Question of the Day - 07 January 2018

Oh, but they do! Provide scorpion sealing, that is. Well, some anyway.

We contacted several pest-control companies (chosen from among Yelp’s top-10 pest-control services in Las Vegas) and here are some of the responses we received, using a theoretical 2,000-square-foot home as a yardstick.

Intrusion Pest Control specializes in exterior treatments and offers monthly scorpion-sealing services, with the initial treatment costing $65 and each additional one either $35 or $40, depending on whether or not you sign up for the service agreement. Intrusion's treatments are intended to deter cockroaches, crickets, spiders (black widows), earwigs, scorpions, and ants — the latter being every bit as invasive as scorpions.

Extreme Pest Control lives up to its name by providing an all-embracing one-time fix for $135, covering both interiors and exteriors. "After that, if you want to set up a regular maintenance plan, monthly service would be $35 and every other month is $50," says owner Rick C.

Getsum Pest Control charges $40 a month for its anti-scorpion treatments, but David M. there takes a contrarian view, asserting, "There is no such thing as scorpion-sealing a house. Scorpion control is an issue that needs to be treated as ongoing. The chemical outside has to be kept very strong in order to be effective, because of the hard shell the scorpions are encased in. Also, they're very climate-sensitive and when the weather cools down, they try harder to get in to somewhere warm." 

Toward that end, many companies will caulk around vulnerable areas like vents and weatherstrip doors and windows to keep the stinging little critters at bay. 

A more nuanced explanation is offered by Russell of Las Vegas Pest Control: "Since the space needed for a scorpion to enter is so small (about the size of a credit card), exclusion alone is not always effective. Any attempt to protect your family from these dangerous pests should include recurring pest-control treatments by a licensed professional."

Dr. Michael Webber of UNLV provides corroboration. "Sealing up the home would be a great way to decrease the number of scorpions, but it's not fail-proof. Bark scorpions are probably the number-one scorpion pest species. They're extremely flat and can easily squeeze through the threshold of a door (even if it's sealed at the bottom) or make their way through the vent systems, floorboards, open windows, and even under garage doors," he says. 

"Although steps can be taken, such as using weatherstripping or silicone sealant to seal around base boards, there are always entry points, so it's not always a 100% guarantee. That said, it's probably your best defense against them," continues Webber. "Ideally, steps would already be taken during building of the home, but they're probably considered minor modifications that can be performed by the homeowner. Additionally, there could be more money in continual prevention like spraying vs. semi-permanent fixes like sealing up the home."

Adds LV Pest Control’s Patty, "Sealing is just one step in excluding your home from scorpions," one that must be complemented with spraying. "If they're coming in your home, it means they've found a good food source" -- that is, bugs. 

Pest Control’s "pet- and family-safe" solutions involve a first treatment for $95, followed by $50 every other month. (And if creepy crawlies get in between treatments, they come out for free.) Not only are retaining walls and interior water boxes treated, Pest Control offers to "de-web around all reachable windows and doors." If you want the interior of your domicile serviced, you have to specifically request.

For background on the varieties of scorpion found in Las Vegas and the danger they pose, we direct you to the background QoD on the subject.