Have You Found These in Your Grand Junction Home?

No home should be without one. Then again, every home should be without them. Have you ever spotted one of these in your Grand Junction home?

There I was last Saturday in my house in Grand Junction, just minding my own business. While on the phone I looked down at what I thought to be a small leaf on my living room floor. When I reached down to pick it up, I found myself quickly rethinking that action. Quickly reaching for my dumbphone, I was able to capture this blurry image not unlike my last photos of Bigfoot and the UFO spotted over the Gunnison River south of Orchard Mesa.

Have you ever encountered one of these in your house? By my estimates this is a Northern Brown Scorpion. While it's not a particularly big one, there's little doubt it could seriously interrupt your day something fierce.

A few months ago I posted about finding one of these in my yard. Having a scorpion in your yard is one thing, having one in your living room is another.

Looking back, we used to find quite a few of scorpions just like this in our house. That was back when we first built the house, and had just stirred up their nests (I assume). Here it is almost 40 years later, and they're still stopping by for afternoon tea.

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According to insectidentification.org, the Northern Scorpion "lives in a wide range of habitats and at various elevations, finding that 'sweet spot' that is not cold enought to kill it, and not warm enough to allow other species to movie in." In other words, Waylon's living room.

According to bugguide.net, the Northern Scorpion is described as:

Highly variable throughout its range, and depending on habitat. Throughout much of its range, it is the only scorpion found. It has the basic identifiers of Paruroctonus scorpions, such as relatively robust hands and a somewhat slender metasoma/tail in which the keels do not terminate in an enlarged denticle. In most areas, it is pale, light brown. In volcanic habitats, it can be quite dark with a striped tail.

In other words, it's mean and vicious. Bugguide.net adds that Western Colorado is precisely the location where one might encounter this species. What about their sting? Their sting injects a paralyzing venom similar to that of spiders. In humans, some allergic reactions can occur. According to entomology.wsu, they are not known to sting humans. That's what entomology.wsu says. My buddy Dave says entomology.wsu is full of baloney. Dave says, "They still hurt like Hell when they sting you."

This appears to be a banner year for Northern Scorpions. Seriously, I haven't seen one in 30 years. Then, out of nowhere, I see two in the same house in a matter of weeks. In addition, a friend living just four blocks away has had a few encounters this year already.

Regardless of what my friend Dave says, these scorpions have little interest in stinging humans. It is not my intention to start a panic. More than anything, I don't want you to be startled should you encounter one.