That's great seeing such a long summary of soooooo much info!

Can we further discuss a few points?

Boric Acid: Powder. More or less organic, low toxicity and one of the choice
'non-toxic' roach killers in Houston (at least it was when I lived there).
Never heard of using it against scorpions but will give it a try. Roaches
have sticky stuff on their legs that it sticks to then eats through their
crusty exterior. My understanding was that, since Boric Acid is close to its
elemental form, putting it outside the house usually leads to its breaking
down and has to be re-applied often. Although inside the house it can last
for months.

Diatomaceous Earth: aka DE. Microscopically rough shells from an historic
algae. Works by scoring the hard shells of hard insects. My understanding is
that it only works dry and once it has been wetted (dew, even) it doesn't
work so well.

Aztec Pest Control: Knew the owner about 8 years ago so at least she's been
at it awhile and isn't fly-by-night.

Caulk: This month our local middle school reported gusts up to 61 mph. The
house moves so much, I don't care how much you pay for 25 year caulk, it
won't last in a crack. We buy builder's quality cheap caulk by the (small)
case at Home Depot and it comes out pretty dang cheap.

Copper Mesh: Now that is a great idea...lets the weep holes weep but will
last forever. I know we used it (well, copper pan scouring pads from the
grocery store) to keep rats from coming around the gas pipe around the
stove. They had big gallon-sized bags of them pretty cheap.

Orange Oil: I usually use orange oil I mix up from concentrate for cleaning
around the house. It kills our red/fire ants on contact (well, they curl up
and squirm anyway, then die) and they will not cross a path if I spray it in
front of the back door...but that only lasts a couple of hours. Could be a
(very) temporary barrier, but I don't think Boric Acid nor DE will last past
the next dew either.

John T. Jarrett


"Ruth Shear" wrote in message
news
G'day

Thanks for the helpful comments everyone...

Gary Brady wrote:

Interestingly enough, we now have a cat that EATS scorpions.

I'm allergic to cats 8-(

Alternate Personality wrote:

I poisoned them for years before I gave up.

Do you mind letting me know what you've tried that didn't work?

Since I wrote the email I have spoken to two "organic" pest control
groups (anyone have any experience positive or negative with ChemFree or
Aztec?). I don't have my notes here with me on exactly what they say
they would do, but I'm going to wing it from memory.

The best solution I've found, by far, was to plug up all the weep
holes in the exterior walls of my house and garage with copper wool
(like steel wool, but copper and hence does not rust; also has lasted
7 - 8 years at this point),

That is one of the main suggestions from the two pest control groups. In
addition to the physical barrier of copper mesh (to allow the weep hole
still to weep), they also add diatomaceous earth and/or silica aerogel
which physically (rather than chemically) damages the body of the creepy
crawly guys, leading to their dessication (I think).

what made the biggest difference was the 40+ tubes of caulk my handyman
used when he caulked and painted my house a couple of years ago.

Hmmm. They didn't mention this, but it sounds like a good plan. Think
I'll go buy me some caulk. We have a relatively new house (built it 5
years ago), but I'm sure there are some gaps. Thanks for the suggestion.

The person who posted about clearing away any vegetation that touches
the house made a good point too.

This is not a problem for us. But I'll remember it in future.

don't forget to make sure the weather stripping around your doors is
absolutely flush and tight. I think it sort of loses its elasticity
after a few years, but it's cheap and easy to replace.

This is definitely something I need to replace. One of the pest
companies does this as part of their service.

You can also get special foam pads to put between your electrical
receptacles and the wall which seal them off.

We have these. I always wondered what they were for!

Put your child's bed in the center of the room but away from any air
conditioning ducts or vents (I have seen them literally dropping out
of these).

I know they are in our attic because they come through into our light
fixtures, are trapped there and die. As soon as I read this I looked up
and sure enough it's the ducts (makes me think of "Brazil").

And, if you really want to go "whole hog," have your AC/heating duct
system checked and any leaking areas sealed.

I think this is worth looking into thanks. Both pest companies say they
would spray the attic with boric acid plus one of the physical
deterrents (e.g., diatomaceous earth).

Other things included in their services include using pyrethrin, boric
acid, etc to treat the perimeter of the house after making it well
sealed. I'm not sure I'd do this because I like having bugs outside my
house.

The idea is to KEEP THE BUGS OUT.

amen brother.

Now, with the house sealed as I describe, I still get one now and then -
maybe 4 - 5 over the course of the entire summer. I've declared peace
with
them, telling them that I won't kill them unless they sting me, in which
case they are dead meat. When I find one in the house, I pick it up
using a
paper towel and take it outside. So far the truce seems to working - I
haven't been stung in years.

This has been our strategy up till now. The wee one makes that a little
harder, but maybe we'll just make sure that one of us goes downstairs
and checks the floors well each morning.

a scorpion sting is nothing to be terrified of. It hurts mildly to
moderately for 45 minutes or so and that's it. You can lessen the
"sting" reaction by quickly taking an antihistamine (like Benadryl)
and/or putting either ice or a tobacco poultice on the sting for
5 - 10 minutes.

Thanks for the reassurance

The good news: scorpions are insectivores. If you have scorpions,
you will not have roaches.

We don't have roaches. Interesting correlation..

We live in Texas, and figuring out how to live with insects is just part
of
the deal. I applaud anyone who rejects insecticides. They are tempting
because they provide a quick fix, but since I quit using them I have
noticed
an enormous increase in the number of lizards and toads I see on my
property. I don't think this is a coincidence.

Agreed. Off to home depot this weekend for caulk and weather stripping.
I'll probably get one of the services come spray the attic and do the
copper wool thing, and I'll consider the A/C service which is probably
well worth it.

Thanks a bunch everyone

DrRuth