How To Survive A Scorpion Bite
January 9th, 2010 Posted in Spiders & Other Arachnids, Stinging Insects
Scorpions don’t actually bite their victims, but more so grab them with their claws and sting them. They only sting people unless they are directly bothered by someone.
A scorpion only uses their stinger if their prey is not initially subdued by the strength of their pincers. Therefore, it is incorrect to say you got bitten by a scorpion, but rather you felt the wrath of their stinger.
Want to learn how to survive a scorpion sting?
Brief Background On The Scorpion
Scorpions frequent many different climates throughout the world, but they are most often found in desert climates. They rarely seek out people to sting them, but scorpions and people often share similar environments. This leads to many instances of people getting stung.
If you leave your boot outside in the desert it wouldn’t be unheard of for you to find a scorpion resting inside. The scorpion will only sting you out of its own defense. Out of the 1500 species of scorpions, only 50 are dangerous to humans, but that still leaves a lot of chances for a painful sting.
However, in 11 years only 4 people died in the United States as a result of a scorpion sting. So, 9 times out of 10 you will survive a scorpion sting, if you are treated properly.
How To Prevent Yourself From Being Stung
Prevention is the best way to avoid a scorpion’s sting and venom. Here are a few ways to prevent this from happening to you:
- Wear shoes while you’re outside to protect yourself from accidentally walking on a scorpion, especially at night
- Be careful when moving items outside because a scorpion could be around it, underneath it, or inside the item
- Never touch a scorpion unless you are wearing protective gloves
- If you are sleeping outside for any reason try not to sleep on the bare ground, but try to sleep in a tent or covered by blankets
- Always shake out clothing, shoes, and bedding that has been outside in case an uninvited guest is inside it
- Learn the difference between the deadly species of scorpions and harmless species of scorpions in your area
How To Deal With A Sting
So, you just got stung by a scorpion. Every person has a different reaction to getting stung, but each person will most certainly feel the pain that a sting causes. Many disagree on how to deal with a scorpion sting, but the general consensus is to immediately put alcohol on the wound to help alleviate some of the venom on the surface of your skin.
Also placing ice around where you were stung will help to lessen the swelling the sting caused. Lastly, but most importantly get yourself to a hospital or doctor to be treated with anti-venom.
If you continuously have problems with scorpions around your property, seek professional organic services. For other pests around your home, use EcoSMART’s organic insecticides to help solve the issue. Our natural insecticides are safe for the environment and your family, but at the same time help to end your pest problems.
