A young mum is worried a deadly spider could be on the loose in her home after finding a suspected “nest” on a banana.
Full-time mum Michaela Egan, 24, noticed the white webbing on the last of a bunch of bananas yesterday, four days after she had bought them from Tesco in Bridge Road, Rainham.
She immediately took it to the store in a lunch box, where staff apologised and sent it off for testing to determine what the “nest” is.
As it appears to have been disturbed, Michaela, her partner William and two young children face an anxious wait having seen recent news stories about Brazilian wandering spiders – the Guiness Book of World Records’ most venomous arachnid.
One was found at a warehouse in Tamworth just weeks ago, while an Aldi in Nuneaton was recently closed after a scare which turned out to be a false alarm.
“I’m worried about the fact there could be a dangerous spider in my house!” said Michaela, of Mygrove Gardens, Rainham.
“My daughter is five and my son is one, along with our new puppy that eats anything shes finds on the floor and a cat.”
“My daughter Ella-Mae came to Tesco with me to take it back. I didn’t tell her anything though – she is already scared of spiders!”
Brazilian wandering spiders are so-called because they don’t build webs but walk the jungle at night looking for prey.
In 2005, a British man spent a week in hospital after being bitten by one that had come over in a shipment of bananas.
And a Tesco in Chatham, Kent, was closed after one was spotted in 2008.
A spokeswoman for the supermarket said: “We set ourselves the highest standards for the quality of our produce.
“Our customer service team are investigating this inquiry and will be in touch with Ms Egan as soon as possible.”
In 2013, Collier Row father Ricki Whitmore almost lost a leg after being bitten by a venomous false widow spider.
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