World's deadliest spiders nesting on my banana from Sainsbury's: Family forced to spend three nights in hotel and have property fumigated after Brazilian species invaded their home



Pest control firm warned of possible infestation of the deadly spiders

Consi Taylor saw the tiny spiders jump from the banana she was eating

Their home had to be fumigated for three days while they stayed in hotel

Supermarket initially offered the family a £10 voucher following discovery



They have since paid £1,000 for hotel as well as cleaning and fumigation bills



As she bit into a banana, Consi Taylor noticed some strange spots on its skin.



At first she thought it was just bruising...until each tiny mark dropped on to her carpet and scurried off into hiding.



But while her horror at the creepy-crawly stowaways was bad enough, there was worse to come.



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The Taylors were forced to stay in a hotel when their home became infested with Brazilian wandering spiders One of the world's most venomous spiders, the female of the species can grow to have a leg span of 6in

After sending a photograph of the insects to pest control experts, she was told they were suspected to be Brazilian wandering spiders, one of the world’s most venomous types, whose bite can kill within two hours.



And worse still, her home could now be infested. The female of the species can grow to have a leg span of 6in.



Mrs Taylor, aged 29, and her teacher husband Richard, 37, were forced to spend three nights in a hotel with their children, Benjamin, three, and four-month-old Annabel, while their house was fumigated and deep-cleaned. Yesterday housewife Mrs Taylor told how her semi-detached home in Hampton, south-west London, was invaded by the toxic arachnids.'

She had taken the fruit from a £1 bunch of Colombian Fair Trade bananas bought in her local Sainsbury’s, and eaten about half when she noticed the 3mm-long dots that resembled mould or bruising. But then she spotted the white nest at the bottom of the fruit.



‘I screamed, it was horrible,’ she said. ‘I’m scared of spiders anyway so I had to get a friend to come round to hoover them up. Then we cleaned the floor with anti-bacterial wipes.’



Luckily her son had turned down a share of the banana before he went out to play football.

At first Consi Taylor thought her banana was bruised... until each tiny mark dropped on to her carpet

Sainsbury’s gave Mrs Taylor a £10 voucher when she returned the fruit, but she insisted on having the spiders identified.



She sent a picture of the creatures to a pest control company, which quickly named them as ‘lethal’ Brazilian wandering spiders – and warned there could still be some lurking in her home.



Guinness World Records lists the species as the most toxic spider on earth. Its venom is said to be 30 times more powerful than that of a rattlesnake. Humans bitten by one can suffer an irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, vomiting and eventual death. To emphasise its nastiness, the spider’s scientific name is ‘phoneutria nigriventer’ – the first word being Greek for ‘murderess’.



Hatchlings do not pack the full poisonous punch of mature adults, but the pest controllers advised evacuating the three-bedroom house. The family is now back home and Sainsbury’s has paid them £2,800 for the inconvenience.

Evacuated: Consi Taylor and her family were forced to flee their south-west London home for a hotel

Sainsbury's paid £1,000 to cover the family's hotel bill, fumigation and dry cleaning now the Taylors have returned home (file picture). They were initially offered just a £10 voucher

Yesterday a store spokesman issued an apology, saying: ‘We do have rigorous controls on imported products at all stages – from harvesting to transportation – which is why this is so rare.’ A source at the chain insisted the creatures are unlikely to survive in Britain either inside or outside, because they need warmth and humidity.



Mrs Taylor said: ‘The pest control people said every living thing in our house is now dead, but I’m still terrified one is still alive.



‘I’d never heard of Brazilian wandering spiders before all this and I can’t imagine what it would be like facing a fully grown one. I was trembling and shaking inside when I found out what they can do to you. We kill every spider we see in the house now.



‘We used to use a postcard and paper cup and carry them outside and put them in the garden, but we’re killing them all now for our safety and sanity.’

