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[LizzyProust]

I'd really like to know more about these nasty beasties, does anyone here have any experience with them? I was at a dinner party a while ago and they had all these horrible stories about dogs vs processionary caterpillars. Are they still around? Anything you can do to stop them/prevent them nesting in your garden?
any help is much appreciated!

[suzy]

Hi Lizzy
We suffer from processionary caterpillars in our pine trees.  There isn´t really much you can do to prevent them making their cocoons there.  One year we borrowed tall ladders and removed and burnt the cocoons but this isn´t always practical as the little blighters always nest right at the top of the tree.

The following year there were only a couple of nests and we found that the local ferretaria sells plastic collars coated with a sticky substance which you can fasten round the tree trunk, so that when the caterpillars emerge from their cocoons and come down the tree they get caught up on the collar and you can spray and kill them, then sweep them up.  They normally emerge first thing in the morning during early to mid April.   Don´t touch them and wear thick gloves when disposing of them, they are still capable of stinging when dead.  They are most dangerous of course to animals who will go and sniff at them and they can project their fine, hair-like spines which are poisonous.

Although I am loathed to destroy any wildlife, I´m afraid it is necessary in their case because of the danger posed to our dogs and cats.

[Campo Girl]

Great advice there Suzy, I will remember that, we have not had any problems but I agree that they must be killed to protect the cats and dogs

[LizzyProust]

oh, thanks! I'll get some of those collars! Do you know what they're called?
I thought I'd chop down our conifers just to be safe, but I'm not sure whether they nest there as well?

Thanks again!

[suzy]

Don´t chop them down, they seem to like pine trees best of all.  I cannot remember what the collars are called as my son, bought them (he speaks fluent Spanish)  but think the caterpillars themselves are called,  oruga de processo.  I´m sure your local ferretaria will be able to help.  So remember if you are out walking, like in our area there are a lot of pine trees round the lakes.  So don´t take your dogs into pine tree areas until well into June.