I recently built a small home in southern OK and have killed several scorpions in my home as well as on the porches. Is there anything I can sprinkle around the perimeter of the house to keep them out?

-- Leesa Baker (leesa73401@yahoo.com), November 18, 1999

Answers

My cousins! Please do not harm the scorpions.
They are useful creatures. Just scoop them
into a container and put them outside.

-- spider (spider0@usa.net), November 18, 1999.

They may be your cousin, Spider, but any scorpion found in my house never makes it back outside.

Leesa: A good insecticide, such as Dursban, sprayed around the perimeter of your house should do the trick.

Scorpions, unfortunately, are like snakes to a lot of people. There's an atavistic reaction. Scorpions just look evil.

BTW, a scorpion's sting, while painful, is not as bad as a red wasp's or a yellowjacket's.

-- Vic (Rdrunner@internetwork.net), November 18, 1999.

We generally just step on them.

On a side note re scorpions:

This thread brought back harsh memories. Scorpions played a small part in one of the harsher episodes in my growing up. Here's how it worked out.

When I was an inocent kid I used to love the show - Lassie. Lassie was a GREAT dog. Smart as a whip. Back in the more inocent days of the 1950's we kids used to believe what we saw on TV.

Then there was the episode where Timmy got in somekind of trouble and was lying on the ground knocked out. Enter a scorpion from stage right headed for Timmy.

Lassie barks and growls like a good dog should when some booger is about the get Timmy. So far, so good.

Then Lassie goes over and picks a big rock up in her mouth and goes over and drops it on the scorpion.

This was TOO much even for a dumb kid from Texas.

HUNDREDS more events were required for the dumb kid to become completely disabused of that kind of trust.

So now when I see the politicians doing thier song and dance I've got lots of practive at not being overly impressed.

So I guess Bill Clinton has Lassie to thank, in part, for my inherent distrust.

-Greybear

-- Got REALLY big rocks?

-- Greybear (greybear@home.com), November 18, 1999.

I wonder if vinegar might help. It was mentioned on another thread as having boocou uses.

As a kid growing up in NE Oklahoma I remember leaving my pants on the floor overnite and then putting them on the next morning for a run to the post office. It was there that the SOB made his presence known. I dropped my pants in front of God and everybody and the scorpion died a cruel death. He got the Spanish two-step treatment.

-- rb (ronbanks_2000@yahoo.com), November 19, 1999.

Free range your chickens, they think scorps are candy. The sting doesn't bother them. We haven't had any scorps for years because of the chickens and turkeys - train your dogs not to kill the free rangers though.

-- Mitchell Barnes (spanda@inreach.com), November 19, 1999.

I've read that diatomaceous earth - that same stuff we're putting into our grains to kill the nasty little bugs that would otherwise feast on our stored food supply - will kill the same little bugs outdoors in the wild.

I think the principle is that the diatomaceous earth clogs up the bug's pores, and the bug is seriously dehydrated and suffocated at the same time. If this is the case, you could sprinkle diatomaceous earth around the perimeter of your house, and theoretically the bugs wouldn't be very anxious to cross that line.

Can anybody confirm this? And what about the possibility of rain? Would diatomaceous earth retain its effectiveness, assuming that it really does work this way?

-- peg (peg@futureandahope.com), November 19, 1999.

Peg,

WHAT IS DIATOMACEOUS EARTH?

Diatomaceous earth is a naturally occurring substance comprised of the fossilized remains of marine diatoms. These diatoms are microscopic in size and are covered in sharp spines that make them dangerous to exoskeletal insects, but not to animals with internal skeletons. The spines of the diatom skeletons pierce the soft body tissues of insects between their hard exoskeletal plates and it is through these numerous microscopic wounds that the insect loses bodily moisture to the point of desiccating and dying. Creatures with internal skeletons such as humans, cattle and pets have means of resisting such damage and are not harmed. Thus, it is possible to mix a small amount of DE into your stored grains and beans to control insects without having to remove the dust again before you consume them.

WHERE DO I FIND D.E. AND WHAT TYPE SHOULD I BUY?

IMPORTANT NOTE: There are actually two kinds of diatomaceous earth to be found on the market and only one of them is suitable for use as an insecticide to use in your stored grains. The kind that you DO NOT WANT FOR FOOD USE is the type sold by swimming pool suppliers as a filtering agent. It has been subjected to a heat treatment that dramatically increases it's silicate content and makes it unsuitable for use with your foodstuffs. The type that you want is sold by a number of suppliers as a garden insecticide. Many organic garden suppliers will carry it. Read the label carefully to be certain no deleterious substances such as chemical pesticides have been added.

I have a girlfriend who tried using D.E. to kill roaches in her apartment. She dusted her counter tops and along the walls of her kitchen. It didn't phase them, so I doubt that it will kill scorpions. either.

-- Laura (Ladylogic46@aol.com), November 20, 1999.