“Stay alert!”: Coles shopper warns Aussies after discovering a “HIGHLY VENOMOUS” spider in a bag of grapes
​

Australia is a haven for wildlife — a country where people ‘coexist’ with animals. That's why it's not new news that Aussies find animals in the most unexpected places (like a python wrapped around a car's rearview mirror).

However, one Coles customer's shocking discovery in a bag of grapes has urged him to warn Australians to "stay alert".

Melbourne shopper Tully took to Twitter to warn Aussies of his "venomous" find in a bag of grapes he bought from his local Coles store.

Credit: Twitter/@tullysmith​

The shopper posted an image of an opened bag of grapes with a redback spider lurking among the fruits.

He captioned the photo with: “Got a little bonus in our delicious Coles grapes tonight - a little Christmas visitor #redback #spider,” the shopper wrote.

“Tis the season folks - stay alert. We let this guy go in a safe place in the garden.”

Redbacks are one of the few spider species that can "seriously harm" humans, according to experts.

Additionally, the wet weather conditions across eastern Australia has caused the rise in pests infestation — spiders, termites, mosquitoes, and rodents.

Eastern Australia saw the rise in pest infestations due to the wet weather conditions created by La Nina in the region. Credit: Twitter/@tullysmith.​

Coles responds

A Coles spokesman assured the public that they take many steps to ensure that their products are pest-free before selling them in their stores.

“Redback spiders hiding in crops is an industry-wide issue and Coles is working closely with our suppliers and industry bodies to remove any risk,” the spokesman told 7NEWS.com.au.

“All Coles suppliers are required to keep their fields clean and have pest control systems in place to prevent product contamination during packaging."

“Coles takes the quality of all our products seriously and all grapes are visually inspected at harvest and packing for any pest presence."

“We have contacted the customer and will follow up with our supplier to investigate the matter.”

Have you had any bizarre encounters with pests before? Share your stories with us in the comments below!

 

[Fat&fancy]

“Stay alert!”: Coles shopper warns Aussies after discovering a “HIGHLY VENOMOUS” spider in a bag of grapes
​

Australia is a haven for wildlife — a country where people ‘coexist’ with animals. That's why it's not new news that Aussies find animals in the most unexpected places (like a python wrapped around a car's rearview mirror).

However, one Coles customer's shocking discovery in a bag of grapes has urged him to warn Australians to "stay alert".

Melbourne shopper Tully took to Twitter to warn Aussies of his "venomous" find in a bag of grapes he bought from his local Coles store.

Credit: Twitter/@tullysmith​

The shopper posted an image of an opened bag of grapes with a redback spider lurking among the fruits.

He captioned the photo with: “Got a little bonus in our delicious Coles grapes tonight - a little Christmas visitor #redback #spider,” the shopper wrote.

“Tis the season folks - stay alert. We let this guy go in a safe place in the garden.”

Redbacks are one of the few spider species that can "seriously harm" humans, according to experts.

Additionally, the wet weather conditions across eastern Australia has caused the rise in pests infestation — spiders, termites, mosquitoes, and rodents.

Eastern Australia saw the rise in pest infestations due to the wet weather conditions created by La Nina in the region. Credit: Twitter/@tullysmith.​

Coles responds

A Coles spokesman assured the public that they take many steps to ensure that their products are pest-free before selling them in their stores.

“Redback spiders hiding in crops is an industry-wide issue and Coles is working closely with our suppliers and industry bodies to remove any risk,” the spokesman told 7NEWS.com.au.

“All Coles suppliers are required to keep their fields clean and have pest control systems in place to prevent product contamination during packaging."

“Coles takes the quality of all our products seriously and all grapes are visually inspected at harvest and packing for any pest presence."

“We have contacted the customer and will follow up with our supplier to investigate the matter.”

Have you had any bizarre encounters with pests before? Share your stories with us in the comments below!

I think I would rather find a spider amongst the grapes than have them sprayed with toxic chemicals!

 

[PepeLePew]

I love Redback Spiders, they use to live quite happily on my front verandah until gecko's moved in and ate them all :-(

 

[Fat&fancy]

I love Redback Spiders, they use to live quite happily on my front verandah until gecko's moved in and ate them all :-(

I've heard of enjoying a good red, but that's ridiculous!

 

[JustPat]

Once I bought some baby spinach at Woolworths and found a dried up frog in it and sent them an email with photo and got a similar explanation as Coles have given and they asked me for my address and sent me a $50 gift card as a thank you for alerting them and compensation for my time.

 

[Defiant540]

“Stay alert!”: Coles shopper warns Aussies after discovering a “HIGHLY VENOMOUS” spider in a bag of grapes
​

Australia is a haven for wildlife — a country where people ‘coexist’ with animals. That's why it's not new news that Aussies find animals in the most unexpected places (like a python wrapped around a car's rearview mirror).

However, one Coles customer's shocking discovery in a bag of grapes has urged him to warn Australians to "stay alert".

Melbourne shopper Tully took to Twitter to warn Aussies of his "venomous" find in a bag of grapes he bought from his local Coles store.

Credit: Twitter/@tullysmith​

The shopper posted an image of an opened bag of grapes with a redback spider lurking among the fruits.

He captioned the photo with: “Got a little bonus in our delicious Coles grapes tonight - a little Christmas visitor #redback #spider,” the shopper wrote.

“Tis the season folks - stay alert. We let this guy go in a safe place in the garden.”

Redbacks are one of the few spider species that can "seriously harm" humans, according to experts.

Additionally, the wet weather conditions across eastern Australia has caused the rise in pests infestation — spiders, termites, mosquitoes, and rodents.

Eastern Australia saw the rise in pest infestations due to the wet weather conditions created by La Nina in the region. Credit: Twitter/@tullysmith.​

Coles responds

A Coles spokesman assured the public that they take many steps to ensure that their products are pest-free before selling them in their stores.

“Redback spiders hiding in crops is an industry-wide issue and Coles is working closely with our suppliers and industry bodies to remove any risk,” the spokesman told 7NEWS.com.au.

“All Coles suppliers are required to keep their fields clean and have pest control systems in place to prevent product contamination during packaging."

“Coles takes the quality of all our products seriously and all grapes are visually inspected at harvest and packing for any pest presence."

“We have contacted the customer and will follow up with our supplier to investigate the matter.”

Have you had any bizarre encounters with pests before? Share your stories with us in the comments below!

redback spider is a "female" I believe

 

[Fat&fancy]

I think I would rather find a spider amongst the grapes than have them sprayed with toxic chemicals!

Absolutely!

 

[Fat&fancy]

I see this is an old thread, there's only been one death in the last 70 years from a redback bite.