A family were shocked to find a scorpion had got in their luggage while they were in Costa Rica.
To make things worse, they didn't find the pincer-wielding arachnid for 10 days.
The stowaway scorpion was found in their kitchen after it snuck into one of the suitcases they were in the Central American country.
It miraciously survived the 14-hour and 40-minute flight back to the UK, but remained undetected for a week-and-a-half before the family spotted it and alerted the RSPCA.
The creatures - which have venom in their sting tails - can kill humans.
The family from Winchester, Hants., had been holidaying in Costa Rica which is 5,200 miles (7,370km) away.
An RSPCA spokesperson said: "This scorpion departed from Costa Rica and arrived at a house in Winchester.
"The shocked family found him in their kitchen 10 days after they'd returned from vacation
"He's now safe and in expert care."
One animal lover urged travelling Brits to check their belongings for hidden creatures when they pack to come home and said: "Poor little thing, glad he's safe now.
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"It's really not that difficult to check shoes and clothes when packing.
"Just allow a little more time for it is all, don't leave it until the very last minute."
Last year, a plane was forced to turn back mid-flight after a cat reportedly attacked the pilot.
The Sudan to Qatar Tarco Airlines flight encountered a problem roughly 30 minutes into its journey.
A cat, which is thought to have got aboard during cleaning, seemingly woke up during the flight and attacked crew members.
And in 2015 , a woman ended up making two trips to France to return a stowaway dormouse to its home.
The rodent got in Dr Sue Collard’s car as she drove back from her holiday home in Normandy in April.
Ten days later, she spotted it sniffing some pears and caught it in a homemade trap, but it escaped.
After recapturing it, she drove back to the hamlet of Saint-Gervais-des-Sablons last month but the dormouse would not budge.
She then set off for France again earlier this month and finally had success after forking out £280 on ferries and petrol.
