PHOENIX — After months of scorching heat, cooler temperatures are here. While you're probably enjoying it, scorpions are looking for a warmer spot to call home.
That stop could possibly be inside your home.
"They always want to be climbing a vertical surface," co-founder of Slick Barrier Tony Gonzalez said. "Once you spot one, it's easier to start spotting them after that."
Gonzales says there are many different kinds of scorpions but one of the most popular is also the most venomous.
"Here in Arizona, we have what's called an Arizona Bark Scorpion," he said. "They're really hard to see, they're climbers which is why you find them inside your home because they're attaching to your home, finding a way in and climbing inside. These scorpions can squeeze through an area as thin as a credit card."
Starting now, many of these arachnids are on the move.
"Now during winter, they're outside feeding, but scorpions go into this hibernation mode for several months and they don't die," he said. "A lot of people think they don't have scorpions in the winter because they don't see them, but they really do."
With that in mind, your house could be a target and you may not even know it.
"If you find a scorpion in your house, more than likely it traveled inside through the wall," Gonzales said. "What will happen is, they'll look for places like your home to get in and to nest. They're climbing up from the ground attaching to your house and looking for a way in such as your windows, areas around venting, any place you have a gap around your home, they'll find it."
And once inside, dozens will follow.
"With scorpions, it's not just one nesting," Gonzales said. "You can have 20 to 30 scorpions nesting together, so if you have scorpions during the summer, you probably have scorpions in your wall during the winter."
So what can you do?
First, experts say you have to be proactive, especially if you're finding them in your house.
"If you want to exterminate them, you have to hunt them," Gonzales said. "You have to look for them at night and kill them."
It also helps to clear your property of debris, vegetation and water. Harmless sealants around the bottom of the home also work to help seal cracks or holes that will keep scorpions from finding a way inside.
"If you see scorpions in your yard, you need to keep an eye out," said Gonzales.
That way the only guests in your house this winter are the ones who are welcome.
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