Procession Caterpillars
I have a pine tree opposite my house that is chock full of prospective caterpillars. Imagine my surprise when I looked out of the kitchen window and spied a man from the parks department, cutting off the "balls" and dropping them to the ground or throwing them down the embankment. Looking at the 2 biggest ones, he scratched his head, then ambled off to his van, job well done.....Taking the biggest culprits down would have entailed some effort on his part as he would have had to lengthen the clippers and stretch a bit. My question is: How exactly is it helping the problem just cutting them down if they are left on the ground? Shouldn't the trees have been sprayed - or in this particular case cut down as it is sick anyway. Now we are going to have heaps of caterpillars crawling all over and our pets will be in danger within a short period of time.
Yes - and they are right across the road from me..You would think they would have burnt them wouldn't you..the whole tree is full of them on the far side where he couldn't reach from the road as well...The workers should be taught properly how to deal..they are starting to crawl out and in already with the temperature heating up the last couple of days. Don't know why they plant pine trees in public places really..there are so many other types of trees that don't need a lot of water, and do not harbour these horrible things...
I've been reading up on the Processionary caterpillar, they are becoming a major health hazard, reports of young children getting paralysis of the tongue and having to have a portion of their tongues amputated. They reckon because small children are nearer to the ground they are more vulnerable. They originally came from Africa, but are steadily creeping up the Mediterranean. One tip I saw on a website was to spray them with hairspray and throw a match on them. The hairspray stops the hairs from being shot into the air. While I'm not advocating for one minute that, anyone should turn into a pyromaniac ...lol, but the council worker/parks dept. person, should have done his job properly. If they went around the Urb and cut down and bagged all the nest, took them away and burnt them it would alleviate a lot of needless suffering and also curb the spread of these dangerous creatures.
Another unfortunate thing about this situation is that, people with respiratory problems are also affected by the Processionary caterpillars. The hairs of the caterpillars, if dispersed into the atmosphere and inhaled, can cause an anaphylactic schock ! The hairs are a protection reaction that the caterpillars release when threatened. These hairs remain toxic for quite a long time. This chap should have disposed of them properly, eg, bagged, taken them away and burnt them. By kicking the nest down the embankment, the caterpillars will hatch and emerge, causing untold health hazzards to both people and dogs.