Grocery Store Grapes Host to Black Widow Spider

According to recent news reports out of Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, a woman shopping at a grocery store was in for a scary surprise when she bought a bundle of grapes. Once she got the grapes home and begun to rinse them off, she noticed that something large and black was moving on one of the grape stems. She immediately noticed that it was a spider, however, upon closer inspection she was horrified to realize that it was a highly poisonous black widow.

“I quickly dropped the colander and screamed,” said Yvonne Whalen. “My first thought was to use a hose and force it down the drain into the garbage disposal.”

Once the woman captured the spider in a small plastic container, she called the local health department to conduct a more in depth examination of the insect. It was officially confirmed to be a juvenile black widow spider, which are just as poisonous as the adult variety.

The grape supplier, located in the sunny State of California, where black widows are native, was contacted. They vouched to pay closer attention to their processing methods in order to ensure that poisonous spiders would not be able to be transported on the grapes in the future.

Regular grapes, and especially organic varieties, tend to attract spiders of all sorts. This is due to the fact that many of the insect that spiders consume are attracted to the grapes.

Symptoms of black widow bites may include nausea, muscle aches and difficulty breathing. Anyone who suspects they have been bitten by a black widow is advised to apply ice to the bite and seek medical attention to receive anti-venom.

On The Web:
Live black widow spider found in grapes from grocery store
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/pa-woman-finds-live-black-widow-spider-grapes-article-1.1526979