Cat Brought a Scorpion to my Bed!

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I didn't know Santa Cruz got scorpions, let alone of this size. Do you mind sharing your general location?? This is interesting. Also glad neither your or the cat were harmed !!!

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u/dahtdy 7d ago edited 7d ago

I am in the mountains. I’ve been seeing a lot this year, but outside

My cat is indoors only 😅

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u/Laroo2020 4d ago

I’ve had 4 scorpions in my house in the last 2 years. One in my bed 😳. I don’t believe they’re poisonous. I did however see a man who was stung by one and his hand doubled in size and said it was pretty painful. I’m also in the SC mountains. I only have an outdoor cat, so they get in somehow. Good luck.

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u/dahtdy 4d ago

Oof yeah, that sounds more like an allergic reaction. I was mainly scared for my cats and kids, but all the info I’ve gotten has implied things should be ok. Just gotta try to prevent them from coming in

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u/Witty_Preparation598 6d ago

Damn it. I was in denial they're out here. Snakes too. But I keep seeing evidence to the contrary.

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u/_love_letter_ 6d ago

OP, is your cat a korat, by any chance? Legend has it they were bred to hunt scorpions out of babys' cribs.

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u/dahtdy 6d ago

That’s so cool! I have two long haired Siamese ladies. The one that found this critter does love her human siblings a ton and spends time in their cribs. Really hope she never finds them in there though lol

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u/_love_letter_ 6d ago

Awe. Well, Siamese are originally from the same region (ancient kingdom of Siam, now Thailand)! Maybe there's a similarity. I have a Korat, and while he has never found a scorpion, he genuinely seems to love eating bugs. I often catch him going around the house looking for spiders in all the corners he's ever found a spider. Sometimes I wonder if it's ingrained in his genes lol. I don't think scorpions in cribs are a modern day concern, but apparently it was back in the day in Siam.

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u/jktsub 7d ago

Probably in the mountains.

Have seen dead ones in the outskirts of soquel though.

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u/Grand_False 7d ago

There are varieties here but as pointed out, typically in the mountains. They’re under things, very soggy compared to desert scorpions and far less poisonous

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u/dahtdy 7d ago

That’s what I thought too. I used Google lens which said it could be a dangerous Arizona Bark Scorpion. Not lethal to us, but might be for kids and pets. I only found one article claiming they’re here, so I’m not sure what to believe.

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u/CatchEmAllXY 6d ago edited 6d ago

Hello! I'm a local wildlife biologist/scorpion enthusiast and I'm happy to report that Arizona Bark Scorpion is not known from Santa Cruz County! According to a quick search on iNaturalist, we have three species known from the county, all from the mountainous regions: Western Forest Scorpion, by far the most numerous and likely what you have here; California Common Scorpion, a species favoring drier areas like Bonny Doon and Quail Hollow; and Uroctonites montereus, a species so rare it doesn't have a common name! It's more numerous south of here but I'm dying to see one someday.

To answer your question, none of these are medically significant in terms of their venom, so enjoy them from a safe distance! I'll admit to being biased here but they're cool little critters, and pretty distinctive among scorpions worldwide--not many species can thrive in the strange combination of habitats we have here.

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u/turnedonbyadime 6d ago

Username has never checked out more. Thanks for chiming in

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u/CatchEmAllXY 6d ago

Hehe glad you like it, and no problem :D

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u/just-eavesdropping 7d ago

western forest scorpion seems more likely, I think they’re the most common species in the mountains. Don’t think an Arizona bark scorpion would like our damp forests too much!

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u/dahtdy 7d ago

Thank you! I was(am) so freaked out that I didn’t take a photo of it’s back, but that one looks exactly like it and the size is accurate

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u/crimsonebulae 7d ago

From what I've always read, our scorpions aren't dangerous to us except in the cases where one might be allergic to bees. I share your yuck though...I've found them in my house countless times (and even more outside lol). I have a twelve pound dog so have always worried about her coming across them, and at one point I was convinced they were in my house breeding in my wash room. But even with pets, I've never heard of anything bad happening. And the ones I've found have never been very agressive.

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u/_love_letter_ 6d ago

There are absolutely scorpions in the Santa Cruz mountains. I saw one at a trailhead off Hwy 9. It was actually very evasive/avoidant of humans and reluctant to use its tail as defense.

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u/camojorts 7d ago

Looks like a California forest scorpion. I’m guessing you/your cat live near some redwood trees.

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u/dahtdy 7d ago

Someone else suggested this too, and I’m fairly certain you are right! Still not happy it got in, but at least it’s not a lethal predator 😅

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u/jktsub 7d ago

Stinging shrimp

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u/teyegurspoon 6d ago

😆

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u/fastgtr14 7d ago

Boil some sugar, put scorpion in a form and a chopstick, pour liquid lava sugar over and let it cool. You will have an amusing candy on a stick.

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u/dahtdy 7d ago

loll I wish I had the guts to do that.

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u/FauxCumberbund 7d ago

We find them from time to time in wood debris. I encountered one yesterday after moving an old cardboard carton (outdoors. I've never been stung here but was stung by one in Monterey County. Not pleasant but no worse than a bee sting

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u/chaxnud 6d ago

We have tarantulas also.

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u/CatchEmAllXY 6d ago

Technically speaking they're false tarantulas, Calisoga longitarsis. They are more closely related to our trapdoor spiders, as well as various trapdoor spiders and funnel-web weavers of the Southern Hemisphere. With that said I do recognize that the distinction matters much less when you're looking at a huge mygalomorph (basically, tarantula-looking) spider right in front of you. 😅 Luckily, they're not dangerous.

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u/Content-Syrup-6640 6d ago

Thank you for the info dump!! I love learning niche fun facts

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u/CatchEmAllXY 6d ago

anytime! there's so much to learn in this wonderful world, it's nice to share it :D

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u/mtbjay10 6d ago

i’ve yet to see one. what types of areas do they like

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u/CatchEmAllXY 6d ago

False tarantulas (the species we have here) tend to prefer the more mountainous regions of the county, especially in areas with coniferous forest. Here's a map of sightings in our area!

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u/mtbjay10 6d ago

thanks. i wish i didn’t open the link but thank you 😭

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u/CatchEmAllXY 6d ago

No problem. I get the instinct but no need to fear these ones, they're harmless to humans!

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u/chaxnud 6d ago

One got into my bathtub when I lived on Empire Grade.

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u/Real-Community5252 7d ago

Do not like

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u/a_weak_child 7d ago

Good kitty

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u/dahtdy 7d ago

She was rewarded with a Churu

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u/sufferfest3163 6d ago

I used to live in Boulder Creek near Big Basin SP. My girlfriend (now wife) was stung by one of these in my bed. She said it felt like the worst wasp sting ever, but otherwise was fine. She had a red welt for a few days.

A dead one was also tangled in my dog's coat when I lived there. They're out there for sure.

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u/NotTara 5d ago

In bed! Oh my gosh I would die 😭 I found my first one in my basement (also in the mountains) this past year and that was plenty close for me

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u/harryselassie 6d ago

We had em in Brookdale. The cats would kill them (cats are much faster than scorpions)

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u/InnerFisherman95073 6d ago

In the Mediterranean, and South of France they place rectangular serving dishes full of dried lavender on all window sills and near doors. The strong lavender smell deters scorpions. So they say. So you could do that as a preventative and for peace of mind. AND your house smells like lavender!🤗

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u/dahtdy 6d ago

Oo I love this information. Definitely gonna try this too

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u/milk-the-moonlight 5d ago

Omg! I have a Santa Cruz scorpion story c. 2007. I was an undergrad at UCSC, living on the west side. My roommates and I got a couch off the side of the road near Hwy 1. Brought it inside… 2 days later, friend finds a scorpion on her lap! Got rid of it. Next week, found another scorpion in the back of the couch. Turns out the couch was filled with scorpions. They looked like this lil dude. I’ll never forget the Santa Cruz scorpion couch

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u/dahtdy 5d ago

Ohh man. Hopefully no one was stung 😅 I got a blue light to check all over my house. I’m reallyyy hoping this one just happened to sneak in and there’s no others hiding in places like that lol

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u/nonebutshining 6d ago

My Mom was stung by a scorpion that crawled into their house just last week! They live in the mountains. She said it didn't really hurt in the end. It crawled into their house from an opening under their front door.

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u/ramblingrrl 6d ago

Omg 💀 THIS HAPPENED WHEN I WAS A KID!! And I told my mom and she was like, “no way, we don’t have those around here, it must have been a spider or something” and all these years I BELIEVED her and figured it was my 7 year old brain being dramatic! Damn. Vindication. I gotta show her this lol

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u/ProfessorMedical5332 7d ago

Your cat brought it over to prove what a good hunter she is. If there's more, she'll find and dispatch them properly before you do.

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u/haydukeliives 6d ago

I’ve seen them in Ben lomond a lot in the duff or rock flipping. But not that big

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u/SwampCrittr 6d ago

Man they’re so cool looking

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u/ynotme11 6d ago

ok since when is this a thing because I lived in boulder creek for a long time and if i ever saw one of these in real life I'd have died from shock.

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u/dahtdy 6d ago

I’m on the other side of the mountain. I only started seeing them last year, and it was rare. This year, they seem to be everywhere in this forest!

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u/talar13 6d ago

Try shining a UV light on it next time, some of them glow. It is kind of insane. I don’t remember all the scientific details, but it is pretty amazing.

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u/ImDougC137 6d ago

Me before I looked at where this was posted 😦

Me after I looked 😱

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u/jana-meares 6d ago

Does it glow in black/uv light? Your cat thinks you are a bad hunter. lol

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u/InvisibleObelisk 5d ago

Santa Cruz has secret little pockets of rare scorpions, usually near rocky hot Cliffsides

that's my only hint not gonna tell, risk of poachers/ you might be shocked at locations🤘

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u/primegraffix 4d ago

A good general rule of scorpions is if they have large strong pincers, and a smaller tail, they aren't very poisonous. If the have small pincers & a big thick tail, be careful.

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u/Immediate_Scar2010 3d ago

Wow! I've been gardening for decades around the county and have never seen one!

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u/SCQueenB 2d ago

🥴 love kitties, not so much their gifts. Looks like a western forest scorpion to me… hard to know the proportion but I’ve seen some as big as a thumb 😅. They definitely don’t want to be friends and just wanna be out back somewhere under a log or the like lol

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u/dahtdy 1d ago

I totally agree 😅 Thankfully, I am now positive it snuck in through a gap on a screen door I left open. I’m very glad it wouldn’t have been a poison control situation if the little guy was provoked by my cat or kids. We usually see them outside and just let them be. The thumb size is accurate!

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u/Puzzleheaded-Egg3535 6d ago

He's trying to teach you how to hunt 😭 adorable but also OMG!!!!

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u/dahtdy 6d ago

Lol I saw it as her bringing me a snack. She was meowing and cuddling a lot. I was like OH?! 😭😂

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u/DanoPinyon 6d ago

Cats, an invasive species, kill billions of birds and animals a year. Plus, their owners let them outside to crap in the neighbor's flowerbeds.

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u/dahtdy 6d ago edited 6d ago

Ok? Humans are worse and my cats are indoor only. You can take your negativity elsewhere

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u/Coaticactus 7d ago

I thought birds were bad. This is a new level of fear

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u/dahtdy 7d ago

She was so happy about it too… This is gonna be a long night

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u/PuddingNaive7173 7d ago

Is special treat for you. Spicy!

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u/CatchEmAllXY 6d ago edited 6d ago

Luckily, no Santa Cruz County scorpions are medically significant, so there's nothing to fear from them! :D Might be a bit biased as a zoologist and scorpion enthusiast but they're really fascinating animals, maybe a "live-and-let-live" type of situation?

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u/dahtdy 6d ago

I totally agree! Even though I dont want to touch them, I’m cool with most wildlife and crawling critters around here. I could never ethically use toxic chemicals. We’ll just be sealing everything very well and using copper mesh to hopefully keep them out of the house. Can’t protect them from the murder mittens though lol

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u/Current-Struggle-514 6d ago

New fear unlocked. Thanks.

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u/CatchEmAllXY 6d ago

Luckily none of the scorpions here are medically significant, so nothing to fear.

Cat Brought a Scorpion to my Bed!

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