Not many people will share my enthusiasm, but I love seeing a scorpion crossing my way. Well… I must admit that this happens rarely. Usually, a hike during the night will give you much higher chances to encounter a scorpion. But if the scorpion does not find you, you can still go searching for him yourself. Let me share with you some secrets about scorpion hunting.
scorpion © by kevinzim
During the day scorpions usually hide under rocks or in small holes that they dig. That means that searching scorpions means turning a lot of rocks. If you are extremely lucky, you might find a scorpion family. Young scorpions usually stay with their mother for a while. The form a group that consists of up to 15 young scorpions and a mother scorpion.
However, as scorpions are nocturnal you will find them more easily during the night. You can then use a flashlight with a blacklight LED. The UV will illuminate the scorpions because they are fluorescent. This way you can see them from several feet away. The highest chances of finding them are on a night without moon and 2-3 hours after dark.
Be aware though, that scorpions can be very venomous. Sometimes they can be fatal, sometimes they can be harmless. If you are not a scorpion expert you should regard all scorpions as fatal. So be extremely careful when turning stones and don’t try to touch the scorpions! Always turn the stone towards you so that the stone is between you and the opening!
