Wolf Spider

LV Moose wrote in post #15782376
Scary thought, right there.

Speaking of roach-eating critters: over the past two years we've noticed a dramatic drop in crickets and roaches in my area, which sounds good, right? Until you consider the reason;... an explosion in the scorpion population.

Hmm? Roaches or scorpions? What is the downside on the scorpions? We have small black scorpions here, hardly ever see them as they usually stay hidden.

advaitin wrote in post #15782510
Hmm? Roaches or scorpions? What is the downside on the scorpions? We have small black scorpions here, hardly ever see them as they usually stay hidden.

We have Bark Scorpions here. Small, but the most dangerous in N. America. Personally, I prefer them over roaches, but the wife doesn't appreciate them in the house for some reason. They're easy to spot with a UV flashlight (torch)... I killed 5 last night while walking the dog, which is pretty typical.

I have an agreement with all my insect predators. If they aren't bothering me, I let them live and do their thing. When we lived in Idaho we had hornets living in the space between a roof and the eaves of a breezeway between the house and a utility room. There was always a sentry hanging out by their entrance, which was close to where I had my tandem bike hanging. We came and went by the nearby kitchen door. Put up the bike and took it down. Never had a problem. Neighborhood kids came into the carport one day to try and take the tandem down. The kids had managed to get one wheel down, but left the bike hanging by the other wheel. According to one who 'fessed up later, the hornets came out in force and chased them off.
I suspect one tried to swat the sentry, not that the hornets were protective of my bike.

advaitin wrote in post #15782673
I have an agreement with all my insect predators. If they aren't bothering me, I let them live and do their thing.

I usually have the same agreement, and hadn't started killing scorpions until very recently. We've found about five in the house over the past few months (including two on the bedroom walls... one right above the headboard, which could have easily fallen into the bed), as have our neighbors. The ones I've been killing on my walks are in a small gated community; kids playing, even in the evening. Time for these things to go.

edit: I should note that Bark Scorpions were not indigenous to our area... and have been brought in by the importation of palms and other plants from Mexico.