A Camillo resident got a shock on Monday afternoon when she found a large scorpion in her washing.
Jacke Wetherilt was emptying her regular load of washing when she found the eight-centimetre scorpion.
“I pulled some washing out of my washing machine and it came out with it,” she said.
“I don’t know how he had gotten in there but I was shocked because it’s a pretty big one.”
She said it was the biggest one she had ever seen and only the second in the area since moving to Camillo 15 years ago.
Ms Wetherilt said she was slightly concerned because she has two children and pets and reminded other residents to be cautious.
Australian museum naturalist Martyn Robinson said it looked like a large ground dwelling scorpion from the Urodacus genus.
He said Australian scorpions generally weren’t that dangerous and it wasn’t often they were found in homes.
“It would be an accidental and uncommon situation,” he said.
“Judging by the size of those claws though, I’d say it’s probably one with a relatively weak venom anyway because the larger clawed scorpions tend to subdue their prey by grabbing it and crushing it.
“Nobody in Australia has died from a scorpion sting but as is the case with anything that can sting or has a venomous bite watch the person and if they start to suffer any kind of a bad reaction take them to hospital.
“Because for most people bees stings aren’t a problem yet bees kill more people every year than any venomous animal because of allergic reactions.”
Mr Robinson said scorpions were fascinating creatures but many people did not realise they lived in Australia.
“Generally scorpions in Australia are regarded as harmless and are probably beneficial because of the ground dwelling insects they would ambush including cockroaches,” he said.
