Woman Terrified after Exotic Spider Experience
A woman who found a large black spider in her Donegal home has said she has been terrified by the experience and cannot sleep since the discovering it in a bunch of bananas.
The spider described as large, jet black and with very thick legs, emerged from a bunch of bananas in the kitchen of Jan Crawford's home in Manorcunningham on Friday.
Her husband Norman managed to move the spider into an outside bin after it crawled out of the bananas which he had just brought home from a supermarket.
As far as Jan is concerned the spider, which she said moved very fast, is still in the bin. Despite making phone calls to the Gardaí, the Health Service Executive and Donegal County Council, she does not know what to do about it.
"It was the biggest spider I have ever seen, very large and looked like something you would see on television.
"It's been a nightmare for me. I have never see anything like this. I haven't been sleeping right since and I can't get it out of my head. It's not like a spider you would see climbing up the wall, it was massive with big thick legs."
Sean McClafferty of Donegal Pet Rescue said incidents of exotic insects being imported into the country are on the increase. He said it was very possible such a spider could be dangerous.
"A lot of insects are coming in with foreign foods and there was a case of a car dealership where some very rare insects had infested a very expensive jeep that came in from Japan.
"The best thing to do in such a case is to contact the local veterinary surgeon so they can try and isolate it. You should not try to move it or kill it because you don't know what will happen and there are laws protecting exotic insects. The bin is a good place for it."
Gardaí in Letterkenny confirmed they had received a report of the incident.
Derry Journal: September 2009
