How to Get Rid of Scorpions Permanently: The Ultimate Guide

You want to know how to get rid of scorpions permanently. You’re sick of uninvited guests with pincers and venomous stingers roaming freely around your property. And you know by now that simply killing just one or two simply doesn’t cut it. You want the scorpion problem solved for good.

Lucky for you, we have a full guide on how to get rid of scorpions permanently so you never have to encounter one again.

Because let’s face it: scorpions are scary.

That may be unfair to these misunderstood creatures. The most important scorpion fact is that the majority of scorpions aren’t venomous enough to be life-threatening. Less than 5% of scorpion stings need medical attention. Scorpions also don’t spread bacteria nor disease.

And scorpions typically attack only when provoked. In fact, they have very little reason to attack humans at all. Scorpions don’t view us as a food source and only use us for the habitats we can provide.

That being said, nobody wants to live with the threat of scorpions hanging around. And once these critters move in, they often have no intention of moving out.

So you will have to force them. Let’s find out how.

Can You Get Rid of Scorpions?

Before we get to the nitty gritty, one must ask, is it even possible to get rid of scorpions permanently?

Scorpions are incredibly hardy, robust and stubborn little creatures. They live in the dark, they adore the scorching heat, their skeletal structure is on the outside and they can do yoga much, much better than you ever will. What chance do you have against them?

Well, there is some truth to the old myth that the only survivors of a nuclear war would be the lowly cockroach and scorpion. They are that good at surviving.

But so are we. And we didn’t get to the top of the food chain by allowing venomous creatures to live in our midst.

So I’m here to tell you that it can be done. You just need a solid strategy and the best tools that modern scorpion warfare has to offer.

How to Get Rid of Scorpions

A nuclear war may not wipe out the species. But going nuclear on scorpions – in a strategic manner – can clear them out of your living quarters. 

I’m here to give you the breakdown of every single tool, weapon and last hope at your disposal to finally get rid of scorpions for good.

Here’s your battle plan:

• Remove what attracts scorpions. There’s a reason scorpions are in your house and hanging out on your lawn. The first step is to remove the main things that attract scorpions to your house.

• Get rid of the scorpions on your property. Straight to the point, the next step is to remove or kill any scorpions that are currently living on your property.

• Prevent scorpions from coming back. To get rid of scorpions permanently, you’ll need to know how to prevent scorpions from re-entering your home.

Let’s take it step-by-step.

#1. Ruin Scorpion Living Habitats

Scorpions are fairly simple creatures. They look for darkness, moisture, food and a comfortable place to lay their weird, exoskeletal heads.

One of the best places that provide all three scorpion requirements? Your lawn.

Newsflash: scorpions are living in your yard because they like it there. The conditions are favorable, the food’s good and they don’t have to pay rent for their single bedroom wooden log, or en-suite-construction-bag-left-forgotten-for-months.

As soon as you begin to clear up any loose and inviting clutter, trash and disposable material from your yard that could make for a perfectly dingy and dark shelter for scorpions, you’ll begin to see a drop in their numbers.

This goes double for things like rotting logs or plant-life that’s been left unattended. Mulching might seem like an attractive gardening tactic. But if you don’t keep a close eye on it, it can present itself as a veritable scorpion night club.

#2. Remove Scorpion Food Sources

Joining up with point number one – by eradicating the elements of your yard that make for good shelter, you’ll disrupt the delicate little eco system that’s formed there. Especially if you get rid of rotten materials which can attract all manner of bug life, which happens to be a scorpion’s staple diet.

Do your best to keep flies and insects to a minimum around and inside your home. With no viable meal ticket available to them, scorpions will begin to look elsewhere for their dinner. Dispose of trash properly, don’t leave foods exposed, perhaps take steps to repel insects with insecticides and above all, keep a clean home!

It’s important to note, though, that another facet of the survivalist scorpion is that these little critters can lower their metabolism to the point of only needing one meal per year. But although they can survive without food, they can’t live without water…

#3. Get Rid of Leakage

Sticking with the theme of destroying the optimum scorpion environment, the next step to make your home as inhospitable for scorpions as possible is by removing something they absolutely need: water.

You want to keep moisture to an absolute minimum where possible, both inside and outside the home.

It’s no secret that standing water and moisture seepage are huge attractions for all kinds of pests and scorpions are chief among them. This is especially true if you live in an arid climate where both moisture pockets are few and far between and scorpions are most prolific. Doubly true if your area is subject to frequent drought.

Make sure your home’s pipes and plumbing works aren’t leaking anywhere or letting too much moisture build up in key areas. There’s good reason that invading creepy crawlies are often found in the kitchen and the bathroom.

#4. Seal Up Cracks and Gaps

Finally, you want to try and make your home as impenetrable as humanly possible. It’s important to remember that scorpions are incredibly nimble creatures. They can squeeze themselves into spaces that are ungodly small.

In the case of scorpions specifically, this is due to their exoskeletal make-up and lack of any proper bone structure. Disgusting, sure, but also incredibly useful if you want to sneak into a nice big home via the smallest gap in a pipe-line.

Get sturdy door sweepers to prevent scorpions from literally walking through your front door. Invest in some caulking or other sealant and go to town on your home. That means everything from door sills to air vents to small cracks in wall or ceiling plaster. Truly make the place borderline airtight to reduce your chance of letting anymore of the stinging sods in.

#5. Use the Best Scorpion Killers

Removing all the things in and around your house that attract scorpions may be enough to make your resident scorpions very, very uncomfortable. But it may not be enough to make them move out permanently.

So you’ll have to give them a more serious, lethal push to move on. You’ve got two main types of scorpion insecticides at your disposal.

Contact Scorpion Killer Sprays

These are quick-acting scorpion sprays that work on the principle of see-a-scorpion, spray-a-scorpion. They are designed to provide a fast contact kill for any scorpions you encounter.

The best ones to use are:

• Terro Scorpion Killer – get it here
• Black Flag Scorpion Killer – get it here

Keep in mind that while contact scorpion sprays are very effective at killing targeted scorpions, they are not the best for long-term protection. For that, you’ll want to go for residual insecticides…

Residual Scorpion Insecticides

A very popular and simple solution for both killing and preventing scorpions is to get your hands on the most effective scorpion insecticides. These have active chemical agents to kill off any stray scorpions as well as other creepy crawlies that might be silly enough to cross your home’s threshold or yard.

These scorpion insecticides are not designed to kill individual scorpions on the spot. Rather, you use these sprays to treat the perimeter of your house. Once dried, these insecticides are incredibly effective at killing any scorpions that make contact.

There are a great many different brands, potencies and types of poisons to use for scorpions, but we only recommend a few. Two, in particular, are good to use both indoors and outdoors and make the perfect perimeter sprays.

While overall fairly easy to use, there are some basic ground rules for pesticide use which apply across all different types:

• Wear appropriate safety equipment: goggles, rubber gloves, rubber boots and (at the very least) long sleeved tops and pants. Limit your skin’s exposure to the toxins at all costs.
• Follow the instructions of your chosen brand, don’t play it fast and loose with measurements and dilutions (both for safety and effectiveness reasons).
• Thoroughly clean all equipment and clothing after use to limit the spread of the toxins in the home and to prevent any accidents happening – especially if you have children.
• Use in a well ventilated area and never spread pesticides if the weather looks to be windy or wet, as this could lead to the material blowing into neighbors’ yards or cause other accidents!

The best scorpion pesticides are very effective, even for full-blown scorpion infestations. But if you don’t want to risk spraying any chemical pesticides in your home, there are other natural scorpion killers that work just as well indoors.

How to Get Rid of Scorpions Naturally

You want to get rid of scorpions but you also don’t want to take the risk of using pesticides. So what gets rid of scorpions naturally?

With their venomous stinger and fierce pincers, scorpions may look intimidating. But the good news is that you don’t need to resort to pesticides or all-out warfare in order to get rid of them.

Armed with Mother Nature’s most potent scorpion killers and a little elbow grease, you can get rid of scorpions naturally. Here’s a list of what kills scorpions naturally. No harmful chemicals necessary.

Diatomaceous Earth

Similar to pesticides and insecticides, one of the most popular methods for keeping beasties out of the home is to cover troublesome areas with diatomaceous earth.

That said, diatomaceous earth is a much tamer form of poisoning than pesticide. Rather than directly killing the scorpions, the powdered diatomaceous earth will instead cling on to their bodies as they pass through.

Once the scorpions are covered in the material, it will slowly begin to dehydrate them and begin the long process of killing them from the outside in. It seems a little cruel, but it gets the job done in the long run.

Note: If you’re looking for a much more drastic and immediate form of extermination, however, then you might want to look elsewhere or at least combine the diatomaceous earth application with a scorpion insecticide.

On the other hand, if you need something to use as a regular, effective scorpion repellent, diatomaceous earth is a great, non-toxic, and affordable option.

Boric Acid

Here we have something of a middle ground between diatomaceous earth and pesticides. Boric acid is also a powdered substance that can kill scorpions via contact by damaging a scorpion’s exoskeleton, eventually leading to dehydration.

But it can also be poisonous if ingested. For example, when a scorpion self cleans or eats an insect that has come into contact with the boric acid.

The important thing to note is that while boric acid is natural, it is not totally harmless. For smaller children and pets, ingesting boric acid can be poisonous so it’s important that you exercise some extra caution when applying it and when choosing the appropriate location for the powder.

It’s generally recommended that you use Boric acid in slightly more reclusive and difficult to reach gaps, spaces and entry points rather than areas of your house that you frequent. Again, however, you will need to keep reapplying the ‘acid’ as and when necessary to keep up a full-frontal defense!

Scorpion Sticky Traps

Traps aren’t only effective against rats and mice – glue traps work great on scorpions, too.

For truly settling the score and keeping scorpions out on a more permanent basis, glue traps can be a huge help. Now, of course this method doesn’t directly kill any invading scorpions or other arachnids – that gruesome duty is still yours to bear, but the traps will stop any pesky critters from getting too far into your home, meaning it’s finally you that draws the line.

It’s best to strategically lay out glue traps in areas that you’ve already identified as being particularly prone to scorpion entry or near gaps or spaces in your walls etc. Scorpions and spiders often gravitate to corners, too, so it’s usually a wise idea to set some glue traps in far flung closet corners and at the base of furniture.

DIY Scorpion Trap

There’s good reason why people living in scorpion territory are wary of leaving damp towels around. The dark moistness that a damp towel provides makes the ideal hiding spot for a scorpion.

Scorpions love to find old yard-fabrics and materials to bunker down under, so why not use this to your advantage? Many scorpion killing veterans recommend leaving a moistened burlap bag or similar coarse material out in the open for a day or two to attract them.

Then, once they think they’ve found a new home…Give them the Godzilla treatment.

Hunt Scorpions with UV Light

Maybe you want to take matters into your own hands and get some revenge on the beasties that have caused you so much stress and unpleasantness. It’s a completely understandable reaction to have.

That said, you can’t just go trampling out to your garden with a pair of heavy work boots on and commit a small genocide before lunch. Mainly because that’s the wrong time of day for it. Try waiting until after dark (around a new moon, preferably) and then use UV light to scan for any scorpions glowing in the dark.

>>>Scorpion Hunting 101: How to Find and Kill a Scorpion

Once you’ve sought them out – let the killing begin, but be very careful not to get stung. Even a dead body can still pack a punch.

Employ a Scorpion Predator

The last option to get rid of scorpions naturally is to get a cat. Or a chicken. This is a semi-controversial tactic and (obviously) one with very inconsistent results. There’s a reason it is last on our list.

But that being said, any owner of a hyperactive cat that loves to hunt will know that once it sets its sights on a disgusting insect/bird meal, there’s little you can do to stop it. So why not take advantage of this? Now, of course, if a cat is to get stung by a particularly skilled scorpion, it will hurt it something awful, but it’s unlikely that anything more deadly or serious will happen as a result (your mileage may vary!).

Apparently, another option is to keep chickens. Chickens are like smaller, feathery pigs in that they don’t fly and will eat just about anything you set in front of them. A free range chicken will gobble up insects and bugs like they’re going out of fashion – which puts a halt to the scorpions’ food source. Some particularly brave chickens have also been known to eat the scorpions themselves.

Great idea for a movie: Mega Chicken versus Giant Scorpion.

How to Get Rid of Scorpions in Your House

If you spot a scorpion in your home and you need to take action STAT, you’ve got options. Here’s how to get rid of scorpions in your house.

Crush it

Requiring almost no special tools, this one is the go to option for many of us. You can smash a scorpion to death with a shoe or another blunt object. Just keep in mind that scorpions can flatten themselves as thin as a coin. It’s not enough to crush it, you must twist and smush to make sure that it is indeed dead.

Trap it

A more humane option is to grab a glass jar, plastic container, or bowl and place it over the scorpion. Gloves are recommended if you’re going to be getting this close. Once the scorpion is trapped in the container, cover the mouth of the jar or bowl with thick paper or plastic. Safely transport the trapped scorpion outside and away from your property.

Stick it

Another interesting DIY trick is to wrap some duct tape (or a sticky pad) around the end of a broomstick or brush and ‘pick up’ the scorpion this way. Although thrifty and very inconsistent, this method does have the added bonus of sticking the scorpion in place whilst you move it or kill it, rather than having it swinging that big stinger around in an anxious frenzy.

Pierce it

It’s also worth noting that if you are keen to get a little more close and personal, that something as simple as a knife straight through the shell will be enough to end it all. Just make sure you’re wearing thick gloves.

Pick it up

If you lack the requisite bravery to set about crushing the scorpion with your foot or stabbing it with a knife, you’re in good company. In this case, you can use long-handled forceps, barbeque tongs, or even tweezers to lift it, safely, and remove it from the home.

Sweep it up

A safe, simple way to get a scorpion out of your house is to use a broom and a deep dust pan to trap the scorpion and escort it safely off your premises. Shallow dust pans are horrible for this. If you live in scorpion territory, it’s worth the investment to get yourself a deep dust pan.

Use a bug catcher

One brilliant option for those of us who don’t want to kill the scorpion but also don’t want to get too close is this Quick-Release Bug Catching Tool. It keeps you at arms length from the scorpion while allowing you to scoop it up and get rid of it.

How to Get Rid of Scorpions Permanently

Obviously the best way to get rid of scorpions is to not get scorpions in the first place.

Of course, in an ideal world, you wouldn’t need to worry any of this. Can’t the scorpions just stay outside of your home? Can’t they be cool?

Well, no. No, they can’t. Because they’re scorpions.

Which is why you need a scorpion prevention plan.

Because by now, you’ve done all the groundwork. You’ve removed everything that is attracting scorpions. You’ve gotten rid of the scorpions lounging on your property. Maybe you’ve even sprayed the perimeter so that no scorpion can enter your premises and survive. All that is left is to make sure scorpions stay away for good.

Here’s how.

Use scorpion repellents

Although scorpions have an abundance of eyes, their vision is actually very poor. They tend to glean information from their environment by a combination of vibrations and scent – which makes them vulnerable in this regard.

For some reason, the eight legged sods tend to hate the scent of lavender plants or oils, which makes it a great opportunity for you to do a little positive work in the yard whilst you’re destroying their messy habitat.

A few lavender plants could do the job of keeping them away from your house. You can also mix a couple drops of lavender essential oil with water to use as a DIY scorpion repellent spray.

In this same vein, scorpions also have a viscerally negative reaction to citric and cedar wood oils and scents to boot. Again, it’s not quite clear why; but all that matters is that they work.

Take your pick of these smells and try to spread them as liberally as you can without your home smelling like an apothecary, you might find (if your scorpion problem isn’t too serious) that it only takes a small gesture like this to keep scorpions away.

Be aware of what’s happening around you

Remember that there are many reasons and causes for a sudden influx in scorpions. It could be because the weather is heating up (or cooling down, if more are trying to get into the shelter of your home), it could be to do with the time of year for insects and bugs or there may be some heavy construction happening nearby.

One of the most common causes for heightened scorpion numbers is due to construction yards overturning otherwise old and peaceful ground and unearthing the beasties that were living there. This is also why a lot of newly built homes seem to have arachnid problems in their first few years.

Keeping an eye on what’s happening around you will give you a better insight into how you can handle the situation and whether you need to be worried about scorpions becoming a permanent fixture.

Work with the neighbors

As with any neighborhood problem or pest, your actions are only as powerful as your next door neighbor’s – especially with something as pervasive as a scorpion problem. You might spend weeks landscaping your garden and laying traps and pesticides around the home, only for the yard next door to have its own thriving scorpion population.

There are many tactics for keeping them on the outside of your house, but this tends to just shift the problem in another direction, which might make them a problem for your neighbors instead.

Try getting in contact with the people living around you and see if they have as much of a problem with scorpions as you do. From there, you can perhaps organize and share tips on the best methods for eradication in your area.

A good principle to work on is perhaps to get everybody in your local community clued up on scorpion-proofing techniques, such as clearing away any rotting wood or yard litter that might make for good arachnid homes and to seal any gaps leading into their house.

If your neighborhood pulls up the scorpion drawbridge en masse, then the resident scorpions may have no choice but to migrate somewhere more welcoming.

Form a habit and stay consistent

The biggest piece of advice is to form good scorpion control habits. Laying down pesticide or glue traps once or twice and catching the odd straggler is fine, but it’s not going to cause any great upset or get rid of the scorpions for good.

It’s very important that you repeatedly engage in preventing, repelling and killing them when they do arise and to not let yourself get lazy and complacent. Only by keeping up a constant defensive front will you be able to keep the home invaders away on a more permanent basis.

Hire professional help

Finally, one last ditch piece of advice. Hire a professional to step in and take care of the problem once and for all. Perhaps you’re not too keen on tackling the creatures yourself, or you just want to make sure that you’re not screaming into the void with your small DIY efforts.

Hiring a professional to come in and take care of the issue properly is not a sign of defeat, but rather that you’re taking the issue seriously. A qualified exterminator or pest control expert will know exactly what’s causing the infestation (if there is one), what the best steps are for your home and how to keep them out for good – listen to them!

Hopefully this has been a helpful guide through the horrible world of scorpion-killing. There’s nothing worse than finding an unwelcome, eight-legged visitor in your home. But with perseverance and a thick pair of boots, you may never have to deal with it again!