If you live in the Hill Country, you have probably found a scorpion in the bathtub, on a wall, or in a shoe. Most of the time it is the striped bark scorpion, the most common scorpion in Central Texas homes. Their sting is painful, and once you find one, you start wondering how many more are hiding.
Here is what actually works to get rid of scorpions, and what does not.
Why Scorpions Come Inside
Scorpions come inside for the same three reasons every pest does: food, water, and shelter. Their food is other insects, especially crickets and roaches. A home with lots of insects around the foundation is a home with scorpion food, and scorpions follow it inside.
Striped bark scorpions are also excellent climbers. They can climb brick, stucco, and even walls inside the house, which is how they end up in attics and on ceilings.
Step 1: Find Out How Many You Have
Scorpions glow a bright blue-green under ultraviolet light. Take a UV blacklight outside after dark and walk the foundation, rock borders, fences, and woodpiles. Then check inside along baseboards, closets, and bathrooms. If you are finding several, you have an active population, not a stray.
Step 2: Cut Off Their Food
Reducing crickets and roaches is one of the most effective things you can do. Outdoor lights draw insects to doors and windows, and scorpions come to hunt them, so switch to yellow bulbs or turn lights off when you can. Keep doors and windows screened.
Step 3: Take Away Hiding Spots
- Move woodpiles, rocks, bricks, and debris away from the foundation
- Trim shrubs and ground cover so they do not touch the house
- Keep mulch and rock borders thin near the slab
- Store items in garages and sheds off the floor in sealed bins
Step 4: Seal Entry Points
- Install door sweeps and weatherstripping
- Seal gaps around plumbing, cables, and utility lines
- Screen attic vents and repair gaps along the roofline
- Use mesh on weep holes rather than sealing them shut
Step 5: Treat the Foundation Regularly
Professional treatment around the foundation and entry points kills scorpions and the insects they feed on. Because scorpions keep moving in from surrounding areas, regular exterior treatment works much better than a single spray.
What Does Not Work Well
Store bought sprays kill the scorpions they touch, but scorpions are hardy and hide deep in cracks and wall voids. Sticky traps help you monitor activity but will not solve an infestation. Without taking away food and entry points, scorpions keep coming back.
If You Get Stung
Wash the sting with soap and water and use a cold compress. Striped bark scorpion stings are painful but rarely dangerous for healthy adults. Seek medical care right away for young children, older adults, or anyone with trouble breathing or swelling of the face or throat. Poison Control is available at 1-800-222-1222.
Learn more on our scorpion control page, or see our guide to spiders in Central Texas.
Finding scorpions in the house? Call 830-777-CAMO (2266). We treat the foundation and the insects scorpions feed on, with no contracts.
