A deadly Brazilian wandering spider (Picture: WikiCommons/Techuser)

A family had to move into a hotel and fumigate their home after deadly South American spiders began hatching out of a bunch of Sainsbury’s bananas.

Terrified Consi Taylor, 29, said she saw something that looked like mould on a Colombian Fairtrade banana she was eating.

However, on closer inspection she said she saw some ‘funny looking spots’ and realised something was wrong.

‘I had a closer look and was horrified to see they were spiders. They were hatching out on the table, scurrying around on my carpet. I was so scared I started crying,’ she told The Sun.


Sainsbury’s initially gave Consi and her husband Richard, 37, a £10 voucher to make up for their troubles but that wasn’t the end of the story.



The couple and their two young children were forced to flee their home after sending a picture of the infestation to a pest control firm – who promptly told the Taylors they might be venomous Brazilian Wandering spiders.

The family escaped their London home for three days with Benjamin, three, and four-month-old Annabel, after the firm’s email warned: ‘The Brazilian Wandering Spider is venomous and should be considered dangerous. We have to take huge care and diligence.’

Following the lengthy fumigation, the family had to dry-clean all their clothes and racked up a total bill of £1,000 which covered hotel costs and pest control measures – which Sainsbury’s paid for them.

The spiders, also known as Phoneutria, are indigenous to South America and parts of Central America such as Costa Rica.

They are extremely toxic and can cause convulsions and in mammals if they bite them.

‘I hope I didn’t eat one but I can’t be sure. I now have a phobia of buying bananas. We don’t know whether they’ve all gone,’ Consi added.