It’s time for a trip to the grocery store and you head to your favorite one, Cosco. You travel first down the produce aisle and get grapes, bananas and the usual produce selections. Then you get home and start to put your groceries away. You pick up your grapes to wash them so you can put them in the frig and you jump back. You see a big ‘ole ugly spider right there on your grapes. You make enough noise that your hubby comes running. He convinces you to trap it in a jar and is pretty sure it is a black widow spider.

This is exactly what happened to Judy Reardon of Michigan who purchased grapes from Cosco last week. The popular grocery store warehouse claims that they sell organic grapes and that pesticides aren’t used on organic foods which explains how a black widow spider might find it’s way into one of their stores. After catching the spider in the jar, Mr. Reardon allowed WCCO-TV to take it to the University of Minnesota’s insect museum, where they confirmed his suspicions.

Mrs. Reardon is not planning on suing Cosco but expresses concern, and wants those who purchase organic fruits to make sure that they carefully inspect these foods and make sure that they are washed thoroughly before giving them to their families.

After mating, female black widow spiders eat their mates which is how they got their name. A bite from a black widow spider can cause someone to become very sick with cramping, nausea and severe pain. Deaths from a black widow spider bite are highly unlikely.

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