewer scorpions.
Rock borders and flagstone are popular in the Best Southwest suburbs, and they make fine scorpion housing. You do not need to tear them out, but keeping them a few feet from the foundation helps. In late summer, cricket control removes a major food source.
