MINNEAPOLIS-
The itsy bitsy spider came crawling out of Dottie Brown’s kitchen sink, but she was just happy it didn’t happen while she was eating the grapes that carried the black widow into her home.
“If that thing had come crawling out then,” Brown said. “Oh, it would have been more than a shriek.”
Brown had been snacking on the grapes several hours earlier after rinsing them off in the sink where she later caught the black widow spider. The eight-legged surprise put her in the startled but small group of grocery customers and employees who encounter the creatures in their produce–usually grapes.
Kevin Elfering, dairy and food inspections director for the state’s Health Department, said he’s heard of about a dozen such cases in 27 years on the job. None has caused any reported harm.
“It can inflict a painful bite,” said Jeff Hahn, a University of Minnesota entomologist who confirmed Brown’s invader was a black widow spider after looking at a photograph.
The black widow’s venom attacks the central nervous system, but contrary to legend it only rarely proves fatal to a human being.
Brown contacted the Kowalski’s Market where they bought the grapes. “This is the first time this has happened here, as far as I know,” said Luanne Schroeck, the assistant manager. Store officials stressed that all produce is carefully checked for pests before being put up for sale.
Elfering said black widow spiders are prevalent in warmer areas where grapes are grown, like California, the American South and Chile.
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Information from: Star Tribune,
