I awakened in the night, about a week ago, feeling a sharp pain in the back of one knee. I groped for the light, and tried to determine the cause of the pain, assuming that the most likely scenerio was that a scorpion had stung me. We occasionally get stung or bitten by other insects besides scorpions, so I couldn't know for sure unless I found the culprit - but I didn't find anything.
A few days later, I walked into my room in the middle of the day and a movement caught my eye - it was a scorpion, walking along my bed near where the bed is pushed up against a wall. I ran for the bug spray, but when I got back the scorpion was nowhere to be seen. Aaaargh!
I stripped the bed, sprayed large quantities of Raid all along the edges of the bed where it touches the walls, and hoped, really hard, that I had poisoned the scorpion! When I went to bed that night, I definitely felt some concern that the scorpion might still be alive, but I tried to convince myself that the quantity of poison I'd sprayed made this highly unlikely.
There were no problems through the night, except that my asthma was acting up a bit, and I had to use my inhaler a couple of times. When I'm in bed, I keep my inhaler under my pillow, so I can easily grab it when needed, even while still half asleep.
Just as it was getting light that morning, I reached under my pillow for my inhaler, and couldn't find it. I flipped the pillow up out of the way . . . and there was the scorpion right under my pillow - right where I had blindly groped about several times during the course of the night, reaching for my inhaler! I really cannot believe it never stung my hand.
I ran for the bug spray again . . . but Gus had borrowed it the previous evening to repel an ant invasion in his room (the ants were carrying off the dog food, piece by piece). Not realizing this, I grabbed a spray can I thought was bug poison. Happily, I realized what I had in my hand before I actually tried to polish off the scorpion with furniture polish. Going old-school, I smacked the scorpion multiple times with a shoe. It isn't all that easy to smash a scorpion when it's on a soft surface like a mattress, but I had lots of motivation, plus I think the scorpion was already about half dead from the poison I'd sprayed the previous day.
And now, I can rest easier, knowing that there is one less scorpion in my bedroom.
3 comments:
Ugghhh! Now I have a major case of the creepy crawlies. I found a scorpion under my pillow in the middle of the night, when I was about 11. We were living in an area where they were not common, however, and it took me a while to convince anyone that I had seen a real scorpion in my bed. I was so relieved when it was found and squished. I still shiver when I think of it... but MK's grow up with the best stories, right??
Yikes!!!
And the score is:
Trish - 1 Scorpion - 0
Just the way it otta be! Way to go Trish!
Not fun at all!!
After seeing scorpions in our house and having cockroaches (and stepping on one barefoot) and ants in my bed on the floor while doing ministry, seeing big spiders in my room and sticking my arm in a jacket and getting it stuck by a prickly, hairy caterpillar(which left a terrible rash all over my arm and torso), I ALWAYS wear flip flops when I get up at night and I ALWAYS check under my pillow and covers. Even in the states I can´t shake that habit. Guess I have had too may bug encounters.
So glad you did not get bit! God is good!!
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