California Man Suffers Scorpion Sting on Testicles While Staying at Las Vegas; What Causes Mass Infestation of These Arachnids?

While sleeping in a luxury hotel, a man was jolted awake by an intense pain in his testicles. He later found out that a scorpion had actually bitten him.

A Venomous Encounter

A South California man named Michael Farchi was staying at the Venetian Las Vegas, a luxury hotel and casino resort known for providing an array of high-end amenities. While sleeping in his room at the Palazzo tower, Farchi woke up to the searing pain of multiple stings from a scorpion which found its way inside his boxer-briefs.

Photos taken by Farchi appear to show a small Arizona bark scorpion (Centruroides sculpturatus), the most lethal species in the U.S. The Arizona bark scorpion is venomous and is very harmful to young children, the elderly, people with poor health, and those that suffer from an allergic reaction to the sting.

Compared to other species of scorpion, the Arizona bark scorpion stays around moist, wet areas, such as a backyard pool, in kitchens, and under the sinks of the bathrooms. In his photographs, the insect predator has a warm, bright yellow color which resembles that of the Arizona bark scorpion. Still, the species and toxicity of the creature has not been made public.

The man estimated that he was stung about three to four times by the venomous arachnid as he tried to remove it from his underwear. Farchi decided to sue the Venetian hotel with the help of lawyer Brian Virag, who reported that this was not the first incident of scorpions being discovered in the hotel's guests' room.

Mass Scorpion Infestation

According to Global Pest Services of Las Vegas, the city is home to 23 types of scorpions. However, most of the species of scorpions seen in the are not something to be worried about.

The incident comes amid a wave of reports of scorpions invading properties across Las Vegas and its suburbs. Around the city, the Arizona bark scorpion is more likely to be found on block walls and inside houses than out in nature like the desert. As such, according to Desert Wildlife Consultants owner Jim Boone, this is the species that most people are likely to see.

One local resident who claims to have killed more than 22 scorpions on his property, suspects the deadly southwestern species has made its way into the city aboard palm trees which were imported for tract homes and other landscaping projects. A representative from Global Pest Services explained that just one palm tree can hold hundreds of scorpions hiding in them.

Scorpion sightings in Las Vegas also tend to spike annually with long hot summers taking place from March until fall. These months mark peak scorpion activity periods in the city as the warm summer desert climate offers an ideal habitat for scorpions to thrive.

Farchi's encounter happened in December, an outlier by the standards of the endemic scorpions in the region. Still, it is all too typical of the invasive species which increasingly thrive in the cooler, climate-controlled environments in Las Vegas.

This month, reports about scorpion encounters have exploded across the suburban communities of Mountain's Edge and Southern Highlands. One family in Las Vegas is so infested with this arachnid species in their house and garage that they need to go out in their yard every night with a black light to kill these venomous pests.