It is the question we hear most from new valley homeowners. Here is the honest, general-information answer, plus what to do in the moment and when to get help.
Please read first: We are a pest control company, not a medical provider. Everything below is general information about a common Las Vegas pest. It is not a diagnosis or treatment plan. For any sting, the right move is to call the Poison Control center or a doctor, and to seek emergency care for severe symptoms.
The valley has several scorpion species, and most of them deliver a sting roughly like a bad bee sting: it hurts, it swells, and it fades. The Arizona bark scorpion is the exception. It is widely described as the only scorpion in North America whose venom is medically significant, which is why it gets its own treatment category and its own worry. It is small, light tan, slender-clawed, and it climbs, so it turns up on walls, in shoes, and inside ground-floor rooms more than the bulkier desert scorpions that stay near the soil.
It is also established right across the metro, not in some far corner of it. The bark scorpion is most active from March through October, hunts insects at night, and glows pale green under a blacklight, which is how we survey for it. Knowing what you are dealing with matters, because the response to a bark scorpion is different from the shrug a common desert scorpion earns. If you are not sure which one you saw, our guide on how to identify a bark scorpion walks through the differences.
For a healthy adult, the usual picture is intense local pain, a burning or tingling feeling, numbness, and sometimes a sensation like an electric jolt near the sting site. There may be little visible swelling, which surprises people who expect a big welt. That local reaction is unpleasant and can last hours, but for most adults it stays local and passes.
The picture changes with the person stung. Small children are the group of real concern, because the same dose of venom is far larger relative to their body size. Older adults and anyone with a serious health condition or a known allergy are also at higher risk. In those cases the reaction can move beyond local pain, and that is exactly when a phone call to Poison Control or a doctor stops being optional. We are not the source that decides whether a given sting is serious; a medical professional is.
This is general, common-sense first aid, the kind printed on most public-health pages, not a substitute for medical guidance. If anything about the sting worries you, make the call first and do the rest while you wait.
Certain symptoms mean stop reading and get help. Beyond the normal local pain, the warning signs that warrant urgent or emergency care include trouble breathing or swallowing, muscle twitching or jerking, restlessness or agitation, blurred vision or roving eye movements, excessive drooling, slurred speech, and difficulty controlling movement. These show up far more often in small children than in adults. If you see any of them, or if the person stung is a young child, treat it as an emergency, call Poison Control or 911, and let the professionals direct care.
For pets, the equivalent warning signs are pawing at the face, heavy drooling, tremors, agitation, or trouble walking. A bark scorpion sting can make a cat or small dog genuinely sick. If your pet is stung and shows symptoms, call your veterinarian or an emergency animal hospital, because pet dosing and care are a vet decision, not ours.
First aid is the moment-of-crisis answer, but nobody wants to keep having the crisis. The reason a sting happened at all is that a bark scorpion got inside, and that is a solvable problem. Scorpions hunt insects, so they go where the bugs are, and they slip in through weep screeds, garage gaps, and utility penetrations. Killing the one you see does nothing about the dozen outside the wall.
Sustained control comes from two things working together: sealing those entry points and knocking down the food source so the perimeter stops being a hunting ground. That is why scorpion work costs more than a baseboard spray, and why it holds when a one-time treatment does not. A maintained perimeter under general pest control keeps the cricket and insect food source down between visits, which quietly cuts the scorpion pressure too. Scorpion service usually starts at $150 to $300 up front, with recurring plans around $100 to $150 per quarter. Homes on the desert-facing edges of Henderson and near Red Rock in Summerlin see the most pressure and lean hardest on a maintained perimeter. If you want to see what is actually out there at night, ask about a blacklight inspection, and check our FAQ or the cost guide for the full picture.
The Arizona bark scorpion is the only scorpion in North America whose sting is considered a genuine medical concern, and it is established across the Las Vegas Valley. Most healthy adults have a painful but manageable local reaction. The risk is higher for small children, older adults, and pets. This is general information, not medical advice, so call Poison Control or a doctor for any sting you are unsure about.
Stay calm, wash the area with soap and water, and apply a cool compress to ease pain and swelling. You can keep the limb still and elevated. Then call the Poison Control center, which gives free guidance over the phone, and watch for any symptoms beyond the local pain. For a child, anyone struggling to breathe, or a severe reaction, seek emergency care right away.
Beyond the normal local pain, tingling, and numbness, the warning signs that warrant urgent care include trouble breathing or swallowing, muscle twitching, restlessness, blurred or roving eye movements, drooling, and difficulty controlling movement. These show up more often in small children. If you see any of them, treat it as an emergency and call Poison Control or 911. This is general guidance only.
A bark scorpion sting can make a cat or dog quite sick, with pawing at the face, drooling, tremors, or agitation, and small pets are at higher relative risk than a grown adult. If your pet is stung and shows symptoms, call your veterinarian or an emergency animal hospital. We are not a veterinary source, so a vet should guide pet care.
Sustained control comes from sealing the entry points and treating the food source, not a single spray. Scorpion service usually starts at $150 to $300 because it seals weep screeds and gaps and knocks down the insects scorpions hunt. A maintained perimeter is what keeps them out through the summer. See the cost guide for the full range.
We are a licensed, local crew. We seal the entry points and treat the food source so the encounters stop, not just the one scorpion you can see. Scorpion service usually starts at $150 to $300, with recurring plans around $100 to $150 per quarter.
Last updated: May 28, 2026.
