True: Bugs, Spiders and Snakes Found in Local Banana Displays

The world today with speedy transportation has become very small. Products and produce ship around the world from country to country and it's no wonder living things like poisonous snakes and spiders are found in boxes sent to big box and grocery stores.

A story this week out of New Hampshire scared a lot of people and you might be even more nervous to find out it has happened more than once in our area. The New Hampshire story happened over the weekend at the Market Basket in Manchester. When an employee was opening a box of bananas imported from Ecuador, a venomous snake was discovered in the box of fruit. News reports say that a 2-foot Ornate Cat-eyed Snake, a mildly venomous snake species native to Ecuador, was coiled up next to the bushel of bananas. Luckily, the employee had some knowledge of exotic animals and reptiles and immediately contacted wildlife authorities who came and safely removed the snake. No one was injured during the incident.

This story prompted people from the area to call and message into the Keeler Show to report their personal experiences with undesirable guests stowing away in produce boxes. One person said about 20 years ago, they experienced a snake in an imported produce box. He believed the snake turned out to be non-venomous.

Two other listeners had different stories that included spiders. A listener said in Utica about 15 years ago while working at a produce market, he and other employees spotted was black widow spider in a box of bananas. He said when employees tried too capture it, the spider escaped. Eventually, the spider was captured about 2 days later and was removed from the facility.

Another listener said that at a market in the Oneida area, a customer spotted a tarantula nestled into a bunch of bananas she purchased and brought home. She said the friend's husband saw it run behind something in the kitchen. The funny part of the story is that she never knew about it until she saw it days later, still running around their kitchen.

The Black Widow spider is the most venomous spider in North America. If bitten one should wash the surface of the bite with soap and water and call poison control. A bite from a Black Widow causes many complications, but rarely causes death.