Macro view of a scorpion, photo by Jan Ramroth.
Shanghai surprise
Move over, Snakes on a Plane, the new attention grabbing pest is Scorpions on a Bed. Residents of a Shanghai apartment building have been battling their landlord and refusing to sign papers that would relinquish their rental homes, pay them to leave, and allow the building to be demolished to make way for a new development.
The tension has reportedly been high in the situation, and allegedly, one resident awoke to scorpions all over his body. He says they worked to remove “hundreds” of the pests, learning shortly thereafter that their neighbors were allegedly going through the same plight.
There is no word as to which species was found in the apartments, so it is unknown the extent of how poisonous the creatures were. Some scorpions are fatal, others simply hurt with their venomous sting. It seems a less painful pest could have been released if this was, in fact, an attack by the landlord.
Over 100 pounds of scorpions collected
Police and residents spent the night gathering over 100 pounds of scorpions after being called out to the scene.
There are reports that a witness saw a man holding a bucket walked out of the apartment management offices and was seen pouring the contents of the bucket into the windows of the apartments. Shortly afterward, scorpions were all over the sidewalks outside of the units.
Management claims no role
Management claims to be a victim in the case, according to The Shanghai Daily, and they said “The move was too despicable. We wouldn’t lift a stone only to have our own toes squashed,” The manager added there was no need to “scare” residents as they had recently made a huge breakthrough in compensation negotiations.
The incident is currently under investigation by local police.
