Hide and Go Seek in Paradise

22 Replies

                                                Hide and Go Seek in Paradise

Yesterday Morrie, who was lying right in front of my chair behind my heels, his nose between my feet, suddenly jumped three feet in the air.  I looked down and this lovely fellow was on the floor between my feet.  I quickly took off a shoe and bashed him three or four times, which wasn’t very effective because I had Croc sandals on, but I finally scraped him to death. Morrie licked his lips and then his paw, but didn’t keep licking and didn’t swell or cry.  Something must have happened to make him jump, but he has had no ill effects.

IMG_4636 (1)
I have found five of these creatures on my bedroom or bathroom floor in the past four days!  I found two this morning alone and I think nine have met their demise by my foot in the past couple of weeks.  I don’t know what is bringing them in at this point as I hadn’t seen any for a few months.

The fellow pictured was about 2 inches long from his head to his stinger, not counting his pincers. Some are black, some reddish brown and some tan. Although the huge black ones are the scariest, supposedly the small tan ones are the most poisonous.  About six days ago I took my capris off a hook on the wall, put them on, then put on a blouse and walked into the bathroom, which is better lit than my bedroom.  I looked down and saw a twist of thread on the thigh of my capri leg and picked it off, but when I did, it moved; so I quickly dropped it onto the floor to discover it was one of the tiny beige scorpions!!!  I stomped and scraped it.  Can’t figure out why it didn’t sting me.

I’ve learned never to walk barefoot, but do occasionally.  Once in the middle of the night I neglected to put on my sandals when I went to the bathroom.  As I sat down, I felt something prick my heel and immediately shook my foot and a scorpion fell down. I felt only a slight prick and it never really burned or hurt much.  I think it had stung me on the tougher skin of my heel and just didn’t puncture it enough.

Another time a scorpion climbed between the heel of my Birkenstock and my heel as my heel raised up when I was walking.  As I rested it back down, I felt and heard a crackling noise and I investigated to find I’d cut the scorpion in two.  The front part of his body was still in my shoe under my heel whereas the stinger and rear legs were on the floor!!!

Probably my worst near miss with one of these evil creatures was when  I took my swim suit down from the shower nozzle where I had hung it to dry and for some reason shook it out (I never had before) and a scorpion fell out of the flap of material over the crotch.  Yes–Ew.  I know.  Ouch!  Now I always shake out clothes.  Well, except for my capris the other day.

Yesterday I asked Pasiano to spray for scorpions  in front of all the doors that lead into the house. So far it seems not to have kept them out, but perhaps it will slow them down long enough for me to catch them before they catch me.

Living in paradise is pretty nice, folks, but it isn’t free. Weather’s perfect, nature is gorgeous, labor and food and lodging are comparatively cheap, but oh yeah.  We have scorpions!!!

IMG_3645

22 thoughts on “Hide and Go Seek in Paradise”

  2. Tina's avatarTina, The Bo Bina

    Oh my goodness! When I was living in Las Vegas, I worried about encountering scorpions, but they stayed away from the city, thank Heavens… I don’t know how you do it, but I guess with most things, you take the bad with the good, especially in a beautiful town in Mexico!

    Like

    Reply ↓
  3. calensariel's avatarcalensariel

    Oh man! I would SO be out of there!!! My friend Kim wants us to come visit her in Perth, Australia as she’s been over to see us twice. I get nervous thinking about it. I hear they have big bugs there. And she lives right on the edge of a national preserve of some sort.

    Btw, my blog has NOT kicked your site out again so whatever it was that did that might have been a glitch on WP’s part. The others I was losing are still good, too. But I wanted to let you know I’m changing my notifications on yours and a couple others to weekly because we are getting ready to go to Maryland to see our new granddaughter and all I’m going to have is my tablet. So I may be able to answer a few of them, but if I disappear, you’ll know I haven’t lost you again (I hope!)…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓
  4. Trail Walker's avatarcarolyn aka skip

    Scorpions…Eewww! I’m sitting here in Ohio reading your blog with the hair on the back of my neck sticking straight out at the mention (let alone the picture) of scorpions. Years ago I went to Phoenix, AZ, to help my daughter with her new baby. When her husband carried my suitcases into their guest room, he informed me he had encountered a scorpion in the room while getting it ready for my arrival. I almost turned around and headed straight back to Ohio. You live in a beautiful place, but, as you said, you have scorpions. I’m not as brave as you are. I’ll just enjoy the beauty from a distance.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓
  5. Andrea R Huelsenbeck's avatarAndrea R Huelsenbeck

    I live in Arizona, and I see one of the tan scorpions in my house about every three months or so. We have a couple of flyswatters hung in strategic places, and they really are sufficient for sending those buggers back to their Maker. My husband was recently stung while putting on his shorts.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓
    1. lifelessons's avatarlifelessons Post author

      Ouch! I know. I’ve been lucky for 14 years but need to be careful to remain on guard. My parents lived in Tucson for over 30 years and I don’t remember ever seeing a scorpion in the house. Wonder why?

      Like

      Reply ↓
  6. Allenda Moriarty's avatarAllenda Moriarty

    Loved hearing some of your favorite scorpion horror stories again, as well as the new ones. I must thank you for your bathing suit story, as ever since your first telling me that one, when we lived in Mexico, I have always looked in my suit, and shaken it out for good measure. Still do this in the states just in case a spider has decided to reside in my suit since I leave it outside hanging to dry on our fence. Incidentally, my first scorpion encounter in Mexico happened in your bedroom when we were house sitting for you. I was sitting barefoot at your desk using my computer, when all of a sudden our Ta-Shi dashed across the floor shaking her head and stomping her big hairy feet, chasing a scorpion. I screamed for Tony to come in with a shoe and he sent it to wherever scorpions go when they pass to the other side. I’m assuming it is to someplace hot.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓
    1. lifelessons's avatarlifelessons Post author

      Ha. The only place I ever see them is in my bedroom and bathroom. The guest bedrooms have their own bathrooms and one is on the second floor. I don’t think a scorpion has ever made it up there. There was a little frog who kept climbing up somehow and taking up residence in the toilet. I think it was his vacation home.

      Like

      Reply ↓
          1. Laura Newhampshire's avatarLaura L.

            Could have been both or either. My guess is the majority were non-poisonous black rat snakes. But there are tons of poisonous snakes out there where she is, too. :::shudder:::

            Like

            Reply ↓
  8. Laura Newhampshire's avatarLaura L.

    These are close enough to spiders to have me passing out in a dead faint at your post. Yes, the warmer the climate the more disgusting the bugs and critters. In Kentucky it was that huge, lunch plate sized spider I nearly stepped on which sent me over the edge. I think this is one reason I’m liking New England so much; the worst bug I’ve seen is a feathery little centipede of some sort that nearly dissolved by me looking at it sternly. 🙂

    Like

    Reply ↓
  10. dorannrule's avatardorannrule

    Oh, I am terrified of scorpions! Raised in Fla. and my Dad was a painter with a ladder shed in the backyard. I grew up with dire warnings to stay away from that shed where scorpions lived. Also told to stamp on shoes before putting them on. I have never encountered one though and my memories of paradise remain unmarred. 🙂

    Like

    Reply ↓

Leave a comment