I found huntsman spider with huge egg sac in my bananas from supermarket – I reeled back in horror when I saw it
A TERRIFIED shopper found a giant huntsman spider lurking in his bunch of Tesco bananas.
Craig Harrison, 35, scoffed one banana before spotting the female huntsman — and its bulging 200-egg sac.
The world’s biggest arachnid can grow to 12 inches across.
Craig, of Windsor, Berks, told The Sun: “Initially, I was just in shock. I stumbled backwards and lost my balance.”
He grew more appalled when he noticed the “scary and evil-looking” beast carrying its egg sac, which can contain up to 200 babies.
He is now fighting the supermarket for more compensation, adding: “I didn’t think I was scared of spiders until this but it turns out I might have developed something.”
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Craig had to coax the spider into a Tupperware box to send to Tesco’s pest control service, which confirmed it came from suppliers in the Dominican Republic.
The London Zoological Society last night identified the spider as a tropical huntsman, which are attracted to bananas and hide in them.
Their bite is not deadly to humans but the venom can cause heart palpitations, vomiting and headaches.
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The average huntsman can be 6ins across.
The largest one ever found, with a 12ins leg-span, was discovered in a cave in Laos.
Tesco apologised to IT worker Craig and offered £100 compensation for last month’s mishap.
He wants more, saying: “The money doesn’t even come to a big weekly shop.”
He said he could have been nipped by the female defending her eggs, or even bitten into her.
Tesco’s supplier has since increased checks.
The grocery giant said: “We have robust processes to prevent spiders travelling with our fruit but on very rare occasions they can sometimes sneak through.”
Expert Sara Goodacre, of the University of Nottingham, said the huntsman was “obviously adult size”.
The RSPCA added: “We always advise not to handle any accidentally imported animal.”