Army of deadly spiders emerge from Asda banana
Forklift driver Ashley Gamble and his partner Sophia Newcombe were unpacking their Asda shopping, when Sophia saw a small white egg sack on the side of a banana, and dropped it in shock. Instantly dozens of Brazilian Wandering Spiders started falling from the sack, and scuttling out of sight.
The Sun reported that the pair panicked, as the Brazilian Wandering Spider is one of the deadliest in the world. It can cause a four hour erection in its victims - alongside cramps, hypothermia and convulsions - before possible death.
As the spiders emerged, Ashley grabbed the hoover, and started sucking them up, but he's not convinced he got all of them. He told the Sun he had taken Sophia and their two daughters to stay at his parents' house until his home is fumigated.
The Mirror reported that he expected Asda to pay for the fumigation, but so far they had refused. The supermarket apologised. It said that this sort of thing is extremely rare, as the supermarket take steps to wash, spray and inspect bananas before they are transported. It added that it was investigating, and that it would keep the family informed.
Spiders on the loose
In most cases, when bananas are put on the supermarket shelves they are inspected again, which is why most spiders tend to be discovered by staff rather than shoppers. This was the case in 2008 when a supermarket in Chatham, Kent was closed after a banana was spotted in a shipment of bananas.
Of course, some supermarkets sell bananas straight from boxes, which removes one of the checks from the process. A year earlier a shopper in Sydenham popped into Lidl for some bananas, and when he picked up a bunch, a tarantula fell out. The RSPCA had been informed and the spider trapped. The supermarket said the breed of spider had not been identified.
Earlier this summer, a woman in Nuneaton found an egg sack of Brazilian Wandering Spider on a banana she had bought from Aldi. She panicked because the banana had been in her home for days before she spotted it, and she was terrified some had already hatched. In this instance, Aldi agreed to pay for her hotel bill when she and her family moved out - and for the fumigation of the home.
We reported back in 2014 on the couple who had a Brazilian Wandering Spider delivered with their Waitrose shopping to their South London home - along with an egg sack. The shopper tried to trap the spider, which tore off its own leg to escape. Eventually a pest controller used a stick to coax the spider into a box, and took it away.
The good news is that while the venom is poisonous, there is an antidote, and in any case, the bite doesn't always kill. Out of 7,000 bites - only ten people will die.
Having said that, you might still want to double-check the bananas before you plunge your hand into the fruit bowl.
