Beware of Processional Pine caterpillars

Hi all,

I found a line of caterpillars nose to tail in my garden today and thought 'cute'. Wrong! The hairs on these are barbed and constantly dropped and can cause an extreme allergic reaction if they come into contact with your skin or your pet It can give you a nasty itchy painful rash for up to 3 weeks. They need got rid of if you find them.

Thank you to Glyn for alerting me to this after I posted their picture on Facebook.

Laura

Thanks Laura (and Glyn),
They don't sound 'cute' at all now, so good to know. How do you deal with them? Is there an insecticide to use? I get allergies so don't want to come into contact with these. Feel sorry for the pets!

Thanks again.

Jan.

Hi Jan,

I just swept up the 3 I found after I found out they were bad and put in green bin on road for bin man to empty. I believe the best way is to burn them. They eat pine needles so think they were laid in our pine trees. The previous owner had wide blue sticky tape on the trees to catch them I think. So we will put some more on and hopefully they won't reach the ground. Thankfully not got dogs with us at the moment because I have a daft collie that tries to eat flies, hopefully won't try and eat a caterpiller.

Laura

Only too pleased to assist.

They are lethal to pets, not just an irritant. I read that if you don't get your pet to a vet within 20 minutes it could be too late. Best keep away from anywhere there are pine trees as that's where the nests are. Maz

You will notice during the year a nest, looks like a large cotton wool ball, in the pine tree,,the caterpillars come out at night, and return to the nest, when you see them in a procession on the ground, they are leaving to go underground,i had a friend who lost one dog ,and one that had to have its tounge cut of when it licked the hairs,when you see the nest get pest control in to distroy,watch out wherever you see pine trees,the one just through the arches in quesada nearly always have some on the ground, they leave hairs wherever they go.

Thanks everyone for this very helful information. I looked them up and found the following on a website called http://www.practicalspain.com : They are called Processional Pine Caterpillars. I have copied part of the info. below:

Pine Caterpillars (Latin name thaumetopoea pityocampa) are probably one of the most unpleasant creatures you will find in Spain, certainly in areas where pine trees grow in abundance. They are found throughout the warmer regions of Southern Europe, the Near East and North Africa. As well as causing much damage to pine forests, they are a major danger to animals and, to a lesser degree, human beings.

Do not touch them. Warn your children that they are not like the friendly English caterpillars. The very fine hairs on these creatures are poisonous and most dangerous. They can be seen living in silk cocoon style nests hanging in the pine trees to which they are most harmful, stripping them of their pine needles. When hungry, they leave their cocoon to seek another uninfested tree on which to feed. They travel nose to tail in a line, hence the name Processional. They are most noticeable from January to mid April and are at their most dangerous in mid/late February. The caterpillars are often seen in the evenings, walking in procession from tree to tree.

If they drop onto you or your pet, don't brush them off with your hands because the effect is most unpleasant, causing great irritation, rash and pain. Dogs, cats and people can suffer from shock. The hairs of the caterpillars are still virulent even when the creatures are dead. Do not hit them with sticks because hairs flying in the air are just as dangerous. Burn them, but be careful of floating hairs. If the caterpillars are in the tree cocoon state, first spray the nest with hair spray (to seal down the hairs), cover the cocoon and the affected part of the branch with a plastic bag, cut down the branch, place it on clear ground and burn it.

If you live near pine trees, it is recommended that you keep Anti Histamine tablets handy as an early treatment. In particular, avoid ingesting the hairs. Dogs are most at risk by sniffing the ground where the caterpillars have marched.
Take particular care with your eyes. If affected the result is serious, causing pain and swelling similar to a bad case of conjunctivitis.
Treatment: If a person or animal shows signs of shock, get them to a doctor, hospital or vet immediately.
If you have children and are considering buying property, take the above details into consideration.
Golfing. When these caterpillars march across golf courses, play ceases immediately because it is too hazardous to try to clear them away.

Just been out to check the 2 pine trees in my garden and it looks like there is a candy floss nest in one of the trees. Has anyone uses a pest control company before and can recommend them?

Thanks

Laura

I don't know any but our Hungarian neighbour who appears to be very anti-insects (some not so dead scary as yours) uses the local garden centre to get hold of someone to spray the garden.There's one near us off the Montesinos roundabout but there is another one on the Lemon tree road.

Jan.

Good idea Jan, will pop into one of the garden centres., thanks.