USVI-On-Line

This is a short vid of me safely removing a live scorpion from our last trip to St. John. I didn't have the heart to squash him.

in all my visits- I'm thinking it it is 14 or 15 now, I have never seen one. Seen many turantula holes but never a scorpion. I know they are common there though. Where were you staying?

I always remember the movie "A Good Year" with Russel Crowe. The put dried lavender on the windowsills to keep the scorpions out.

The house we stayed at two years ago was loaded with scorpions. I was killing several a day. Their bodies are surprisingly hard.

I saw my first turantula during our February. I am not at all bothered by bugs and spiders but the turantula stopped me in my tracks. There way no way I was getting near it. He eventually decided to leave but no one used the shower the rest of the week.

This reminds me of our first visit to Cinammon Bay in 1983- we had a very large spider in the cabin- for some strange reason I was thinking to keep the environment balanced and not kill it so I swept it out of the cottage to let it go- one of the local employees was passing by and she took the broom from me and killed the spider saying those things do no good. Since then I've gone with the locals and always killed spiders.

OMG.. I have yet to see one or a tarantula! I am sorry but I will probably beat it to a pulp.. Hate spiders!! * shiver*

PaminMaine wrote:OMG.. I have yet to see one or a tarantula! I am sorry but I will probably beat it to a pulp.. Hate spiders!! * shiver*

I was scared to whack with a broom, all I could envision was juice and guts squirting all over me. And there was no way I could bring myself to step on it wearing only flip flops.

PA Girl-
I laughed out loud, seriously, when I read your post. I'm a grown man at 6ft 3, and those things completely freak me out the same way.
My fear is a little more irrational, though; I'm afraid I'd miss it, it would jump onto my face, and I'd end up smashing it to death right there on my own face...something that big with all those guts inside is disturbing. Had to have the girls kill one when we stayed at Sago Palms a few years back. It was bigger than my hand, not having any parts of that. Woke up with a scorpion on my pillow at Island Horizons. I was completely blotto hung over, and just went back to sleep...
Smiles-
MJ

Mahojim- that is my fear too. I would need a LONG broom!

So, this topic prompted me to look up scorpion information. Wow, they are bad in Arizona and Texas areas. I guess the snow and freezing temperatures are the tradeoff for no scorpions, tarantulas, or snakes here in Maine.

After 44 years in Texas, the only scorpion I've ever seen alive in "the wild" has been on St. John!

We were staying at Morgan Point. We also had one several years ago at Dream Come True. The one at Dream Come True was hiding under some clothes on the floor. Moved the clothes and suprise!

On our 2008 trip to STJ we stayed at the main villa and our son and his family stayed in the guest house. There was a phone connection between the two villas.

Our 12 yr old grandson was in the guest house alone when he called the main house all excited and asked his Dad what to do about a scorpion he saw in the shower.

My husband (Grandpa) chimed in "give him some soap"! Our son went down and dealt with the problem via a heavy sneaker.

Actually, we had scorpions in our basement here in Missouri when we moved in. The house was new, but had sat unsold for a couple of years. My husband was stung once and it hurt about like a wasp sting. He didn't even have a mark from it the next day. Now we spray every six months and keep glue boards down in several places in the basement especially the John Deere room. I have a couple of cans of scorpion spray handy but have never had to use it.

I could have lived my whole life without knowing St. John had tarantulas. I guess I will have to drink lots of rum to forget On our June trip. Yikes!

CHM wrote:I could have lived my whole life without knowing St. John had tarantulas. I guess I will have to drink lots of rum to forget On our June trip. Yikes!

Haha!!! Me too!!!

mahojim wrote: My fear is a little more irrational, though; I'm afraid I'd miss it, it would jump onto my face, and I'd end up smashing it to death right there on my own face...Smiles-
MJ

I know! What if I tried to hit it with a broom, its hairy legs got caught in the bristles and I raised up the broom to take another swing, it fell off and landed on my head?!?!?!?!

The scorpions didn't bother me at all, they were so small. We did, however, learn to never let clothing on the floor. They seemed to like to crawl under clothing and boxes. The housekeeper said the bites sting like a bee sting.

My son was stung by a scorpion at Maho a few years back. He was playing in the water with a large palm frond he found on the beach. Ouch!

That was the same trip he was bitten by a dog and he also ended up with a nasty rash from something else.

That was the summer he became "Island Tough"!