Brazilian wandering spiders were found crawling around a piece of fruit bought from a British supermarket.
Consi Taylor thought the bananas she bought were moldy until she noticed tiny things fall off of the fruit and scurry around her house. It turned out that the specs were the world's most venomous spiders, The Sun reports.
"I was scared," Taylor told The Sun. "I got halfway through the banana when I saw something white on the skin. I thought it was mold, but when I had a closer look I saw some funny looking spots. I had a closer look and was horrified to see they were spiders. They were hatching out on the table, scurrying around my carpet. I was so scared I cried," the mom-of-two said.
The mother was horrified after spotting dozens of the Brazilian wandering spiders on the skin of the bananas she bought from a supermarket called Sainsbury's.
Taylor, 29, and her husband Richard, 37, took the $1.60 Colombian Fair Trade fruit back to the store and were offered coupons worth $16 as compensation. However before returning the fruit, they took a picture of the insects and sect it to a pest control firm. The Taylor's were told to leave their house because it could be infested with the venomous bugs.
The family was forced to move into a hotel and chemical-suited teams entered their home to fumigate it. The supermarket picked up the $1,600 bill and the Taylors are now back in their home.
A Sainsbury spokesperson apologized for the incident. "We're very sorry and have apologized to Mr. and Mrs. Taylor," they said according to The Sun. "We do have rigorous controls on imported products at all stages - from harvesting to transportation - which is why this is so rare."
The Brazilian wandering spider is typically found in South and Central America and is known to hide in banana plants and other locations. According to Guinness World Records, the species has the most toxic venom in the world. It can cause breathing problems, paralysis and eventual asphyxiation.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
