No, couldn't afford a battery op black light back in those days. I used burlap sacks. Find a likely area, wet the burlap sack, spread it out about dusk. Come back the next morning before it gets hot, peel back the burlap, and pick 'em up with ice tongs.
(they love the moisture) I modified a clear plastic shoe box with a sliding door on top to put them in. Usually 6-8 "traps" yielded 75 to 100 scorps, & I think my record was over 200 in a day.
Scorpions were never a problem, but I had several encounters with rattlesnakes that weren't fun. Never got bit, but close sometimes.
Incidentally I carried a snake stick on these outings. It consisted of a standard broom handle with a heavy wire "U" at the end to pin the snakes head.
When I found that huge scorpion, he was PO'ed, and did not want to go peacefully.
When I tried to pin him with the snake stick, he of course tried to sting it to death.
He hit it so hard that I could hear the impacts and he moved the stick in my hand.
Bada$$ critter. I think it took ten minutes to get him in that box.