Black Widow Spider Reported In Grapes At Langhorne BJ's

A customer found a venomous black widow spider in a cluster of grapes purchased at a Bucks County retailer, according to multiple reports.

Morrisville resident Amy Reed reportedly purchased the organic grapes last week at BJ’s Wholesale Club in Langhorne.

Black widow spiders are considered the most venomous spiders in North America, according to National Geographic.

Reed said she saw the spider when she took the grapes out to wash them and immediately recognized it, according to a report by 6ABC.

“I just grabbed it with a pair of pliers, one of its legs, and I missed it the first time. It fell onto its back and that’s when you could see the little red hourglass. I was like ‘you’ve got to be kidding me,” Reed told the news network.

Reed tells the Philadelphia Inquirer she spent time on her grandmother’s farm growing up and was able to recognize the black widow by its hourglass-shaped mark.

BJ’s told the Inquirer that its food safety officer will be checking the store’s produce. The distributor who grew the grapes, located in California, has been notified.

According to National Geographic, the black widow’s venom is “15 times stronger than a rattlesnake’s.”

The spider is small yet dangerous — it’s about the size of a paper clip.

“In humans, bites produce muscle aches, nausea, and a paralysis of the diaphragm that can make breathing difficult; however, contrary to popular belief, most people who are bitten suffer no serious damage—let alone death. But bites can be fatal—usually to small children, the elderly, or the infirm. Fortunately, fatalities are fairly rare; the spiders are nonaggressive and bite only in self-defense, such as when someone accidentally sits on them,” National Geographic said.