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Richmond upon Thames Liberal Democrats:Covering the constituencies of Twickenham and Richmond Park |
Council kills off record number of toxic caterpillars
August 26, 2009 5:50 PM
• MORE than 250 nests of toxic caterpillars have been destroyed by Richmond Council during this summer, as part of its work to significantly reduce the numbers of Oak Processionary Moths in the Council's parks and open spaces.
The caterpillars are a pest which invade west London boroughs every summer and are a particular problem in Richmond upon Thames, Ealing and Hounslow. Their toxic hairs can cause are irritants and can cause a rash and breathing difficulties if they come into contact with human skin
Cllr Geoff Acton, Richmond Council's Cabinet Member for Environment said: "These insects are a real nuisance - for now we can't eradicate them completely, but we're working hard to destroy them when we find where they're nesting. We have the most popular parks and open spaces in the country and we're determined not to let these insects spoil that for local people and visitors."
Thanks to rigorous work by the Council's Parks Department, at least 250 nests have been uncovered, compared with 30 last year. The nests have been removed from the trees and destroyed to minimise the possibility of the insects spreading. The trees are then treated to ensure all trace of the moths is removed.
The Council has worked with partners at NHS Richmond to make doctors aware of the insects and the reactions they can cause. It has also trialled an insecticide spraying programme on a small number of trees to test other methods of removing them.
The moth nests vary in size from 10 to 50 cms: the biggest moth nest known to the Council was found in Kew Gardens and was half a metre square. The caterpillars can grow up to two cm long and have thousands of toxic hairs on their bodies.
The moths' name derives from their habit of walking in lines along tree branches and through grass. The moths build nests for between 200 and 1,000 eggs in oak trees every year and the danger arises when the eggs become caterpillars and start walking around on branches and in the grass during May, June and July.
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