The Unexpected Thing You Might Find In Grocery Store Grapes

It's hard not to like grapes. Even if you don't like just snacking on them, grapes give us wine, oatmeal raisin cookies, and peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches. Grapes aren't hard to find either. Per Spruce Eats, almost every state in the U.S. grows some variety of grapes with California leading the way in production.

While it's tempting to just grab a couple of grapes straight out of the bag in the fridge for a snack, we've all heard about the importance of washing fruits and vegetables before eating them. The CDC explains that rinsing them off under water helps to wash away any harmful bacteria that might be on the produce. No one wants a side of E. coli with their grapes. But it's not just germs that might be lurking in your bag of grapes that you just bought from the grocery store. There might be something far more surprising.

Germs can be scary, but finding a spider in your bag of grapes might be even more frightening. But it turns out, certain spiders enjoy hanging out in grapes. Can you blame them? According to Scientific American, grapevines provide black widows with food and shelter. Grapes attract insects for the spiders to feast on and the arbors — which support the vines — provide a great place for spiders to hang their web. Plus, they are a great place to hide.

Finding a spider hiding in your grapes at home might not be as bad as you think though. The presence of spiders might mean the absence of harmful pesticides (via Popular Science). As pest management practices steer away from chemicals, spiders are needed to get rid of those pests. So maybe next time you buy grapes at the grocery store, just make sure you give them a good once over and rinse before sticking your hand in the bag.