Processional caterpillars...when is the time to avoid pine f

When is the time to avoid walking dogs in forested or pine trees areas? Is there recent accounts of these in this area harming dogs?

Hi the norm is February but in recent years due to the weather changes they have been comming in Jan! they can last umtil June in some cases so at the moment you should be OK

Thanks...are these everywhere around here and are there places I can walk my dogs safetly through those months?

We tend to go down the river and not let the dogs of the lead until we get past the park area and you can go a long way before you come across them it is only certain times they are very bad if you watch the nests it is when they start getting big and turning brown that they start to leave the nest just don't stand near them when looking.

We have seen them as early as December so be careful, and they are around until end Feb beginning of March xxxx

You need to be vigilant everywhere including wide open spaces with no pine trees. Last February whilst walking our large dogs (on leads) on a path, by flat land, next to roads, early evening, one of our dogs sniffed in the low undergrowth. There they were completely underneath the low bracken and just struck/sprayed our dog right in his the face. Our dog immediately went into distress, was sick and couldn't breath properly. As it happened, we called our vet who told us to get there as quickly as possible as time was of the essence. It took 10/15 minutes to drive there (fortunately we had our car with us). The vet was waiting at the door and treated him straight away. He had to have two antidotes as the first didn't do it, followed by two nasal/mouth/throat washes. We had to stay at the vets quite a while and fortunately the treatment worked and after a few days of being poorly and feeling sorry for himself, our boy made a good recovery. The vet told us we had got him there with only minutes to spare and said due to our quick action, (with no hesitation), saved him. He also said owners should never wait and see as an infected animal will more than likely choke to death as their throats close up. As a side note, it is useful to carry antihistamine with you in case there is a delay in getting to the vets for treatment. I hope this post helps other dog walkers and please bear in mind these horrible creatures can get picked up in the high winds, so can travel to the least unexpected places. They have even travelled into gardens. I don't mean to scare anyone but this truly happened to us.

How can you stop your cat from these horrible things, our cat is a right we hunter, now I'm terrified she goes after them.

Hopefully cats have a lot more sense, I've not heard of an incident with cats.......fingers crossed.

Any sign of these critters yet? Hopefully the cold snap may have killed them off,?

Hi Spikeyhair, can you advise further on the antihistamine you mentioned - is it a tablet or a spray?

Zeff