29 year old Consi Taylor thought she had seen mould on the banana she was eating and noticed the spots were in fact spiders.
Scared Consi explained: ‘I had a closer look and was horrified to see they were spiders. They were hatching out on the table, scurrying around on my carpet. I was so scared I started crying.’
Sainsburys initially compensated Consi with a £10 voucher, but after getting in touch with pest control the situation revealed itself as more serious than previously thought.
The pest control firm quickly intervened after informing Consi and her family that the spiders were Brazilian Wandering spiders- one of the most dangerous spider breeds in the world.
Consi was forced to flee her home in London with her two young children, 3-year-old Benjamin and 4-month-old Annabel. The pest control firm warned: ‘The Brazilian Wandering Spider is venomous and should be considered dangerous. We have to take huge care and diligence.’
A bite from the Brazilian Wandering spider can, in some cases, cause convulsions in mammals. On rare occasions their bite can be fatal.
In 2005, a pub chef in Somerset was bitten by a deadly stowaway and took over a week to recover after receiving medical attention.
It cost over £1000 to pay for fumigation (and temporary accommodation) in order to make the family home completely safe again. They also had to dry clean all their clothes to ensure that all traces of the spiders were gone.
Consi has been left scarred by the incident: ‘I hope I didn’t eat one but I can’t be sure. I now have a phobia of buying bananas. We don’t know whether they’ve all gone.’