Right, it's clear that Californian farmers have been using organic pest control. So what?

(1) The grapes apparently came from California. The USA. Unlikely to be hand-checked without proper protection, not least because it's not cost-effective. Machinery would do the job much easier.

(2) How is the use of the black widow spider some "supplier twats's idea of organic pest control", given that the black widow is most likely in fact the best predator to use? You'd rather they use a house-fly?

(2) Would anyone rather they use the old pesticides? Use of pesticides puts the risk on the environment and local ecology, which would experience the pesticide in far greater amounts than the end-user (British grape-lovers) would. Use of the spiders by contrast puts any (faint) risk on the end-users. So, you angry young men on this web site, you should presumably be happy?

(3) There has to be some device used to keep the predators from the grapes. Its not a case of 'they've got to make a profit so they do awful things which harm humans'. In order for good-quality agricultural produce to be made, you need pest-control. Using it is not a sinister conspiracy. If you want the kind of range of foodstuffs presently available in the UK in general, then get used to reality.

i was surprised that this story hadnt been covered before. but then it occurred to me that , being a story inherently critical of "organic" farming, it was embarrassing to the greenies, who obviously prize the life of a nasty insect over that of a human. i knew it was only a matter of time before someone wrote in to save the spiders ! youre all wingbats ! cranks ! i thnk they hould bring back paraquat and copper powder; it might be safer than a tarantula.

squash the poisonous, crawly creepy things. spiders, that is, not ecologists! this story is just the latest in the increasingly weird, bizarre twilight world we now are part of. im sticking t tinned fruit for a while, thats for sure.