Check your grapes

I'd like to recount a story with a lesson.

I think I've alluded to the fact that my brother and I currently work in the same office. Yesterday around mid-afternoon, my brother wanted a snack and retrieved grapes he had in the office fridge. I was working at my computer, headphones in but not too loud. But it was quiet enough that a few minutes after I heard my brother reenter his office, I then heard him shout "HOLY CRAP, there's a spider in my grapes!" And he came out of his office with a slightly panicked look on his face.

The three of us closest to his office then went in to look. One of us quickly excused herself after looking. Then two of us, myself included went into to look afterwards. And then we realized why my brother, who's not too freaked out by spiders, was slightly panicked.

It wasn't just a spider.

It was a female black widow.

Black.

Widow.

In his grapes.

The kind of spider that if it bites you, will send you to the hospital.

He immediately called the store where he bought these while myself and a coworker took some pictures and then trapped it in a jar. He and I then walked it to the nearest branch of the supermarket where he got these. He got a double refund, and a direct line to a manager of the supermarket. With any luck, they will be examining their supply chain to see how a venomous spider got into their grapes without being detected until reaching a consumer. Where there's one, there may be more, or eggs. The spider has since been killed.

Lesson, kids: check your produce for deadly arthropods.

I do have photos but will not post them for now, as I know some people are afraid of spiders.

And this is why I stick to (blue, black, straw)berries for my fruit of choice! =p

But in seriousness, holy crap that had to be terrifying D:

Oh my, that is scary!!! Makes me not want to eat any grapes for awhile. Glad your brother is okay. After reading this, I have warned my immediate family members to check their grapes (and do it safely), if they get any anytime soon, that is. To be honest, it makes you want to stay away from grapes or any produce that may have these hiding in it right now.

This has happened at a few other places recently:

http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/29 ... get-grapes

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/ho ... 97045.html

Just about any produce can have nasties hiding in it. What's more alarming is that it went through a good chunk of the supply chain without being detected. The spider probably got in there on the farm or in a storage warehouse and passed through the hands of many people before reaching my brother and finally being detected.

Brazilian wandering spiders, which are arguably the most toxic spiders in the world (the other contender is the Sydney funnel web spider) love to hide in bananas, and have made their way outside their home range by hitching rides on banana shipments. So this stuff happens. The good thing is that black widows, for all the bad rap they get and the fact that they can harm you, are not particularly aggressive and not too likely to bite. Their venom also isn't lethal to adults, just not something you really want to experience. If you get bit by one, it's because it felt threatened. The wandering and funnel web spiders, on the other hand, are very aggressive, much more likely to bite, and both can be lethal to adults and children.

Wolf Bird wrote:

Lesson, kids: check your produce for deadly arthropods.

Wise words. And, I just checked my grapes. No critters.

I'm glad the store took responsibility and hopefully so will the supplier.

Impressive story !