Discovery of black widow spiders prompts fumigation of Transit Cape Breton garage

The discovery of western black widow spiders in a new bus delivered from California to Sydney, N.S., has led to the closure of Transit Cape Breton's main Welton Street garage as the facility undergoes fumigation.

Cape Breton Regional Municipalityspokesperson Christina Lamey said the bus arrived last week after passing through Ontario. The spiders were discovered Monday while the new vehicle was being prepared for use.

"It's definitely been a first in the municipality," said Lamey. "Our people are workingto get it road-readyand sowe definitely took immediate action."

She did not directly say how many spiders were found.

Western black widow spiders are not native to Atlantic Canada. They can be found in some parts of western Canada and some western Americanstates like Texas, Arizonaand California.

Lamey said the process of getting rid of the spiders could take months, as they must ensure there are no spiders or eggsremaining on the bus.

"You kill one, but you don't know what necessarily is hiding in nooks and crannies, so you want to keep it going until the possibility of any surviving past a certain point is is finished," Lamey said.

She said the bus was never put into public use, and shehasno reason to believe the spiders will spread.

"We believe it's fully contained to that facility, in that bus. And so we're really tackling the issue at its source," she said.

Lamey said she doesn't expectany disruptions to public transport service while the fumigation takes place.

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