http://canoe.ca/NewsStand/EdmontonSun/News/2004/12/03/763568.html
FREDERICTON -- The increased reliance of U.S. grape growers on creepy-crawlies for pest control is leading to a growing number of frightening encounters. Black widow spiders are now appearing fairly regularly in Canadian fruit bins, including two of the potentially deadly arachnids that recently hitched a ride to the northeastern New Brunswick town of Caraquet.
Seven-year-old Charles Godin and his six-year-old sister, Raphaelle, were the first to discover an unusual-looking spider when they were unpacking grapes from a grocery bag in their Caraquet home. "The spider was alive and walking on the floor. (My friend) Florent caught it in a plastic container," Godin said. The local grocery store where the grapes had been purchased discovered another black widow lurking amongst the red globe grapes from California.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency's Noella LeBlanc said black widows have recently turned up in grapes sent to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland as well as in New Brunswick. There have also been several incidents in Ontario and further West.
The bite of a female black widow, whose name comes from its habit of eating the male spider after mating, can cause illness and, in rare cases, death in children, seniors and people with compromised immune systems.
The agency says the black widow is distinctive due to its shiny, round body; brown or black colour and two reddish or yellowish triangles in the shape of an hourglass on its abdomen.
:-o eeek! Got to wash our grapes for now on.
FREDERICTON -- The increased reliance of U.S. grape growers on creepy-crawlies for pest control is leading to a growing number of frightening encounters. Black widow spiders are now appearing fairly regularly in Canadian fruit bins, including two of the potentially deadly arachnids that recently hitched a ride to the northeastern New Brunswick town of Caraquet.
Seven-year-old Charles Godin and his six-year-old sister, Raphaelle, were the first to discover an unusual-looking spider when they were unpacking grapes from a grocery bag in their Caraquet home. "The spider was alive and walking on the floor. (My friend) Florent caught it in a plastic container," Godin said. The local grocery store where the grapes had been purchased discovered another black widow lurking amongst the red globe grapes from California.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency's Noella LeBlanc said black widows have recently turned up in grapes sent to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland as well as in New Brunswick. There have also been several incidents in Ontario and further West.
The bite of a female black widow, whose name comes from its habit of eating the male spider after mating, can cause illness and, in rare cases, death in children, seniors and people with compromised immune systems.
The agency says the black widow is distinctive due to its shiny, round body; brown or black colour and two reddish or yellowish triangles in the shape of an hourglass on its abdomen.
:-o eeek! Got to wash our grapes for now on.
