Lollie Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 Any advice welcome, we sprayed the trees in autumn but still they have started coming down, how is the best way to exterminate once they have left the tree, bearing in mind I have a dog and three children,?Lollie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissie Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 You should gather them all up (I find a dustpan and stiff brush does the trick - they're not very bright!) and burn them. If for some reason it is not possible to burn them, we were told to seal them tightly in two thicknesses of poly bag having sqeezed out air. They should then suffocate and you can throw in rubbish bin. Would be interested in hearing if this second route is generally considered effective/safe.Chrissie (81) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lollie Posted March 17, 2005 Author Share Posted March 17, 2005 [quote]You should gather them all up (I find a dustpan and stiff brush does the trick - they're not very bright!) and burn them. If for some reason it is not possible to burn them, we were told to seal them...[/quote]Hi Chrissie,Have already tried the later but I placed them in a bucket of bleach first to be sure, and although I wore long sleeves and gloves I now have a terrible rash on my neck which wont stop itching, it maybe coincidental will find out after my doctors appt. today, but I would just like to say full skin cover is recommended!!ps the caterpillars are dead, and its drizzly here today but I think I will leave any others to go underground!Lollie Loire Atlantique Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pushkin Posted March 17, 2005 Share Posted March 17, 2005 [quote]Any advice welcome, we sprayed the trees in autumn but still they have started coming down, how is the best way to exterminate once they have left the tree, bearing in mind I have a dog and three ch...[/quote]Lollie,We have a single umbrella pine tree which is continually under attack from these caterpillars. My heart sinks everytime I see another web appearing on one of the branches! We were told that the only safe way to deal with them is to cut off the branch where the web is and burn immediately. As they prefer the top branches this has proved a difficult task. We have purchased an insecticide to spray the tree which, if not handled with extreme care, is pretty hazardous in itself. We have three dogs and worry about the consequences if they should come in contact with the caterpillars. I think the 'burning system' must work to a certain degree as we have never seen them crawling down the tree to the ground though, evidently, their larvae is in the ground under the tree. An added incumbrance is that our neighbour has the same problem but not much action taken in counteracting the pests.Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lollie Posted March 18, 2005 Author Share Posted March 18, 2005 Hi Sue,I know what you mean, we cut the branches we could reach safely, sprayed the nests of the others we could reach but as you say they nest very high, we have several pine trees and as we live close to the Pine forests of La Baule, so do our neighbours, likewise they do not seem too concerned. The doctor gave me the cream yesterday and itching has stopped, most of his patients this week have similar skin problems, so at least it was not just me daft enough to take on the caterpillars. Anyway Hubby returns tomorrow so he can take over. Lollie 44 Dept that its! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.