H-E-B responds after venomous spider found in Christmas decoration at San Antonio store

A San Antonio Express-News reporter spotted a black widow spider while shopping at an H-E-B on the city's North Side Nov. 21, 2017. A San Antonio Express-News reporter spotted a black widow spider while shopping at an H-E-B on the city's North Side Nov. 21, 2017. Photo: Paul Stephen Photo: Paul Stephen Image 1 of / 36 Caption Close H-E-B responds after venomous spider found in Christmas decoration at San Antonio store 1 / 36 Back to Gallery

An H-E-B spokesperson said a black widow spider found on a small Christmas tree at a North Side store was a first for the grocery chain.

San Antonio Express-News reporter Paul Stephen was out shopping when he picked up a small Christmas tree outside the H-E-B at 300 W. Olmos Drive Tuesday. He noticed a black spider clinging to the tree's branches.

"I saw the spider, snapped the requisite Instagram pic, put it down and moved on to the next tree," Stephen told mySA.com. "Black widows aren't that uncommon, so it didn't occur to me to freak out."

Allen Knutson, an extension entomologist at Texas A&M University, examined Stephen's photo of the spider and confirmed it was a black widow.

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"Yes, it looks like a black widow," Knutson said, adding, "these spiders can be found in a wide variety of locations, including trees and shrubbery."

H-E-B spokesperson Dya Campos told mySA.com the trees are delivered to stores within 48 hours of being chopped down, and can bring "elements of nature" with them.

"It's wise to shake out insects while shaking out the needles before putting a tree in a house. Similar to, in Texas we are accustom to shake out our boots before putting them on," she wrote in an email.

David Ragsdale heads the Department of Entomology at Texas A&M University, and said where insects are found, so are their predators — spiders. Depending on where a tree is located, there can be a number of different insects found.

"Although the venom in a black widow is fairly toxic, the spider has a difficult time piercing human skin and most people are large enough that the venom is not lethal," he said.

Robert Puckett, who also works in the entomology department, said black widows are pretty common in Texas and can make their way into homes via Christmas trees, though it's hard to say how often spiders hitch rides on a tree all the way to a store or home.

"We do know quite commonly, people bring Christmas trees and other potted plants that have sort of unwanted hitchhikers," he said, referring to the spider. "The key is just to inspect the tree before you bring it into your house."

Kelsey Bradshaw is a digital reporter for mySA.com. Read more of her stories here.| kbradshaw@express-news.net | Twitter:@Kbrad5