Like snakes and spiders, scorpions have a bit of a fearsome reputation that can help make your skin crawl when you see them.

But if you find one in or around your home, there's no need to worry — Australian scorpions are relatively harmless.

"They can give you a nasty sting but they're not particularly dangerous; generally the consequences are very minor," Professor David Rowell said.

"They're certainly not something that people should be worrying about."

A recent post on the Canberra Notice Board Group Facebook page had many users surprised the capital was home to scorpions.

But it turns out scorpions are actually really common; it's just they prefer to live in holes and under bark in bushland and backyards.

"They are incredibly common but they rarely wander into people's homes," Professor Rowell said.

"So people usually don't see them unless they're searching for them."

Rachel Barrett discovered Canberra had scorpions when she found one under a table and in her swimming pool. ( Supplied: Rachel Barrett )

The black rock scorpion is one species common in the Canberra region.

"You'll find them under rocks all over Black Mountain, Mt Ainslie and all over the place," Professor Rowell said.

It is the smaller marbled scorpion that people are most likely to find inside their homes.

"Marbled scorpions climb and live on trees, so they can come into a house and live sideways on a wall or behind the wardrobe," Professor Rowell said.

Scorpions useful to have around

Scorpions are environmentally beneficial and useful to have around your garden.

"Like spiders, we would be in a really bad position if we didn't have these carnivorous invertebrates that can eat grasshoppers, cockroaches and all of those things that can reach plague proportions."

A black rock scorpion carrying its young on its back at Mulligans Flat in Canberra. ( Supplied: Cedric Bear )

Scorpions are really quite fascinating nocturnal arachnids: they glow under ultra-violet light, the females bear live young and carry them around on their backs, and they can survive in extreme conditions.

"When they're not active they have the metabolic rate about the same as radish; that is, they're almost turned off," Professor Rowell said.

"This means they can live for years and can go years without food."

Australian scorpion stings painful but not lethal

While Australian scorpions can give you a nasty sting if you step on one or take it by surprise, their venom is not deadly.

"Typically, the sting is minor localised pain and a tiny bit of swelling — usually quite trivial effects," Associate Professor Bryan Fry, from the University of Queensland's School of Biological Sciences, said.

"As far as the pain sensation, the sting would normally be similar to a bee and dramatically less than that of the bullet ants that we have in Australia."

Scorpions are useful to have in the garden, feeding on spiders, grasshoppers and cockroaches. ( Canberra Nature Map: Simmo )

ABC Radio Canberra listener Sam recalled his recent experience of being stung by a scorpion while camping in Kosciuszko National Park.

"I got out of bed to deal with a possum that had taken a liking to our garbage, and when I hopped back in bed and rolled over I felt an intense stinging pain in my side," he said.

"I turned the light on and there was a scorpion in the bed.

"It was about 1:00am and I lay there feeling a bit uneasy for a while, having never been bitten by a scorpion.

"I managed to get back to sleep and when I woke up the next day it was fine, but 24 hours later I actually had a red rash there that stayed for almost a week."

What should you do if you find one in your home?

If you come across a scorpion in your home, Professor Rowell recommended using a pencil or stick to coax it into a jar or container and then release it outside.

"Once you know where the scorpion is it's not going to sting you," he said.

"The only way that someone will get stung is if they didn't know one was there and they trod on it or something.

"They are slow and they don't jump so you're quite safe pushing them into a container with a pencil or something."

Marbled scorpions are only about 3 centimetres long and the ones most likely to make their way into homes. ( Supplied: Cedric Bear )

Why do scorpions get such a bad rap?

Firstly, they aren't exactly cute and cuddly.

"They're a very creepy looking animal by most people's standards," Associate Professor Fry said.

"They're not the cute and furries that people typically like and such animals are usually quite maligned and persecuted against."

Plus in other parts of the worldn like the Middle East, North Africa and Central America, there are many species of scorpions that are lethal.

"Scorpions are of huge medical importance there and they do sting, severely injure and kill quite a number of people," Associate Professor Fry said.

"In Australia they're not any sort of medical hazard but in other parts of the world they are, so that sort of fear does carry over to the Australian scorpions."