Scorpion problem in my house...

[Darth Cruel]

Only bigger! Like a cross between and ant and a cricket!

Jinxx is gonna love this!

Potato bug (not to be confused with Potato Beetle):

This is a Jerusalem Cricket. They are widely regarded as deadly in some countries...but they are a harmless (edit - bug, not a true cricket). It is believed by professionals that people find these bugs around children that have been killed by a sting, not because the cricket did it, but because a scorpion that was hunting the cricket did it.

If memory serves me, these are referred to as "Hijo de Tierra" South of the border.

I just thought some might be interested. And by the way, here in the High Desert, many people call these vinegaroons mistakenly.

 

[Mesa]

 

[Skiman]

 

[The Ween]

This is a Jerusalem Cricket. They are widely regarded as deadly in some countries...but they are a harmless (edit - bug, not a true cricket). It is believed by professionals that people find these bugs around children that have been killed by a sting, not because the cricket did it, but because a scorpion that was hunting the cricket did it.

If memory serves me, these are referred to as "Hijo de Tierra" South of the border.

I just thought some might be interested. And by the way, here in the High Desert, many people call these vinegaroons mistakenly.

When I was looking for a potato bug pic, these were what came up. Potato bugs here are beetles.

Vinegaroons.........sounds like a cookie!

 

[The Entity]

Vinegaroons.........sounds like a cookie!

Well... Bon Appétit then...

Man, I'm glad we don't have creatures like this over here...

 

[Darth Cruel]

Well... Bon Appétit then...

Man, I'm glad we don't have creatures like this over here...

I watched a nature show on these things a while ago. A lot of people think that they call these vinegaroons because if they sting or bite you, their venom makes you taste vinegar. But actually, they do not sting or bite. They are also called whiptail scorpions (though they are not a true scorpion) because the have a tail that looks more like an antenna than a scorpion's tail and it has no stinger. Vinegaroon comes from the fact that their "weapon" is an 85% concentration of acetic acid (Alien, anybody?) that they shoot from their mouth area. And acetic acid is what gives vinegar its taste and odor.

 

[Darth Cruel]

When I was looking for a potato bug pic, these were what came up. Potato bugs here are beetles.

Vinegaroons.........sounds like a cookie!

Potato bug is a popular name for them. I just don't use it because back home in North Dakota a potato bug is a small yellow and black beetle (the one you mentioned, maybe?). We used to get paid to take them out of gardens.

 

[LOTRFan]

If memory serves me, these are referred to as "Hijo de Tierra" South of the border.

Oh yeah, Children of the Dirt; when I did some work in Mexico we un-earthed one and it was as if a bomb had exploded - there was so much panic! Later on that day a scorpion happened to show up and no one even batted an eye.

 

[pixletwin]

We had a blackwidow who lived for years and years and years under our front door step. Never bothered anyone. Never ventured out into areas which would be considered menacing by us. The day we found her dead was actually a sad one. I had no idea that spiders could live that long (she must have been between 3 and 5 years old).

 

[jinxx]

We had a blackwidow who lived for years and years and years under our front door step. Never bothered anyone. Never ventured out into areas which would be considered menacing by us. The day we found her dead was actually a sad one. I had no idea that spiders could live that long (she must have been between 3 and 5 years old).

Did you guys named her Charlotte?

 

[pixletwin]

We came to regard her sort of like that, yeah.

 

[The Ween]

Potato bug is a popular name for them. I just don't use it because back home in North Dakota a potato bug is a small yellow and black beetle (the one you mentioned, maybe?). We used to get paid to take them out of gardens.

Yup, those are it. When we used to garden when I was a kid, we had a duck who would go through and clean and bugs out. They can see them where we couldn't. Especially tomato worms. She loved those gooey things.

 

[pmtz2005]

If memory serves me, these are referred to as "Hijo de Tierra"

Wow thats the first time I've ever heard the spanish name for this said :chew. Yeah they are called "child of the earth" were I live. These little guys are hard to find they're not that common. They mostly stay under ground, every now and then you'll see em walkn around. I never knew what the "correct" name for them was so when I would try to describe what these looked like to someone they had no idea what I was talking about ...

 

[The Ween]

Hey Deak! If you have a scorpion problem, I read online that they suggest you get a cat!

 

[Deak Starkiller]

Hey Deak! If you have a scorpion problem, I read online that they suggest you get a cat!

Sorry Ween, only one _____ allowed in my house.

 

[Deak Starkiller]

Ok, ____ty update! I found four yes that's 4 friggin scorpions tonight! Argh! I am pissing my pants over this! I went on a bug hunt tonight between 7 & 8, and cut one of those mother____ers legs off! Total scorpion count= 7. Here is a pic from a few weeks back, for a sense of scale I placed a dime...yes that's a dime next to the baby one, found in my son's room.

 

[Mesa]

I couldn't do it.

You need to call up the landlords and ask them to get an exterminator to your place STAT.

What does a scorpion hunt entail? I see you got the black light. Do you just look in corners, under shoes, etc.?

 

[Deak Starkiller]

I couldn't do it.

You need to call up the landlords and ask them to get an exterminator to your place STAT.

What does a scorpion hunt entail? I see you got the black light. Do you just look in corners, under shoes, etc.?

Yeah, I'm on it. It's me walking outside in my work shoes with a blacklight flashlight and a knife. Next time I'll use something else besides a butter knife . I am on the horn tomorrow, what a way to end my weekend.

 

[Mesa]

Oooohhh.... so these are just outside? That's less alarming than if you find that many inside.

Probably why I've been warned that you probably don't want to do an outside search at night because you might not like what you see.

Scorpions eat bugs, so kill their food supply and they might not hang around so much. I recommend that Ortho Max 2X year. It will kill the crickets and other bugs that scorpions eat, then they may go hang out in your neighbors yard.

 

[Deak Starkiller]

Oooohhh.... so these are just outside? That's less alarming than if you find that many inside.

Probably why I've been warned that you probably don't want to do an outside search at night because you might not like what you see.

Scorpions eat bugs, so kill their food supply and they might not hang around so much. I recommend that Ortho Max 2X year. It will kill the crickets and other bugs that scorpions eat, then they may go hang out in your neighbors yard.

Awesome, lock n' load!