Whatever happened to … ?: Spider from Walmart banana bunch generated awareness [Duluth News Tribune, Minn.]

Dec. 31--Sheila Terry and her husband keep a Brazilian wandering spider in a baby-food jar filled with alcohol on top of their refrigerator, out of sight. The bunch of bananas the spider rode into their home is in the freezer and possibly will be used to make banana bread.

The 4-inch hitchhiker with deadly venom fell out of a bunch of bananas the

Hayward woman purchased from the Superior Walmart in April. It was a story that spread around the country -- though it received no acknowledgement from the store beyond an insurance claim form, Terry said.

"Which was sad," Terry said. "It did generate, which was our wish, some public awareness. Throughout the year we've made laughing comments about bananas and spiders."

Terry said she was put in contact with Del Monte Fresh Produce, who apologized, offered her produce -- specifying it didn't have to be bananas -- and explained the safeguards that are taken to prevent similar situations.

"That was refreshing," Terry said.

Del Monte did not return a phone call from the News Tribune.

The spider was identified as a likely Brazilian wandering spider by Larry Weber, a member of the American Arachnological Society and a nature writer who wrote the book "Spiders of the North Woods." Terry said they sent photographs of the spider to Del Monte, which confirmed the genus of the spider typically found in tropical climates.

Two lawyers expressed an interest in the case, and both lawyers later decided not to pursue it, Terry said. They held on to the spider, bananas and receipt for the purchase at the advice of one of the lawyers.

Walmart did not return a phone call.

She hasn't been traumatized by the situation, Terry said, but it has affected her in a few ways:

She only shops at Walmart when it is necessary, though it is necessary more often that she would like. She is extra-alert when purchasing produce. Terry still buys bananas, but pulls them apart one by one and puts them into a bag. She no longer looks at spiders as harmless little things, and seeing spiders on the Discovery Channel makes her skittish.

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