Mum’s terror as a scorpion joins her on the family sofa

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/mumrsquos-terror-as-a-scorpion-joins-her-on-the-family-sofa-14765162.html

Mum’s terror as a scorpion joins her on the family sofa
Tuesday, 13 April 2010

There was a sting in the tale for a mother and her baby son when they settled down for a night in front of the telly and were confronted by a 5cm long scorpion. Carolyn was relaxing on Friday night in her Cavehill Road home, when she suddenly discovered she was sharing her sofa with a creepy crawly. Her fearless husband Joe heard her screams and quickly leapt into action.

He ran downstairs and killed the creature which was believed to be the first one of its kind found in Northern Ireland. Joe said: “She ran upstairs to me, screaming that she was scared because there was a scorpion on the sofa. I said she was talking rubbish, that it was probably just a big spider.

“It wasn’t that big but was a scary looking thing. We have a young baby who had been on that sofa just half an hour before. Who knows what a sting from a scorpion could do to a child of four months?”

A quick internet search identified it as possibly being a European yellow tailed scorpion. It’s not deadly, but its sting could be lethal for a very young child. The yellow tailed scorpion is indigenous to Europe and some parts of southern England but is not native to Northern Ireland. Carolyn is so shaken that she and baby Connor are staying with her mother. Until the scorpion is identified they are unsure whether they are safe to return home.

“It’s totally bizarre,” said Joe. “The only thing we can think of is the fact we had a friend from London staying recently so it could have crawled into her luggage and escaped while she was here.” Belfast City Council said: “Scorpions are not considered as vermin or a pest and therefore could not be dealt with by pest control