Family's shock after discovering live scorpion in their home
- 7 months ago
A family was left shocked after discovering a live SCORPION in their kitchen - after it hitched a lift 6,000 miles back from Kenya.
Liz Burrows, 50, and husband Ian, 52, arrived home with their 18-year-old daughter Daisy when they encountered the potentially dangerous creature on Sunday (8/10).
The mum-of-two said she went to reach for the fridge when she spotted the scorpion in the middle of their kitchen floor with its "tail quivering".
Liz said she wanted to get rid of the 3-4cm long intruder but hubby Ian managed to convince her to keep it and he scooped it up into a jar despite the potential risk.
The financial planner, of King’s Cliffe, Northants., added: "We'd been out and got home and I went to the fridge and it was just in front of it on the floor.
“My daughter looked down thinking it was a leaf at first.
“It then became quite clear it was a scorpion. Its tail was quivering so it was still alive but it wasn't moving much, certainly not enough to send us running out the room.
"I wanted to get rid of it straight away but my husband thought it was quite interesting and wanted to keep it.
"I think my neighbours are quite anxious that we have a scorpion in the house."
Daisy recently spent a month in Kenya and recognised the scorpion from her travels, which led the couple to believe it caught an unwarranted lift back to the UK.
But with Daisy arriving back to the family home about two weeks ago it means the sneaky scorpion would have been in the house unnoticed for a fortnight.
Liz added: "It must have hitched a lift with my daughter from Kenya because we've never had a scorpion in the house before.
“I’m just hoping it doesn’t have any other friends.
"I didn't share my husband's excitement. My first instinct was to kill it or dispose of it because of the risk to my family and the dogs.
"We did some research online and we believe it could be a striped bark scorpion or a pygmy thick tail."
The venom in the stings from these types of scorpion are rarely deadly but can be very painful, and in some cases dangerous.
Ian used a piece of paper to pick up the scorpion and put it in a jar with breathing holes. However, the family believe it may not have survived.
Ian, who is also a financial planner, added: “It’s exciting. You don’t often find a scorpion in the house. I was interested, which is why I put it in the jar.
"However, sadly I think it's now an ex scorpion."
Liz Burrows, 50, and husband Ian, 52, arrived home with their 18-year-old daughter Daisy when they encountered the potentially dangerous creature on Sunday (8/10).
The mum-of-two said she went to reach for the fridge when she spotted the scorpion in the middle of their kitchen floor with its "tail quivering".
Liz said she wanted to get rid of the 3-4cm long intruder but hubby Ian managed to convince her to keep it and he scooped it up into a jar despite the potential risk.
The financial planner, of King’s Cliffe, Northants., added: "We'd been out and got home and I went to the fridge and it was just in front of it on the floor.
“My daughter looked down thinking it was a leaf at first.
“It then became quite clear it was a scorpion. Its tail was quivering so it was still alive but it wasn't moving much, certainly not enough to send us running out the room.
"I wanted to get rid of it straight away but my husband thought it was quite interesting and wanted to keep it.
"I think my neighbours are quite anxious that we have a scorpion in the house."
Daisy recently spent a month in Kenya and recognised the scorpion from her travels, which led the couple to believe it caught an unwarranted lift back to the UK.
But with Daisy arriving back to the family home about two weeks ago it means the sneaky scorpion would have been in the house unnoticed for a fortnight.
Liz added: "It must have hitched a lift with my daughter from Kenya because we've never had a scorpion in the house before.
“I’m just hoping it doesn’t have any other friends.
"I didn't share my husband's excitement. My first instinct was to kill it or dispose of it because of the risk to my family and the dogs.
"We did some research online and we believe it could be a striped bark scorpion or a pygmy thick tail."
The venom in the stings from these types of scorpion are rarely deadly but can be very painful, and in some cases dangerous.
Ian used a piece of paper to pick up the scorpion and put it in a jar with breathing holes. However, the family believe it may not have survived.
Ian, who is also a financial planner, added: “It’s exciting. You don’t often find a scorpion in the house. I was interested, which is why I put it in the jar.
"However, sadly I think it's now an ex scorpion."