Unwelcome visitor

Having been gone for a couple of weeks my office was dusty and dirty, so I decided to clean up a bit. As I swept, I saw what I thought at a glance was a dark piece of cloth, or a lump of yarn. I swept it with the broom, and it took off across the floor, startling me.

The yarn was actually a dark brown, six-legged scorpion. I realize that scorpions are supposed to have 8 legs, but I could only see six. I took a couple of pictures, and after studying them I can still see only 6 legs.

I’m not sure how to describe the size. Do you include its reach with its front pinchers? With its tail up over it’s back, or stretched out full length? This one was wider than my chapstick tube, and from outstretched claws to its back side, with its tail curved up and over, it was about as long as the chapstick tube. Straightening out its tail would add another two or three inches.

The scorpion trundled across the floor, and, of course, under my desk. I didn’t like the idea of it hanging around my feet, so I moved the power cords it was trying to hide among, and it moved off to behind the trashcan, off to the side of my desk, and there it stayed. Still, I kept my eye on it, not wanting to have it sneak up on me. Luckily it moved pretty slowly.

I didn’t want to just stomp on it and kill it. For one thing, we’re always told not to mess with snakes and scorpions. I didn’t want to have to police up the gore from stomping such a large arachnid. And, I generally try to live and let live, if I can, and the scorpion hadn’t attacked me.

I left it alone, and when I returned to my office the next day, I couldn’t find it. Oh great. Now I’m just waiting to stumble across it and get stung. I looked around for it, carefully, and haven’t seen it anywhere. I hope it went back from whence it came. I’ve kind of got the heebie jeebies, wondering where the damn thing got off to, waiting for it to show up and freak me out again.