Is Your Produce Safe? Widow Spider Found In NH Grapes

Not long ago, a story broke in several media outlets about a woman from Northwood, New Hampshire bought a bag of grapes at the Market Basket in Lee. When she unpacked her groceries, she discovered a widow spider staring back at her.

I would have moved.

The woman's name, according to WMUR, is Calista Plaisted of Northwood. When she saw the spider, she vacuumed it up thinking it was just a regular, every day, terrifying spider. Then, she looked it up on the internet and found that it was, in fact, a widow spider.

At that point, she threw the vacuum outside because the spider could have still been alive in the vacuum canister, then the vacuum ended up in the dumpster.

My theory is that potentially, this spider is still alive, in somebody's dumpster in Northwood, New Hampshire, but that's just a thought that will come back to me at some point at 3am. No big deal. Not that I would have known what to do. Calista is my hero for taking action. I would still be passed out.

Venomous Spiders, Poisonous Snakes - No, Not an Exotic Zoo, Just Your Local Grocery Store

Apparently, when WMUR called UNH, they confirmed that his was a male widow spider which is much smaller that the female black widow spider.

Black Widow Spiders Have Made Their Way to Dover, NH

When I was talking about this on the air, I got a call from Erik who said he used to work at Siegals on Central Avenue in Dover, NH. (That's going BACK, Erik!) He said that they used to get some produce from Brazil. He and his co-workers discovered a black widow spider once, so these things happen much more than we probably even know about!

About 10 years ago, a family went grocery store shopping in Epping, New Hampshire and came home with a black widow spider inside their bunch of grapes. Must be all the nooks and crannies they can hide in that makes them such desirable real estate for the creepy crawlers.

Poisonous Snake Found in the Bananas at Market Basket in Manchester, NH

Earlier this year, a poisonous snake was found in the bananas at Market Basket on Elm Street in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Exotic animals, insects, etc., show up all the time with the goods that we get from other parts of the world. It's not their fault, they are just trying to survive. Most of these we probably never even know about.

This reinforces the need to WASH YOUR PRODUCE before you dive into that bag of grapes, berries, bananas, lettuce, etc., etc. You never know what you'll find.

Here's a List of All the Snakes Native to Massachusetts (Two Can Kill You)

Did you know that there's a species of rattlesnake found in the Bay State? Or that two of our local venomous serpents can be deadly to humans — but despite what your parents told you, the water moccasin isn't one of them? (They don't even live in Massachusetts.) Love them or hate them, these slithery little suckers are everywhere. Here's what snakes you're most likely to find in your backyard.

Gallery Credit: Kate Robinson