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user posted image rA tarantula was spotted lurking in a bunch of grapes - as a father prepared to give them to his four-year-old boy. Kevin Hudson, 40, of Elmswell, Suffolk, found the spider in the grapes he had bought at Asda, in nearby Stowmarket, as he washed them for son Rhys. He caught the 2.5in (5cm) creature and took it to his local vet and it is now being housed at a local reptile centre. "Naturally if this has caused the customer any distress we are of course very sorry," said an Asda spokeswoman. Mr Hudson said he was washing the grapes when the spider crawled out. "I was a little bit shocked," he said. "Spiders don't bother me too much, although it would have been a different story if my wife had been washing them." The spider, docile after two days in the fridge, was caught in a plastic box and taken to a local vet, and is now housed at Abbey Aquatics and Reptiles. "It's just a small Chilean Tarantula with a lovely black abdomen and pink zebra markings on the back," Colin White, of Abbey Aquatics and Reptiles, said. "We get about half a dozen calls a year from various supermarkets and grocers about the area to come and pick them (creatures) up. "More often than not they are just frogs that have come in on bananas but we do get a few tarantulas - we have even had a couple of snakes over the years." An Asda spokeswoman said the firm sold more 30 million bags of grapes a year and had never had a report of a tarantula on a bunch.

"It's highly unlikely that a spider of this size could have hitched a ride as we have strict procedures in place to stop this sort of thing from happening," the spokeswoman said. "It is for this reason why we need to get the spider back to accurately identify what variety it is, its country of origin and how it got into the grapes."

linked-image View: Full Article | Source: BBC News
Moon Demon
QUOTE
if this has caused the customer any distress


!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That would distress me to say the least. I shudder just thinking of it, without actually holding up a bunch of grapes only to see a tarantula inside of them crying.gif
crtDzyn
Yummy
glorybebe
QUOTE (crtbud @ May 15 2008, 11:52 AM) *
Yummy


The grapes and the spider would have been flying against a wall if that was me. UGH!
Promethius
I've heard of tarantulas amongst bananas, but this is the first time I've heard of them in grapes thumbsup.gif
could give someone an awful fright to say the least...
Finsup22
QUOTE (glorybebe @ May 15 2008, 01:56 PM) *
The grapes and the spider would have been flying against a wall if that was me. UGH!


*gasp* ohmy.gif

Your an anti-taranulite! *shakes fist* tongue.gif
omerta
These grapes taste crunchy..
omerta
These grapes taste crunchy..
glorybebe
QUOTE (Finsup22 @ May 15 2008, 12:09 PM) *
*gasp* ohmy.gif

Your an anti-taranulite! *shakes fist* tongue.gif


Yes, I am! My roomate's tarantula went missing once. She found it, but it man, was I freaking out! Bloody thing.
DONTEATUS
How`s that song? " I Dont like Spiders and Snakes" LoL me Too on the snakes!
FairyJosie24
I'm with you, Glory. They would have gone flying, with me alternating between shrieking and yelling "Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew!" God, I hate spiders... actually, most bugs in general.... *shudders*
chrisfreak
They would have end up inside my vacuum cleaner if it was me. Yes... I kill spiders with it
Almighty89
QUOTE (chrisfreak @ May 15 2008, 05:27 PM) *
They would have end up inside my vacuum cleaner if it was me. Yes... I kill spiders with it

Yeah, hmm... just don't open the bag, you might get a suprise.
BaneSilvermoon
*cries for the spiders*

Ya know most bugs really freak me out if they are in my home. But I've actually been known to bring spiders in and set them free to roam. I've got 4 spider tattoos (so I obviously like them somewhat) and really I'd much rather have a spider in my room than the creatures it would be eating.
SirRedeye
("Yeah, hmm... just don't open the bag, you might get a suprise.")

me, arachnaphobic? YES! ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww.....

i did that once, sucked up a black widow with my vaccum- i went to change the bag a couple days later, that damn thing was still alive. crying.gif thumbdown.gif
Incorrigible1
QUOTE (Promethius @ May 15 2008, 02:02 PM) *
I've heard of tarantulas amongst bananas, but this is the first time I've heard of them in grapes thumbsup.gif
could give someone an awful fright to say the least...

That tarantulas were found among bananas was evidently far more common in an earlier day. My eighty-something mom mentions it wasn't completely uncommon to find giant spiders amongst banana bunches when she was a girl.
DONTEATUS
They get a really bad rap here on earth,wonder in the universe,and we may find a whole planet of spiders ruleing the place and they are really big.And stomp on the little humans that infest there planet. Hum? sounds like a movie. cool.gif
Asphodel
I would have just picked it up, put it in a cage, and found out the exact species and if I could keep it. It's only a tarantula.
chrisfreak
QUOTE (SirRedeye @ May 16 2008, 04:43 AM) *
("Yeah, hmm... just don't open the bag, you might get a suprise.")

me, arachnaphobic? YES! ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww.....

i did that once, sucked up a black widow with my vaccum- i went to change the bag a couple days later, that damn thing was still alive. crying.gif thumbdown.gif


Really??!! crying.gif Dang, I have to suck much more dust for a couple of weeks then, before I change the bag
Robert1
What surprises me is the fact that the man actually took it to a vet.
I myself would have stomped on the thing the moment I discovered it.
nitr0gen
I've heard of spiders on bananas, but never grapes. *shudders* I can't stand spiders.
Bear's Quest
I feel for the grape-pickers, they have to go into the vines to cut and bag'em.

Who knows how many of them were bit or stung.

:PsYKoTiC:BeHAvIoR:
QUOTE (Dan89 @ May 15 2008, 08:48 PM) *
Yeah, hmm... just don't open the bag, you might get a suprise.


I can picture it happening like a facehugger leaping at someone's face in any Alien movie. Heh.
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