Scorpion Flashlight – Simple Way to Hunt Scorpions

How to use the Simon UV Blacklight for scorpion hunting and distinguishing it from the ordinary kind is its ultraviolet (UV) black light. This flashlight illumines a scorpion in total darkness with an eerily bright white-blue glow. And, since scorpions are sun-shy, nocturnal arthropods seldom seen during the day, the UV method is the only sure way to spot them.

Blacklight flashlight scorpion hunting is a popular pastime in desert regions of the Southwest, where the critters flourish. Some hunters are interested in collecting them, some like the thrill of killing them, and others craft them into various forms of jewelry. Although a few people hunt scorpions in daylight, the activity occurs almost exclusively at night with the aid of an ultraviolet LED flashlight.

Those not interested in hunting scorpions think that all the attention given to the activity is somewhat silly. After all, the creatures are so plentiful that it’s not as if one is making a dent in the population. They hire exterminators to spray the perimeter of their properties, and so long as scorpions are kept out of the house they are content. (They also do not go out in the yard after dark.)

It is possible to find scorpion specimens during the day, but it requires a lot more work. You obviously don’t need the UV flashlight, but you will have to be more conscious of protection from the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Scorpions are known to hide under rocks or up in trees, and some species burrow underground. If this is the case, about the only technique worth trying is flushing water down the hole.

At nighttime, however, you will have a lot more luck. You still might have to overturn rocks or look between wall stones. Scorpions will still hide inside utility covers or in woodpiles. But in general they are going to be all over the place. It is not unusual to collect five to ten a night.

If you try to spot your scorpion with an ordinary, white-light flashlight, it’s going to scamper away. But your UV scorpion flashlight does not concern it in the least. If you have trouble locating something designed specifically for scorpions, a pet urine detector works virtually as well. Optimum viewing or hunting time is the two-hour period after sunset and a similar timespan before sunrise.

We recommend getting a UV LED flashlight that is compact, lightweight, and easy to hold and operate with one hand. You’ll have tongs or similar device in the other hand for picking up scorpions by the stinger. Use a container (unless you’re simply squishing or otherwise killing it) that rests easily on the ground and from which the scorpions can’t escape.

Light emitting diodes put out monochromatic light waves, and in the ultraviolet end of the spectrum the luminescence does not appear that strong. However, there are different qualities of LED bulbs. Research the various offerings to find a flashlight that has either a single LED or an array of LEDs with high luminous efficacy (in the hundreds of lumens per watt).

Brightness also varies somewhat with the frequency range, usually expressed in terms of wavelength, or the inverse of frequency. You’ll find UV LED flashlights with wavelengths anywhere from about 365 nanometers (nm) to maybe 410 nm. The lower wavelengths are brighter, and do a good job of causing scorpions to fluoresce.