The Scorpion King
Mike from Arizona, follows up on his earlier e-mail with more on scorpions:
Scorpions in Phoenix-area houses may not be as common as roaches but they're not that uncommon- I found out a friend of mine has them- since his neighbors spray their houses and he cannot spray his due to his wife's allergic reaction to pesticides he has to actively patrol his backyard for them- last year he killed 500 of them.
Other people have chimed in about their problems with them, in a very matter-of-fact way. One said she gets stung every now and then- in the hand or foot- it's like being pierced by a needle. Slowly the leg or arm goes numb, she doesn't worry till it gets past the knee and elbow. She told me to go get a black light (they really show up to them) and go out and squash them like a man.
I now have the same scorpion poison my neighbor has- he's a chemical engineer and says it's good stuff, keep the pre-death twitching to a minimum. I better go ahead and use it, I've heard the scorpions are talking to the fire ants in the yard and black widows in the garage about forming an axis of evil.
Keep up the good work and you have a great fan base out here in Arizona. If you ever get the chance tell Lileks about all the fun bugs we have- he mutters about moving to Arizona every April, after all he likes the heat and it's 102 degrees today. Of course he'll probably move by his in-laws in Scottsdale and if they're by the desert's edge he'll have to deal with killer bees and rattlesnakes on his pool deck as well.
Just another day in paradise.
A regular Garden of Eden, isn't it? Winter in the Upper Midwest is not sounding so bad after all.
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