Couch scorpions

[Kelly_H]

That snake thread reminded me that I have something interesting to post, finally! Couple weeks ago I was hanging out on my couch watching TV when I suddenly felt something crawl up onto my leg. Looked down and lo and behold, it was a scorpion!! I have never vacated my couch so fast. The poor thing was trying to hide but not doing a very good job of it - kept kind of trying to blend into the side of the couch but once you know there's a scorpion in your couch, you are 100000% aware of where it is at any point in time.

I scooped it up in a cup and it waved its arms at me for a while, but I got some reasonably good cellphone pics. Its body was ~2" long, and the whole thing was ~4" long from claw to tail. It probably came in under the French doors that lead out to the patio - they are right next to the couch. I've found a few cockroaches in that vicinity as well over the past few weeks so it is a known problem area. Never expected a scorpion to come through there though!!



Anyways, I chucked him outside, and told him that I would show mercy this time, but that the next time I caught him in my house I'd turn him into a lollipop! That gamble seems to actually have worked because now there are neither scorpions NOR cockroaches in my living room (scorpions eat cockroaches).

 

[Horseplay]

One of the few benefits of living up north is we don't have to deal with those things. Or the monster roaches and such you find down south. Love snakes. Can do without all those critters with extra legs.

 

[Midlife]

OMG! Get that thing away from me!

 

[Gigantopithecus]

Oh hell naw!

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[KBMWRS]

Time to reseal the french doors....fill that gap!

 

[RapidRabbit]

Yikes! I'd probably need new shorts after that!

Thankfully we don't get that stuff up here.

Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk

 

[FordDude]

I encountered a black widow this past weekend while fixing the house AC unit. She was upside down showing off the red hourglass, but I left my iphone inside and when I came back to take a pic she moved into the corner. Grabbed her with the needle nose pliers and squished with a screwdriver. Not afraid, just not going to let live at my house.

fd

 

[Boom]

I had a scorpion crawl across the floor of my living room when I was in Austin, too. Crazy thing is that rooms on the second floor. Didn't realize they can climb.

 

[JeffTepper]

When my niece moved to Austin a few years ago, she found scorpions in the house and a family of raccoons in the chimney, This was a nice house in a golf course community. The pre-purchase home inspection failed to mention either. Welcome to Texas ya'll.......

 

[jims6t6]

One of the few benefits of living up north is we don't have to deal with those things. Or the monster roaches and such you find down south. Love snakes. Can do without all those critters with extra legs.

But do you have May files in ChiTown?

 

[gtscode]

When my niece moved to Austin a few years ago, she found scorpions in the house and a family of raccoons in the chimney, This was a nice house in a golf course community. The pre-purchase home inspection failed to mention either. Welcome to Texas ya'll.......

When I moved to Texas for a few years from California when I was looking at apartments I commented on a couple of large bugs and the woman looked at me and said you’re not from around here are you?

No thanks!

 

[JD08]

When I moved in this house, there was one in the light fixture in the hallway. I have no idea how it got up a wall and across a ceiling.

 

[msell66]

One of the few benefits of living up north is we don't have to deal with those things. Or the monster roaches and such you find down south. Love snakes. Can do without all those critters with extra legs.

I used to think being North-ish was safe too until I had a brown recluse tap my right quad! That was more than 10 years ago and the scar from the bite is still there. Nasty stuff!

Glad that scorpion didn't stab ya Kelly!

 

[Kelly_H]

The way my experience goes, many animals down here have the ability to hurt you (much like Australian animals), but they are too damn hot to even be bothered to mess with you. If they're in your house, they're either enjoying the AC or trying to find water. So things are pretty chill for the most part, not antagonistic. Actually the most antagonistic animals I've encountered are the grackles, and the downtown squirrels. Those things will harass you for sure!

I think I actually prefer scorpions over cockroaches. I HATE cockroaches. I hate how they skitter around and take forever to die and make tons of tiny babies and fly at you and fall on you from the ceiling. Scorpions (at least the ones I've encountered, both inside and outside my house) are pretty docile and tend to move at reasonably slow speeds in linear directions. They are either sitting still or walking somewhere, never skittering around chaotically. A scorpion is very unlikely to try to run up my arm while I'm trying to catch it. Cockroaches on the other hand, never behave predictably and tend to end up on you instead of running away from you. Ugh!!!

 

[janschutz]

The way my experience goes, many animals down here have the ability to hurt you (much like Australian animals), but they are too damn hot to even be bothered to mess with you. If they're in your house, they're either enjoying the AC or trying to find water. So things are pretty chill for the most part, not antagonistic. Actually the most antagonistic animals I've encountered are the grackles, and the downtown squirrels. Those things will harass you for sure!

I think I actually prefer scorpions over cockroaches. I HATE cockroaches. I hate how they skitter around and take forever to die and make tons of tiny babies and fly at you and fall on you from the ceiling. Scorpions (at least the ones I've encountered, both inside and outside my house) are pretty docile and tend to move at reasonably slow speeds in linear directions. They are either sitting still or walking somewhere, never skittering around chaotically. A scorpion is very unlikely to try to run up my arm while I'm trying to catch it. Cockroaches on the other hand, never behave predictably and tend to end up on you instead of running away from you. Ugh!!!

I agree, scorpions over cockroaches! I just wish something would eat/kill the Fireants.