Lay My Hat

Oh no! I am afflicted! I have read about these critters but I had hoped to escape them - somewhat naive a hope as I have a lot of pine trees around the perimeter of my land. Sure enough, today I was sent photographs of their nests swinging from the branches of my trees I would have thought that by March they would have long since been in their final stages and 'on the march' fairly but it has been a cold winter and I think their development has been delayed. How can I get rid of them? I know it's not an easy task and if possible I would prefer to avoid using the sort of toxins that wipe out all life within a 50 yd radius when you spray.





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You've gotta nuke them. Pussyfooting around with 'natural' remedies is a waste of time, they are pretty resilient. Call in your local pest controller sooner rather than later. They are a major hazard to animals, particularly dogs and cats. I've seen the effect of airborne hairs contacting with a dog and it's not pleasant, the dog survived but many don't.

One Chap on another forum has trapped hundreds of the little blighters, don't know if I am allowed to post a link to another forum?

we have cut down their nests from the tress and burned. You will never get all the blighters but you can reduce their numbers. By the way, we saw them on the move in Jan this year and in Feb so there doesnt seem to be a set time for them to flee the nest.

we have cut down their nests from the tress and burned. You will never get all the blighters but you can reduce their numbers. By the way, we saw them on the move in Jan this year and in Feb so there doesnt seem to be a set time for them to flee the nest.

I would get the professionals in. They are dangerous to people too. Anything that they touch - or that you use to remove them- will transmit the allergens.

In the last month my local resort managers have had several children and adults (using pool toys, golf clubs, outside furniture, near infested trees) - extremely uncomfortable rash medically diagnosed as caused by caterpillars.

These people haven't even touched the caterpillars.

We and our neighbours cut down our trees. Sorted.

teapot wrote:One Chap on another forum has trapped hundreds of the little blighters, don't know if I am allowed to post a link to another forum?

I post links to laymyhat on other forums (apart from the misinfo forums because they delete them ) so I'm sure posting a link to another (French?) forum will be acceptable here.

Well... unless the link goes to a norty sort of forum...

I'm dreading their arrival in Normandy. Though I think we already have oak processionary caterpillars - they're in a few areas in the UK too.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... -in-london

I knew we'd had another discussion about this in the past. viewtopic.php?t=20468&highlight=caterpillar

Awful for the poor dog.

RichardHenshall wrote:We and our neighbours cut down our trees. Sorted.

I have LOTS of pines, and they provide screening from winds that can be quite vicious up in the hills plus much valued shade. I would not want to cut them down. The main pines actually form the boundary to my land and without them I won't know where my land begins and ends!

I have read the horror stories of processionary caterpillars and know how much they can affect animals and humans. I have guests arriving at the end of next month and will have to hope that either the bug(ger)s have been eradicated or they have already processioned away. I do have a mental image of this snaking train of caterpillars all doing the conga though

Get a specialist in, don't hope for the best. These things can kill, you cannot take chances. They don't just wander off and die, they burrow and then pupate at the end of summer, the moths then lay eggs in the pine trees and the whole cycle starts again. You will have the same problem next year.

If you are infested then you have a responsibility to deal with them properly, not just to your guests but to your neighbours.

Normandie wrote:

teapot wrote:One Chap on another forum has trapped hundreds of the little blighters, don't know if I am allowed to post a link to another forum?

I post links to laymyhat on other forums (apart from the misinfo forums because they delete them ) so I'm sure posting a link to another (French?) forum will be acceptable here.

Well... unless the link goes to a norty sort of forum...

I'm dreading their arrival in Normandy. Though I think we already have oak processionary caterpillars - they're in a few areas in the UK too.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... -in-london

Ok, I will give it a go, John's traps work well.
http://www.thefranceforum.net/viewtopic ... 63&t=23796

A friend of mine who used to live in the south of spain many years ago told me that they would use axel grease which was put around the trunk in a circle so it couldn't be bypassed. They used to smooth the area first so they could apply it easier.

It sounds like a nightmare scenario, but personally I would try and do whatever to limited the infestation. Maybe your local ayuntamiento can offr advice, or your neighbours?

Mousie
x

Here they burn everything to do with them. There is no 'ecological' way of eliminating them sadly.
A dire situation calls for a dire eradication.

They are highly poisonous to animals and children.

Wow! I've never heard of these before. Now I'm alerted and well informed. Thanks again to the wonderful LMH.