Scorpions and spiders in Oudtshoorn

Summer nights in the Klein Karoo bring scorpions out of the rockeries and under the back door. Here's how we keep them outside, and what to do if one gets in.

The way to cut down scorpions in an Oudtshoorn house is to make the outside of the building hard to get past and the yard less inviting. That means a residual barrier along the foundations, door thresholds, window frames and outbuildings, and clearing the rock, rubble and timber they hide under by day. Inside, we treat the corners, cupboards and storerooms where they and the spiders that share their diet like to sit. Nobody has to move out, the products have no smell and don't mark walls, and once surfaces are dry the children and pets can use them again.

We do this for homes, farmsteads, guest houses, lodges and schools in and around Oudtshoorn.

A Karoo summer, from a scorpion's point of view

Oudtshoorn's summer days are hot and dry, and the nights stay warm. Scorpions spend the heat of the day under stones, loose bark, flowerpots and builder's rubble, then come out after dark to hunt the crickets, beetles and spiders that gather around a house, particularly near outside lights. Gardens with rock edging, stone walls and succulent beds suit the dry climate beautifully, and they also give scorpions cover right up against the walls.

When a house backs onto veld, or a farmyard has stacks of poles, old irrigation pipe and empty feed bags, there's a steady supply of new arrivals. Treating the house without looking at the yard gives a shorter result.

The two kinds you'll meet

The scorpion on the bathroom floor might be harmless, or it might mean a trip to the doctor. Look at the tail and the claws.

• Thick tail, slender pincers. These are the Parabuthus species, and their venom acts on the nerves. A sting is very painful and can be dangerous for small children, the elderly and anyone in poor health.
• Thin tail, big heavy pincers. These hold their prey with their claws, and the sting is usually no worse than a bee's.

Our scorpion profile has more on telling them apart. If you can't tell, treat it as the dangerous kind.

The spiders that come with them

Where there are insects to eat, there are spiders. Around Oudtshoorn homes you may come across:

• Brown button spiders under garden chairs, in meter boxes and in garage corners, with spiky round egg sacs nearby. A bite is painful but seldom serious
• Black button spiders, which keep to the veld and rock piles and rarely come indoors. Their bite needs medical attention
• Rain spiders, big and hairy, coming inside ahead of a thunderstorm. Alarming to look at and harmless
• Violin spiders in dark cupboards and behind furniture, whose bite can leave a wound that's slow to heal

There's more on both buttons on our button spider page.

How we treat

1. Walk the property Before anything is sprayed we look for where scorpions are likely sheltering: rock edging, wood stacks, pot plants, loose paving, gaps under doors and around pipes, and the outbuildings.
2. The outside barrier A residual spray along the base of the walls, around doors and windows, along paving edges and around outbuilding doors. It keeps working after it dries, so a scorpion that crosses it at night picks up a dose.
3. Inside Skirtings, behind cupboards and appliances, storerooms, garages and the corners where spiders build.
4. The yard We tell you what to move, what to seal and which lights to swap, because a bright white light by the door pulls in the insects scorpions hunt. Yellow bulbs draw far fewer.

Move the rockery, not just the bed

Stone edging and rockeries make sense in a Karoo garden, but keep them a couple of metres from the house walls and the kitchen door. A rockery built against the back wall is a scorpion hotel with its own entrance. While you're at it:

• Fit a brush strip or rubber seal under every outside door. Scorpions flatten themselves through surprisingly narrow gaps
• Bring boots and shoes in at night, or shake them out in the morning
• Move cots and beds a little away from the walls, so a scorpion climbing the wall can't step onto the bedding
• Pick up washing from the line before dark rather than leaving it overnight

Farms and lodges

On ostrich and lucerne farms, and at guest lodges outside town, the staff housing, storerooms, tack rooms and workshop need the same care as the main house. We plan farm visits so the homestead, cottages and outbuildings are done together, and farm pest control explains how we approach larger properties. For other services in town, see pest control in Oudtshoorn; the wider region is covered on our main scorpion and spider control page.

If someone is stung

Sit the person down and get them to keep still, because moving about doesn't help. Wash the sting, put something cold on it, and head for medical help at once if it's a child, someone elderly, or the scorpion had a fat tail, and go directly to hospital if there's trouble swallowing or breathing, heavy drooling or muscle twitching. If it's safe, take the scorpion in a jar, or a photo of it, so the doctor knows what they're dealing with.

What it costs

The price rests on how big the house and garden are, how many outbuildings and cottages there are, and how much shelter surrounds the property. A town house with a small yard is a modest job; a farmstead with staff housing and sheds is more. In the Klein Karoo, one treatment before summer and another in late summer often makes sense, but if one will do, we'll say so.

Before your first summer in the Karoo, our scorpion safety guide is worth ten minutes. To book, ring 044 012 5011 or message us through the site.