Everyone who lives here has a scorpion story, and almost all of them end with a swollen hand and a good lunch anecdote rather than a hospital. Still, this is the animal that changes your habits: you will shake out your shoes for the rest of your life.
Where you’ll see it
Indoors and out. Under bark, in woodpiles, behind pictures, inside shoes and folded towels, and occasionally in the bed. They come inside more in the dry season looking for moisture, and they are nocturnal, so the classic encounter is a bare foot in the dark.
What to know
The sting is the point of the animal and it is effective: sharp pain at once, then a spreading ache and often numbness or a tingling that can last a day. That said, the scorpions of this region are far less dangerous than their notorious relatives further north. A healthy adult treats it with ice, a painkiller and swearing.
Take it seriously for small children, for the elderly, and for anyone who has trouble breathing or shows an allergic reaction. Those cases get a doctor, promptly. For everyone else, the defence is habit: shoes shaken, towels shaken, bed checked after a trip away, and a UV torch by the door for the evenings when you want to know exactly how many are on the wall.
