A dad had to have his house fumigated after thinking he had found one of the world’s most venomous spiders and its eggs in supermarket fruit.
Christian Holmes, 37, purchased the bagged bunch of bananas from Lidl on May 4, only to notice a huge spider crawling over an egg sack inside the packaging, which said ‘ideal for lunch boxes’ two days later.
On May 5 he had sent his daughter Imogen, eight, to school with a banana without realising it may have come into contact with a type of Brazilian wandering spider.
Finance manager Mr Holmes, from Arnold, Nottingham, killed the spider and another one that had appeared before contacting a pest control company for help. They said the white mass on the Lidl bananas looked to be an egg sac carrying the animal, which is mainly found in northern South America. But is unclear exactly what sub species the animal was – and Lidl claims it is not one that could harm humans.
Mr Holmes said: ‘When I saw a spider on the bananas crawling on the egg sac and then one on my counter, I was mortified.
‘Having killed the two spiders, I took a look at the egg sac and my hairs were standing up on my neck and arms.
‘I immediately put the bananas and the dead spiders outside but I’d had the bananas in the house for two days.
‘I started worrying that there could be more and wanted to know what species they could be.’
He continued: ‘I rang a pest control firm who explained they needed photos to verify the species.
‘Then I panicked realising that my daughter had taken one to school in her packed lunch.
‘When I got the email confirming they were believed to be Brazillian wandering spiders, I didn’t want to go back into the house.
‘I rang the pest control company straight away to get my house fumigated and left my home that very moment.’
JG Pest Control sent a specialist to the house the following day and confirmed that it was a type of Brazilian wandering spider, before advising that the house should be fumigated. However, Lidl claim the animal was in fact not ‘harmful to humans’.
After being contacted, the supermarket offered to pay for Mr Holmes’ house to be fumigated.
His partner and her daughter have been isolating at home during lockdown but the family had no choice but to leave for it to be fumigated. Imogen goes into school when she stays with her Mum, Mr Holmes’ ex, who works for the NHS.
Mr Holmes said: ‘The guy who came to fumigate the house said our home was only the second place in 10 years that he’d ever had to fumigate for Brazillian wandering spiders.
‘He wore a type of mask that covered his whole face and sprayed chemicals around all the skirting boards, doors and windows.
‘We were told not to go in the house afterwards for six hours and, due to lockdown, we had nowhere to go which was really hard with kids.
‘We can’t hoover or wipe the areas treated as the chemicals need to sit for four weeks which is enough time to kill an incubation period of eggs.’
Lidl has paid £359 – the full bill for the fumigation and provided £30 of vouchers as a gesture of goodwill.
A spokesperson for the chain apologised and said an investigation would be launched.
They added: ‘At Lidl, we work very closely with our suppliers to ensure that the fresh fruit and vegetables in our stores are of the highest possible quality for our customers.
‘We were therefore disappointed that, on this occasion, the product did not meet the high standards that both we and our customers expect.’
But, they continued: ‘Based on a thorough assessment of the images provided, the supplier was able to confirm that the spiders were not a species harmful to humans.
‘Nevertheless, as a gesture of goodwill and to provide peace of mind, we offered to cover the costs of fumigation in this instance.’
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