Bl. Widows & Br. Recluse with crickets at chain stores

[JordanAng420]

So yesterday on my way driving home from dinner with my parents, I realized I didn't have ANY crickets, I only had a few supers left, and no regular mealies. I needed some feeders to hold me over until I could order some from the company I use on Monday. So...I stopped by my local (insert large chain store here). In I walked, mindlessly sort of wandering as I usually do, noticing the reptiles and actually thinking to myself "wow, what a great job they've been doing"

I got to the feeder insect counter, where I found a young employee rummaging through one of the bins, crickets flying EVERYWHERE. I usually get the prepackaged ones when I go there anyway, so I ignored him and started looking at the plastic boxes of crickets. In the last box I picked up, there was a LARGE black spider with a LARGE round abdomen sitting on the inside, right near the hole where my finger was. When I came out of shock enough to be able to speak, I told the kid who nonchalantly just said to me "Yeah, we've had a lot of spiders lately. Mostly brown recluse, but sometimes I see black widows in here. No big deal." No big deal??? Well after another look at the box, I knew exactly what kind of spider was in there, and that the little red spot on her belly wasn't paint. I wasn't wasting any more time in that store. I backed away for a few steps and then I BOLTED from that store as fast as I could. It was a NIGHTMARE.

Anyone share any similar experiances, or do I have the only large pet chain store that doesn't think sending home a black widow with 35 prepackaged crickets (packed by them!!!) is a big deal? Dude actually made a stupid joke...I didn't quite catch it...something about a free pet with the purchase of X amount of crickets...I don't know :main_no:...

 

[gothra]

My gosh, that is too scary! I will never set foot within 100m of that shop! I'm glad you didn't get biten when you had your fingers in there.

 

[sunshinegeckofarm]

i have gotten some sort of spiders along with some of my shipments from a well known supplier. they werent black widows or brown recluse, it looked like a brown widow without the red spot on it. so i wasn't sure what they were but i killed them whenever i seen them otherwise they will kill all the crickets literally. i still use the provider only for the fact of its the cheapest i have found when i have alot of geckos. so yeah i have had similar experiences and hope to not have anymore spiders with my crickets. lol

 

[Kitsune]

I work for.. probably that same big chain pet store..
We get a LOT of brown recluses in with our cricket shipments.. I've never personally seen a black widow, but we NEVER put the boxed crickets with spiders out on the salesfloor and as far as I know.. An e-mail to our corporate and the cricket company is always sent. :3

 

[robin]

i have gotten brown recluses before. thats why i make my husband unload the crickets and generally i end up changing cricket suppliers but still i am so afraid of spider i make him unpack them all lol i hate bugs in my bugs

 

[Ratman667]

i hate bugs in my bugs

Best quote ever!

I have never seen this, but I get my crix from a local pet shop.

 

[ajq1540]

I would like to know what he would have done if you did get bit "Oh it's nothin' only a little scratch it wont hurt." I go to chain stores to get my crickets hand picked not prepackaged.

 

[Mel&Keith]

I'm really glad you posted this. I had forgotten about it but we did get a brown recluse in a cricket shipment once but I didn't know what it was. I hadn't noticed it when I unpacked them but saw it in the cricket bin a few days later. It was a little bitty one. I called Keith in to look at it and he agree that it was a "scary looking" spider so he killed it. I pulled up a brown recluse picture and he confirmed that's what it was. I guess I'll check more carefully when I unload the boxes from now on!

 

[ajveachster]

It does not surprise me that sometimes there are spiders in feeder insect shipments. After all, the bug farms are creating a very inviting environment for spiders who eat other insects. I have had very few spiders in my shipments, but it has happened. None have been of poisonous varieties though. What concerns me is that particular store's nonchalant attitude when this is brought to their attention, and the spiders involved can be dangerous.

 

[JordanAng420]

The "it's no big deal" attitude is what gets me too...the kid actually said to me "If I get bitten by anything, it's just a weeks vacation from work for me, workers compensation, heh heh heh"...Um, right...

I'm so glad they're concerned with the customers that are exposed to potentially deadly arachnids. :main_rolleyes:

I'd say that it deserves a letter to corporate, but I have a feeling the complaint may fall on deaf ears.

 

[ReptileMan27]

WOW can see that being a danger for sure but cant say I have ever had that problem before. I have boughten billions of crickets from various pet stores and in bulk online and cant recall once seeing any spider with them.. I am by no means saying it does not happen because sure it does..

 

[Kitsune]

This is one case where I don't feel that this is the "big chains" fault. Yeah, the associate was an idiot and should have dealt with the situation differently..But still. There are idiots everywhere, unfortunately.

The cricket companies need to check their shipments thoroughly before shipping. I understand it's hard, but it needs to be done.
Every cricket order that I receive at work is checked thoroughly by either myself, my manager or another associate in the department.. However! We still miss stuff. We are not foolproof and something these spiders slip under our radars for a few days. It happens. When we find them, they are removed from the salesfloor.

 

[MonteQ's]

Scary thought! No spiders here yet. Do get the occasional odd bug though.

 

[Mel&Keith]

Maia, a letter might not fall on deaf ears on this one. These big companies don't want to have to deal with lawsuits and someone being hospitalized from a spider bite in their store could certainly cause one. It might help press them for action against the cricket supplier. The corporate offices of the pet store and cricket supplier may not even know that this is going on.

 

[cassadaga]

This thread might be the most terrifying thing I ever heard. I have an extreme irrational fear of spiders....

 

[gothra]

This thread might be the most terrifying thing I ever heard. I have an extreme irrational fear of spiders....

Me too! I can't even stand to see their silk!

 

[Gregg M]

Thats funny because I too have gotten a couple of widows in my crickets...

But I did not run like a chicken... LOL... I scooped them up and made pets out of them...

You Floridians should be used to spiders like that...

 

[paulnj]

I know 2 people who were bitten by brown recluse spiders that where scarred for life from the necrotic skin around the bite. It looked as if they were bitten by a pitviper and they needed skin grafts and where out of work in pain for MONTHS. Obviously a severe allergic reaction, but still possible.

That kid who said that needs to be fired snd should be informed it's not a joking matter.

 

[Misstasha]

i've never had any problems with buying crickets or mealies but wen I went to go to some small pet store for crickets on my way home i was looking at the leopard geckos... There was 8-10 juvies in a tank smaller than a 20 gallon!! The leos had PURPLE BLACK tummmies, extremely thin bodies and a piece of dental floss for a tail!! it was horrible... they obviously had sand in their tank that hadn't been clean since they got the geckos!!

I contacted the SPCA immeditely and haven't been back since!!

 

[robin]

Thats funny because I too have gotten a couple of widows in my crickets...

But I did not run like a chicken... LOL... I scooped them up and made pets out of them...

You Floridians should be used to spiders like that...

you are sick. a sick sick man