Taking an Arizona Vacation in 4 weeks, and I would like to look for Scorpions

Scorpions glow under black light and there are black light flashlights for 30 bucks. Has anyone had any experience with these?

Welcome to CPF, greek.

I think maybe you mean UV (ultra-violet) lights. The shorter-wavelength ones become nearly invisible, which may be what you mean by black. UV light does ideed make scorpions and some other insects glow.

Used to have need to travel to Arizona a few times a year and stayed at my Dad's winter home in Carefree; which, at the time, was the on the very edge between uninhabited dessert and civilization. It wasn't hard to find scorpions (or rattlesnakes and hairy spiders, for that matter), but they are nocturnal. Yes, a UV light will make them "glow".

I have a Peak LED Solutions McKinley Brass 7 LED UV that works well but was $44.95.

I use a streamlight twintask uv light. Here's best price I could find right now, but don't know anything about the seller: http://www.foxruntools.com/twin-task3cblkuv-stl-51010.aspx

greek said:

Scorpions glow under black light and there are black light flashlights for 30 bucks. Has anyone had any experience with these?

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Yes, scorpions reflect UV (also called "black") light. I first starting looking for them at night in this fashion in the '70s, it works great. Scorpions are of course arachnids, not insects. I don't know of any UV-reflecting insects.

Scorpions are one of the oldest surviving groups, and since UV is a known mutagen, they may have thus avoided change.

I think any of the available UV lights would work fine. I believe there may be a few UV headlamps, as well.

Early March is kinda early, but the lower elevations may be ok. At this time of year they may be more diurnal.

Walmart sells a clip-on "headlamp" for the brim of a baseball cap that has three UV leds in it. It's great for fishing as it lights up flourescent lures and line really well. It's super cheap and runs forever on a couple of coin cells. Should do the trick looking for scorps.

IF you don't find anything, I think I have a small pocket light (AA I think) I can sell you.

Used to sell lights and I have one left somewhere. IF you don't find anything as this is not a sales thread/the sales section.

GEorge

Just curious, as I live in an area that (thankfully) does not have a lot of scorpions, but does anyone have any pictures of them lit up with UV light?

There is this one.
http://www.lighthound.com/12-LED-UV-3xAAA-Flashlight--380-385nm-guaranteed_p_2578.html

UV light is a fairly broad spectrum but 395nm will work best for lighting the widest number of scorpions here. 12 or more 5mm UV LED's are usually enough to see them quickly, but you don't have to use UV to see them obviously, it just makes it easier. A single UV Cree LED is much brighter and better than the 5mm types and I think CPF member Nailbender is still selling P60 type UV drop in's if you check his sales threads.

"Scorps" as we not so affectionately refer to them here, are a bit hard to find this time of year unless you know what you're looking for. They're very easy to find from May to October, especially in urban areas with block wall fencing. In rural or desert areas all you have to do is turn over a few rocks or dig up shallow scorpion burrows...one big shovel scoop sometimes.

To be honest, I'm not too fond of them and don't go out of my way to find them unless someone else wants to see one. I've lived here my whole life so to me it's just another critter that I try to keep out of my home, even more so after being stuck in the foot by one while sleeping... I guess you could say it comes with the territory though.

Locoboy5150 said:

Just curious, as I live in an area that (thankfully) does not have a lot of scorpions, but does anyone have any pictures of them lit up with UV light?

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Here ya go

http://images.google.com/images?as_...as_sitesearch=&as_rights=&safe=images&as_st=y

Locoboy5150 said:

Just curious, as I live in an area that (thankfully) does not have a lot of scorpions, but does anyone have any pictures of them lit up with UV light?

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So, what am I? Chopped liver? :devil:

dealextreme has some budget uv lights, and uv drop-ins. all under $20

i bought a 3xAAA uv light for about $5 from them for fun. but its output is rather low. i would say only useful indoors.

On any given night, a friend of mine uses a UV light to find at least five to ten or more of them in his backyard where his kids play. They are very hard to kill. Insecticides don't work on them, so he torches them with brake cleaner. It's a never ending battle. They will be around well after we are all long gone.