Scorpions indoors

[Kate]

Hello all, new poster here.

I put a link to a pic of our find in Ajmal's thread on Hottentotta scorpions, but I was wondering whether it was very unusual to find a scorpion inside? We had our first experience a couple days ago, and a quick search on google yielded a couple of other folks with similar experiences.

Ours was rather sluggish, one of my kids read that sometimes they come inside when they are ill/dying, and ours did die within a day. (We tried to capture and release.)

Of course, we have some concern that it could happen again, although this is the first time in the 5-ish years we've been in this house to find one. We've also had some sort of giant centipede come in, which was unfortunately not as easy to catch.

Anyone know of the common habits of scorpions vis a vis human encroachment on their habitat?

Thanks,

Kate

[ahmed al ali]

5 years is a long time.. i was going to say if your house is new that could happen... in my home when i was little.. our house was surrounded with deserts. everything gets inside.. but once the construction kicked in everything goes away...

you might need to seal the doors with brushing edge or rubber..

if you capture any in future it might be good to contact Sharjah breeding center.. you can give it to them, they photographs and examine it and then release in wild or keep for breeding.

stay safe

[Kate]

Thanks, Ahmed. I forgot to mention here that we're living in RAK in an older villa, with an empty/sandy area on two sides. Doors have lots of gaps, and because we live in a split-level (meaning the bottom floor sits partly below ground level and the top floor partly above) we seem to get more than our fair share of sand and critters inside. But the house has a lot of character!

I'll keep the Sharjah breeding info on hand.. hopefully we won't get another one, but in the event...

Thanks again,

Kate

[ajmal]

Hi Kate,

I think you guys are not in much serious trouble in having the H. jayakari scorpions around. What you must be careful of is if you get any Arabian fat tailed scorpions in your house (a dark black species with enlarged tail segments). Just run a search on here for pics. Their scientific name literally translates to 'man killer' and are one of the most dangerous species in the world, apparently. I've seen many in the deserts. Sorry, don't mean to scare the creepers out of you but just a word of caution.

Your 'giant centipede' sounds like Scolopendrida mirabilis (or locally called the 44 legged lady as Ahmed educated me). Have a look at one of my pics on FB - https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.ph...type=3&theater. Was it similar? There aren't too many of these in this area but this one is most common I think.

Regards,

Ajmal

[Kate]

I couldn't open your pic, but I googled the name and it did look like that. Fell right through the vent in the kitchen and onto the stove while I was cooking -- quite the experience! I must say I was too spooked to even think of a photo at the time, although I wish I had one now...

I did see some pics of the fat-tailed scorpion and that's definitely not what we had, thankfully!

Thanks,

Kate

[Kate]

Well, Ajmal, it seems I just had to mention it to make it happen, lol. This afternoon the kids found a centipede in the basement, measured abt 6 inches.

I guess when it rains it pours!

[Sandman]

Looks like it could give a NASTY bite!

[Kate]

Is it the heat driving these things inside? Maybe I should put some temporary filler (like newspaper?) in the gaps underneath the doors...

[ahmed al ali]

i haven't heard of any fat tailed scorpion in RAK ....

temporary filler is a very wise thing to do now... and work in a permanent solution onward.

[khalifa]

We had awareness session at work about these. when summer comes these species comes near to the cool buildings such as scorpions camel spiders and snakes.
for the first time I feel the cats are good !