Most Arizona bark scorpion stings cause intense local pain, tingling, and numbness that settles over several hours with a cool compress and pain relief. The exceptions matter: young children, and anyone with body-wide symptoms, need emergency care immediately. Call Poison Control on 1-800-222-1222 — free, staffed around the clock, and genuinely useful.
Go straight to an emergency room if the person stung is a child under about six, or if anyone shows muscle jerking, roving or darting eye movements, difficulty swallowing, drooling, slurred speech, agitation, or trouble breathing.
The one that matters here
Arizona has dozens of scorpion species, and only one is medically significant in the United States: the Arizona bark scorpion (*Centruroides sculpturatus*). It is small — about two to three inches — light tan, slender, with thin pincers and a thin tail. It is also the one most likely to be in your house, because unlike its bulkier relatives it climbs, which means walls, ceilings, ceiling fans, and the underside of furniture.
The larger, darker, thick-tailed desert hairy scorpion looks far more alarming and is considerably less dangerous. Size is not a guide to risk here — if anything, the reverse.
Bark scorpions are most active from spring through early autumn, and at night. They shelter in the day under rocks, bark, woodpiles, block walls, and inside shoes and towels left on the floor.
What a sting usually feels like
Immediate, severe, localised pain — people often describe it as an electric shock or a burn — with tingling and numbness spreading around the site. There is typically little or no visible wound: no dramatic swelling, no redness, sometimes nothing to see at all, which leads people to doubt they were stung.
That pain and tingling usually peaks in the first hour or two and fades substantially over 12 to 24 hours, though numbness can linger a few days.
The signs that change everything
Systemic envenomation is uncommon in healthy adults and considerably more likely in small children, whose body weight makes the same dose of venom far more significant. Go to an emergency room now for:
- Roving, darting, or uncontrolled eye movements — a hallmark sign in children
- Muscle twitching, jerking, or thrashing of the limbs
- Difficulty swallowing, drooling, or a thick tongue sensation
- Slurred speech or a hoarse cry
- Severe agitation or inconsolable crying in a child
- Difficulty breathing, wheezing, or a rapid breathing rate
- Vomiting, sweating, or a racing heart
- High blood pressure or a temperature
- Any sting in an infant or young child, regardless of how well they seem
- Signs of a severe allergic reaction — facial or throat swelling, hives, collapse — which is a 911 call
A specific antivenom exists and is effective for severe envenomation, particularly in children. It is worth getting to a facility that can assess whether it is needed.
What to do
- Wash the area with soap and water.
- Apply a cool compress for 10 minutes at a time to reduce pain. Do not apply ice directly to skin.
- Take paracetamol or ibuprofen per the label for pain — check with us first for children.
- Keep the limb still and at roughly heart level.
- Call Poison Control on 1-800-222-1222. They will help you judge whether you can stay home.
- Watch for the systemic signs above for several hours, and more carefully overnight for a child.
Myths worth demolishing
The folklore around scorpion stings is unhelpful and occasionally harmful.
“Cut the wound and suck out the venom.” No. This causes tissue damage and infection and removes no meaningful venom.
“Apply a tourniquet.” No. Restricting blood flow risks the limb and does not help.
“Alternate ice and heat,” or “apply heat.” Cool compresses help pain. Heat can make it worse.
“Take a shot of something strong.” Alcohol does not help and clouds your ability to notice symptoms getting worse.
“Bigger scorpions are more dangerous.” Backwards, as above.
“If there’s no swelling, you weren’t stung.” Bark scorpion stings frequently leave almost no visible mark.
“You need antivenom for every sting.” Most adult stings need nothing but a cool compress and patience.
“Scorpions are aggressive.” They sting defensively, almost always because someone put a hand or foot where the scorpion already was.
Keeping them out of your house
Bark scorpions get in through very small gaps and climb well, so exclusion works better than chemicals.
Seal gaps around doors, windows, pipes, and utility entries, and fit door sweeps. Move woodpiles, rock piles, and stored materials away from the walls of the house. Trim vegetation back from the building. Keep the yard clear of debris where they can shelter.
Indoors: shake out shoes, towels, and clothing left on the floor, check bedding, and keep beds away from walls. Do not leave bare feet wandering at night — wear something on your feet. A blacklight torch makes them fluoresce brightly and is the single most useful tool for finding them; a walk around the yard at night is genuinely revealing. Keep cots and cribs away from walls, and consider a fine mesh or seal around a young child’s sleeping area if you have recurring sightings.
If you have a persistent problem, a pest control service experienced specifically with bark scorpions is worth it — general treatment often does little.
Where to go
Call 911 for difficulty breathing, collapse, seizure, or signs of a severe allergic reaction.
Come to our Emergency Room — 9700 N. Saguaro Blvd, open 24 hours, no appointment — for any sting in a young child, or for any of the systemic signs above. We have emergency providers on site around the clock who manage these locally rather than sending you into the Valley. ER: (602) 671-7990.
Poison Control: 1-800-222-1222.
Related reading
- Rattlesnake Bites: What to Do, What Never to Do
- Food Allergies and Anaphylaxis: What to Do in the First Two Minutes
- Desert Hiking Safety: How Locals Avoid Becoming a Rescue
Sources
- Banner Poison and Drug Information Center — Scorpion stings
- CDC/NIOSH — Venomous scorpions
- Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center — Scorpions
- Mayo Clinic — Scorpion stings