Branford Mom Finds Black Widow Spider In Grapes She Purchased

BRANFORD, CT — A Branford woman's social media post about finding a Black Widow Spider in grapes she purchased Monday at Stop & Shop is going viral as it has been shared more than 5,000 times in less than 24 hours.

"I just found a Black Widow Spider in my organic grapes! I just bought them at The Branford Stop & Shop this morning and wanted everyone to be on the look out!," the mother posted on Monday.

She added in a subsequent social media post that she was eating the grapes and noticed an "unusual web on the first batch I cut from the vine...." When her son asked for more that is when she made the shocking discovery.

"I guess it was my lucky day that I didn’t get bit. Because I had to have touched it. Very scary! Share this so everyone knows to double check the grapes from any store, before letting their kids just dig in!!!!!," the mother said on social media.

Numerous people thanked the woman for posting the message as a way of protecting others.

The woman told NBC Connecticut that Stop & Shop offered to give her double her money back for the grapes.

Stop & Shop in a statement to NBC CT said, "Stop & Shop and our grape growers take necessary measures to keep spiders out of the grapes that are sold. Despite that effort, it is possible for a spider to get into the bunches as they are a part of the natural, organic environment.”

The Branford mother said she's happy that her story has been shared by so many people.

"...I don’t want to discourage anyone from eating grapes or eating healthy. I just want to make people aware that it could happen to anyone and to use caution before just digging in! If I helped just one person from getting bit than I’m glad I shared," she posted on social media.

CBS News produced a list of what it says are the world's most dangerous spiders and the Black Widow Spider came in 7th out of 13th place.

"The bite of a female black widow is thought to be 15 times more potent than that of a rattlesnake. A bite can cause severe muscle pain and spasms, as well as abdominal cramps, for up to a week. More than 2,000 people report black widow bites yearly, but deaths are rare these days," CBS News reports.

Submitted photos