09/12/2026
And that’s a wrap on the 2026 Mucky Boot Scorpion Hunts! 🦂🔦
I didn’t get nearly as many pictures tonight as I normally do, but I did get my favorite one.
Every hunt, I try to get a picture of the hillside covered in black lights. It’s probably my favorite view of the entire night.
What the picture can’t capture is the sound.
Kids yelling because they found one. Parents getting just as excited as their kids. People calling their friends over to see what they caught. Someone finding their first scorpion. People who were nervous at the beginning of the night getting brave enough to take a closer look.
It’s just excitement and smiles from start to finish.
These hunts have quickly become one of the biggest reminders of why we do what we do.
Of course we love helping homeowners keep unwanted critters out of their homes. That’s our job. But getting outside, teaching people about the wildlife and creatures we share this area with, and spending nights like this with our community? That’s where we find a whole different kind of joy.
One of my favorite parts has been watching people get past some of their fears and misconceptions. Scorpions, snakes, spiders and other creepy-crawlies tend to get a pretty bad reputation. Sometimes all it takes is learning a little more about them and seeing them up close to realize they aren’t quite the monsters we make them out to be.
That’s also why you’ll occasionally see your local bug guy holding a scorpion or snake with his bare hands. 😂 Sometimes seeing is believing.
This year, around 700 people attended our scorpion classes, and one of the coolest things is that the overwhelming majority were first-timers.
But we also have families who come back hunt after hunt. They’ve become our seasoned veterans, and now we’re watching them help newcomers find scorpions and figure out where to look.
That might be my favorite part of how much this has grown. It’s becoming a little bit of a pay-it-forward thing. People are meeting their neighbors, helping each other, teaching each other and building community while wandering around a mountain in the dark looking for scorpions. 😂
When we started doing these several years ago, we had about 30 people show up. We never imagined what it would become.
So thank you.
Thank you to every family who has joined us over the years, whether you came to one hunt or you’ve been with us since the little ones.
A huge thank you to Eagle Mountain City for continuing to partner with us and opening the doors of City Hall so we have a place to teach these classes.
And thank you to the Eagle Mountain Nature & Wildlife Alliance for joining us in educating our community and for the work they do to protect wildlife and preserve open spaces so experiences like these can continue for future generations.
It’s pretty humbling to look across that hillside and realize that maybe even a bug guy can make a little difference in his community.
The 2026 scorpion hunts are officially over, but the community wildlife education isn’t. We already have more ideas, so keep an eye out for what comes next. 👀
And now we want YOUR pictures!
If you joined us tonight—or at any of our scorpion hunts this year—drop your photos in the comments. We want to see the scorpions you caught, the weird things you found, the family pictures, the kids, the smiles and the memories.
Seriously. Flood the comments with them. 🦂💜🔦
Thank you, Eagle Mountain. What a way to end the season.
