A shopper had an unpleasant surprise when she found Brazilian wandering spiders in a pack of supermarket bananas, purchased from the supermarket she works for. The deadly spiders were found in a bunch of bananas purchased in Cliftonville, Margate.
The infamous so-called 'banana spiders' are known to wander the jungle floor at night, often hiding inside banana plants, which means they can go easily undetected on the fruits imported in to the UK.
The spiders are considered to be extremely dangerous to humans as in just minutes of being bitten the venom can cause high or low blood pressure, fast or slow heartbeat, nausea, abdominal pain, convulsions or hypothermia. If untreated, the consequences of a bite can be deadly.
Lee Wright,who works for SOS Pest Control, was called in to Cliftonville to help exterminate the spiders which were nesting. He said that while there have been incidents of cross-breeding between Brazilian wandering spiders and other species commonly found in Britain, it is very unlikely that banana spiders can thrive in the UK.
When asked how often SOS Pest Control has to deal with this species of spiders, Mr Wright said that such calls are 'very rare'. However, the pest control service are prepared to tackle this incident with a 'residual treatment', which kills the spiders over 28 days, a 'UV fogging treatment with a natural agent' and 'insect monitoring stations'.
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