US (WI): Spiders in store may come from bananas
At the end of May, three spiders the size of a quarter to a half-dollar were logged in on a pest log at Walmart, 1536 Egg Harbor Road, Sturgeon Bay, according to Rhonda Kolberg, who heads the Door County Health Department.
Kolberg said she received no calls from the general public, but she investigated after the Door County Advocate made an inquiry. Two confidential sources told the Advocate that store employees had found several venomous spiders.
Kolberg said she spoke with three local managers June 11 who outlined what should happen if an employee finds a spider at the store. They are to contain it and call a manager so the pest can be logged in and identified, she said. The recently reported spiders included one that arrived dead, one that was alive, and one that was wandering in the break room so it could not be determined whether it came from bananas .
"There is no problem," Kolberg said. "Spiders coming in on produce is not unheard of. We have no evidence there are any problems."
Kolberg said she was satisfied Walmart employees will monitor incoming shipments but was not aware of any identification of those spiders found. Formal identification is made by the Department of Agriculture out of the USDA jurisdiction in Maryland, she said. But Walmart hires a pest control company that picks up specimens and identifies them for the store.
Source: greenbaypressgazette.com
