Last night, I had the most unfortunate event. I was stung by a scorpion.

I now know how to get the terrorists to spill the beans. Put them in a small room with about a zillion scorpions. They don't have to be the deadly kind, just the common ones will do. They'll start to sing quickly. Better yet, tie one down and hold a pissed off scorpion to the privates. If they don't sing, maybe let it sting it once, then they'll be flapping quickly.

I have never felt anything so painful. Needless to say, my son has something 'interesting' to show today at school for show and tell.

Remember if you should see one, STAY FAR AWAY! I didn't see this sucker, as it was on the brown carpet, but I sure felt it. I started screaming bloody murder.

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2002

Answers

helen, what was that about you wanting me to move to Oklahoma??

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2002

Brooks,

If you stay in the cities, you shouldn't see them (or at least not many anways). When I lived in one of the small cities next to OKC, I never saw one in the 6+ years I was here before moving out into the boonies.

Now that I'm out in the woods, I've seen a few and have killed every single one that I've seen. Up until last night that is.... Hubby had to kill it as I was in such pain that I couldn't even stand. He was so good to me, and was really worried.

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2002

Sounds like a ruse to get new carpeting...

glad you survived it.

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2002

Barefoot,

Funny, as I was limping into work this morning, I started thinking I needed to get new carpet just so that I could see the little buggers. If I do, you can bet it won't be brown. (That is the current color.)

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2002

Being fresh off the boat, I was astounded to be told, upon arriving in San Angelo, Texas, that I should shake out my boots (boots??? What boots?) before I put them on because of the scorpions. Sure enough, there were scorpions in the cheap motel we stayed in for a week before we found a house to rent. I didn't see any at the house but I soon learned not to let skunks live under the house and to make lots of noise on the yard so I wouldn't run into rattlesnakes, scorpions, tarantulas, brown recluse and black widow spiders, horned toads, and the like. Sheesh! The only painful thing we have in England is a bee.

I've heard about the pain of a scorpion sting, sorry, apoc. I can't imagine. Yes, new carpet is DEFINITELY in order.

Now if I can just have a fence strong enough to keep out alligators in South Carolina. . .

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2002

apoc, some are the color of dry grass or straw. They live inside the walls and often come out of the electrical wall plates. They like to crawl in bed with you, and at the slightest move on your part, they hit whatever is in the way. I got hit on the bottom in the middle of the night, the night after my mom and sister got hit on the hands in their beds. I haven't seen any in the easternmost part of the state, but the further west (more arid) the ground, the more likely you are to see them.

Brooks, mea culpa. I forgot about them. I did mention the poisonous spiders and snakes, didn't I?

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2002

hope you are feeling abit better now!

-- Anonymous, August 23, 2002

Scorpions positively GLOW under a black light! Believe me, I get ours out on a fairly regular basis now that I've found so many this year. [Note: Black light will also show how well your vacuum cleaner works, or how often you use it. :-)]

We've seen more scorpions here on the Hilltop this summer than in all the 15 years combined he's lived here. It must be because it's so dry and hot; they come in looking for water and relief from the heat.

Most of the ones I've found have been in the bathroom, but I almost got zapped by one I narrowly missed seeing on, yep you guessed it. . .the brown carpet in the hallway.

Found another in the kitchen yesterday morning along the baseboard underneath one of the cabinets, but it was already dead and mummified. I'd just swept the kitchen two days before, so I'm not sure if I missed it or if it really is that hot down here these days.

And Helen is right: They *will* crawl in bed with you. [Shiver]

-- Anonymous, August 24, 2002

Maybe if you put a dish of water outside. . .?

-- Anonymous, August 24, 2002

Heh. Already do that. The pups have a couple of water dishes outside that I keep filled with fresh water a couple of times daily. Most of the time the pups are inside with me, but because it's been so hot here lately, I don't want the little sweeties to get thirsty when they're outside "doing their business".

So, I dunno. As much as I hate the idea, we're really giving serious consideration to using a chemical spray to get rid of them. Don't like using chemicals when we can help it, but the problem is getting out of hand.

-- Anonymous, August 24, 2002