San Diego is California's second-largest city. While known as an urban hotspot, this fabulous city's surrounding terrain ranges from incredible coastal views to rolling foothills to high mountain peaks. Add with the perfect climate, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a better place to live.
Scorpions are local pests that also enjoy the varied terrain and excellent climate. Property owners could face an unexpected, nasty surprise unless they get professional scorpion pest control in San Diego.
Is A Scorpion A Bug?
Scorpions are one pest most people can readily identify by sight because of their distinct body shape. According to the scientific classification chart, scorpions fall under the arthropods category (phylum). This broad category includes insects, spiders, and crustaceans. As the classification chart narrows, scorpions are separated from insects and grouped with arachnids (class).
Arachnids have two body parts (cephalothorax and abdomen), whereas insects have only three (head, thorax, and abdomen). Additionally, arachnids have four pairs of legs, while insects have three. Add in the fact that arachnids, especially scorpions and spiders, typically eat bugs for dinner; it puts a definite end to the thought that scorpions are bugs—they are not.
While scorpions are definitely not bugs, they share a commonality—their ability to pester humans. While most bugs prove more of a nuisance to people, scorpion visits carry more concerning health ramifications.
The Symptoms Of A Scorpion's Sting
Since scorpions typically don't like conflict, most encounters result from an accidental meeting or when they feel threatened. Their most prominent defense mechanism is their tail, with a stinger at the end. When a stinger contacts a person's body, it can cause significant discomfort. While most stings typically result in intense pain, swelling, redness, and warmth at the sting site, others can lead to serious health complications.
San Diego has one particular scorpion with a highly potent venom—the Arizona bark scorpion. A sting from this scorpion can lead to life-threatening complications, especially in young children and older folks. Symptoms that indicate severe reactions to scorpion stings include the following:
- Difficulty breathing
- Drooling
- Twitching muscles, thrashing, restlessness, excitability
- Unusual eye, neck, and head movements
- Slurred speech, sweating, nausea, and vomiting
- Fast heart rate or high blood pressure
- Allergic reactions (anaphylaxis)
Most healthcare professionals recommend seeing a medical care provider when stung by a scorpion; it's always better to be safe than sorry. Since scorpions in San Diego pose such a significant health risk to people, property owners must use professionals to remove them from properties as soon as possible. At Green Flash Pest Control, we offer scorpion and pest control solutions that can help protect families and commercial facilities from unwelcome scorpion visits.
Natural And Effective Scorpion Prevention Tips
Property owners are not without resources when it comes to scorpion prevention. Some natural yet practical prevention tips can help property owners reduce the possibility of unpleasant encounters with scorpions around their property.
Natural and effective recommendations for scorpion prevention include the following tips:
- Remove any wood or rock piles in yards, especially those close to buildings.
- Repair any damaged weatherstripping, mortar, or caulking on the outside of structures.
- Place screens over vents, doors, and windows.
- Ensure any outdoor trash gets placed in containers with tight-fitting lids.
- Make sure doors seal correctly, and there are no gaps.
- Get rid of moisture sources like dripping faucets and improper water drainage.
Since San Diego scorpions are most active at night, they will hide during the day. It is important to note that scorpions who manage to get indoors tend to hide within dark, secluded areas like cabinets, shoes, beds, and closets. Folks who live or work in properties prone to scorpion visits should get in the habit of shaking out clothing and checking shoes; wearing socks and shoes indoors is also a good idea.
Utilizing prevention measures to deter scorpions from hanging around properties is wise, but no matter how proactive or watchful property owners are, scorpions may still cause trouble. When that happens, knowing that a trusted pest professional like Green Flash Pest Control is nearby is essential.
Expert Scorpion Control: The Smart Way To Get Rid Of An Infestation
Wise property owners will obtain expert scorpion control services from an experienced pest professional company like Green Flash Pest Control to protect properties from scorpion infestations. Our locally-owned, family-based company was established in 2015 and has over 25 years of combined industry experience. Our services are vast, and we offer guaranteed solutions to every pest problem.
Do you want scorpions or other pests gone in a flash? Call Green Flash Pest Control today for a free inspection on scorpion removal.