Sunday, May 19, 2013

Siege of Scorpions


As I was getting ready to leave San Miguel de Allende in the dusty, hot weather, I KNEW to be watching for scorpions, squirrels and other assorted creatures - none bother me though like SCORPIONS!

I wrote previously in a blog called "Animal House" about a wily scorpion.  I can call him wily now.  At the time I thought he was just sinister.

So, I've been watching.  Especially at night when you flip on the light.  My eyes scour the ceiling and walls.
If I see one my heart races and I grab something and smash it to bits.  Or use spray starch to freeze it in place while I find something to kill it, for sure.

One appeared a couple of weeks ago.  He's gone to where dead scorpions go.  THEN the day before I left I noticed a shadow in the drapes in the bedroom.  What the heck?  It didn't move so I figured it was dead....
NOT!  I grabbed something and squished it between the drapery lining and the drapes.  Heck, this is NOT rocket science.

I left a post-in-note on the drapes that morning as I left for the airport,   saying "Muertos"...........hopefully Josefina, the maid or my son John will get rid of it.........or if not, I'll be faced with a dried, dead scorpion.

I'll face that when I have to..........hopefully the rains will have come and the scorpions will stop looking for a cool place to go (inside my house).  I have no idea where they go or stay when the rains come.  Hopefully far, far away.

14 comments:

Dan in NC said...

Sounds like you are being haunted by the ghost of Steve's "little fiend" .. I've never run across the creatures outside of Santa Maria, Ca., and hope my luck continues. Does a "bug bomb" have any lasting effect? In the meantime keep shaking those shoes before slipping them on!
Cheers!
Dan in NC

Steve Cotton said...

I know where they go when it rains. To the casita.

calypso said...

We have plenty of those things in Puerto Escondido. I actually did get stung (bit?) by one earlier this year - it seemed to be relatively mild. They truly are intimidating and ugly. My flesh is slowly recovering from a brown recluse bite that was far more sinister - ugh!

Babs said...

Dan, its not only shoes - that time I got bit, I stuck my hand in my jeans pocket! And there was one in there...OMG, it hurt for at least two
hours. They are so sneaky and creepy...

Babs said...

Steve, you're right, I had forgotten. I'll have to check it carefully (or have Javier check carefully) to make sure there are none!

Babs said...

Calypso, I'm SO sorry you were bit by a

Babs said...

Calypso, I'm so sorry you were stung by a recluse! That is dangerous isn't it?

Shannon said...

I guess that I have been VERY lucky as I have been in Mexico for seven years and have yet to see a scorpion. Now having said that, they will likely come out of the woodwork, but so far, so good. Cucarachas though? Different story.

Life's a Beach! said...

Saw my first scorpions in Mexico on Isla this year. Fortunately, they were on the sidewalk. Knock on wood -- we've haven't had any in our house. Spray starch! I hadn't heard that one!

Babs said...

Spray starch isn't a toxic chemical to me, but since it freezes the scorpion in place, it must be to them. Then I whomp them with the fly swatter.....it works!

Peter Kouwenhoven said...

In France they put lavender on the windowsills to repel the scorpions, I'm not sure if it is effective though.

Babs said...

Oh Peter, THANK YOU or Merci! They raise lavender in the areas around San Miguel. I'll try that!

Unknown said...

You can buy a blacklight flashlight on amazon for a few bucks and they work great for revealing scorpions as scorpions glow bright green under black light. That's what I use in Arizona when getting up at night.

Babs said...

Learn something new every day! The idea of seeing a GREEN scorpion in the middle of the night totally creeps me out!

Thanks for the info..........I wonder what the coatamundi, skunk and squirrel outside would look like. What color? It's a zoo around here!