Scorpions range in size and can be found across the globe on all continents except for Antarctica. Below, Atlanta pest control experts, North Fulton Pest Solutions, share several facts about scorpions and how to eliminate them from your home.

How Do Scorpions Get inside Your Home?

Scorpions prefer to live outdoors, but if the conditions are right indoors, they will move inside. They are attracted to areas that are moist and humid because water is a big part of their diet. This means that they will likely take up residence in your bathrooms, kitchens and even laundry rooms where moisture can be present.

It does not take much space for them to enter. Many scorpions are able to squeeze through a crack that is only an eighth of an inch thin, about the thickness of a credit card. They can get into your home through openings around outside fixtures and cracks in doors, windows and foundation.

Why You Need to Get Them Out Immediately

If you have scorpions living inside your home, there is a chance that other pests are there as well, since a scorpion diet consists of bugs and small animals. Even though scorpions are reportedly capable of slowing their metabolism and surviving off as little as one insect per year, it is not a risk that most homeowners are willing to take.

While most scorpions are not deadly to humans (according to National Geographic only 30 to 40 are known to have venom that can kill humans), they all have venom that contains neurotoxins, which can cause various levels of toxicity in the body when stung.

A sting from a scorpion can be painful and leave redness on the skin, or it can warrant a trip to the emergency room from a more serious reaction to the neurotoxin. Since they come out at night, any trips to the bathroom by you and your family could be cause for an accidental sting. Moreover, scorpions can climb up into the bed and sting you while you sleep.

How to Avoid Finding Yourself in This Situation

North Fulton Pest Solutions, who also specialize in commercial pest control in Atlanta, advise you to ensure your yard is not attractive to scorpions. Do not keep clutter, such as bricks, trash, boards or logs, around your home, as these are areas scorpions tend to gravitate toward and hide out in. Once you do that, ensure you have no openings in and around your home for a scorpion to get through. You should caulk any fixtures that are on the outside of your home and put weather stripping around doors and windows that are even slightly ill fitting.

Make a Call into the Pros

Scorpions can be hard to kill because they have a large body and thick cuticle, and because they only come out at night. If you try to exterminate the scorpions yourself by buying pest control products, you could end up wasting a lot of time, money and effort in doing so.

Hire a professional pest control company, who is trained to spot signs of infestation of all kinds of pests and get rid of them in the most appropriate manner, using safe methods for you, your family and your pets.