Rank: Forum user 
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Hi All,
We have just received a shipping container back from South Africa, we have found some spiders inside. Do we need to notify anyone other than our pest control company (EA etc.)?
Steve
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Rank: Super forum user 
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For the best answer search the web (where's my hat?)
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Rank: Super forum user
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Rank: Forum user
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Thanks m,
I had seen this story, kind of what got me thinking about notification!
as for your first post, I have just seen tumbleweed roll past my window and heard the distant peel of bells ;) !!
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Rank: Super forum user
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Years ago when I worked for HSE I inspected banana ripening premises from time to time. Basically they had sealed rooms into which ethylene gas was introduced to speed up the ripening of large bunches of newly imported bananas prior to distribution and sale. Most fruits naturally emit ethylene which helps them to ripen, but bananas do so especially and respond quickly to artificially added ethylene, hence the process. The main precautions required at banana ripening premises reflect the fact that ethylene is both combustible and an asphyxiant.
However, the employees I met at such premises invariably related how they sometimes encountered large exotic spiders which had arrived as unwitting stowaways with the bananas. As some of the types of spiders encountered had seriously poisonous bites, the employees were notably vigilant for them when dealing with newly arrived bananas. As I don't recall learning if any formal notification then had to be made about any spiders found, it's appropriate to ask what requirements, if any, apply nowadays. I suspect that most of the spiders found at the ripening premises were promptly despatched by being clonked with a piece of wood or whatever else came to hand. However, I recall one employee saying that he had kept a few and/or given them to friends as pets! I trust he bothered to find out what variety they were and thus what precautions were needed for handling/containing them.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Our Plant health Inspectors often come across spiders etc when they check fruit and veg cargoes. They are supposed to wear gloves etc to protect themselves against this risk. If you or your pest controller want to check what the little beasties are then you should contact the Natural History Museum. If they are plant pests then our inspectors need to contact us at http://www.fera.defra.go...contactUs/contactPlh.cfm It is illegal to import and release any animal into the UK. So if you do find some exotic spider or scorpion, don’t just chuck it out and hope it finds a home somewhere. Contact Animal Health at http://www.defra.gov.uk/...naging-disease/index.htm
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Rank: Super forum user
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Just put your foot down!
David
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Rank: Super forum user
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Can we not talk about spiders please :-(
...for those without a sense of humour I am joking I am just terrified of spiders so don't like to even think about them.
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Rank: Forum user
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This is for you StevenN (not for you Clairel) I remember in the late 1950s, when my grandfather's fruit & veg business used to buy the big wooden crates of bananas from Smithfield market in Manchester. We used to find spiders in them quite regularly. I was told that they were most likely fairly harmless bird-eating spiders and the dynamic risk assessment in those days (following ERICPD principles) was as someone has already mentioned. However, I draw your attention to this - http://en.wikipedia.org/...azilian_wandering_spiderNot easy reading but seems to be an extremely efficient substitute for viagra!!! Trouble is, when you die, the wife has a big smile on her face. Nuts!!!
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Rank: Forum user
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Steve,
We experience similar such problems on occasion, spiders from India etc... The last ‘event’ we had was potentially very damaging as we had to isolate and secure a complete warehouse until the ‘offender’ was captured... you can just see the lost £$£$£$ racking up and especially when I advise that this was a major car manufacturer who needed the components to keep the line rolling!!!
On this occasion a cat had landed at the warehouse dock in the back of a container from Turkey, and jumped out into the warehouse... the long and short of it is that TRADING STANDARDS have responsibility for such events and will advise accordingly. (all, I know it sounds daft, please don’t bog me down with questions, I am correct, I’ve been through it!). On this occasion we had to secure the warehouse until a vet arrived, captured the cat, put it down and took a sample for rabies testing.
If you pm me with your contact addy, I have a tool box talk covering such eventualities that you can utilise.
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