PROCESSIONARY CATERPILLARS IN PROCESSION
Of course, now is the time of year when processionary caterpillars tend to be around – and every English language newspaper in Spain seems to be full of dire warnings about them. So much so that it can seem a wonder that anything survives at all within the Spanish countryside…
Certainly, processionary caterpillars can be dangerous. They have poisonous hairs that can be irritating to humans (particularly to asthmatics) and they can cause a strong allergic reaction, if they touch your skin. Indeed, they can be dangerous to small children who must, on no account, touch them or ever mistake them for harmless creatures.
Unfortunately, processionary caterpillars can be particularly dangerous to other animals, most notably dogs, which can make the mistake of ‘playing’ with the processionary caterpillars. This can be fatal should the dog concerned inhale the hairs of the caterpillar or, worse still, swallow one of the caterpillars.
Indeed, if your dog is unwell and you suspect that it has been close to processionary caterpillars then you should not hesitate to take it to a vet as soon as possible.
However, you should not succumb to total hysteria about processionary caterpillars in Spain. They are not always obvious and during some of the past years here (around Gandia) we have barely seen a caterpillar, let alone a full procession (which can be a line of caterpillars, joined nose to tail with the procession as long as the width of a road). On other years, for around a month, they seem to be everywhere that you go and are a positive plague.
PROCESSIONARY CATERPILLAR NEST
When we first moved into our house we had some 22 processionary caterpillar nests high in the pine trees of my garden. These we removed by cutting off the branch concerned and then placing the nest within a plastic bag (being careful never to actually touch the nest with our hands). The nests were then sealed into a rubbish bag and disposed of in the normal way. We did this after trying to burn the processionary caterpillar nests within a metal barrel which, in hindsight, was unwise because the burning process can release the poisonous hairs of the processionary caterpillars into the air. This seemed to occur when we burnt the nests, as my wife suffered a mild breathing difficulty after stoking the fire.
Needless to say, most animals will naturally avoid processionary caterpillars. If they did not then Spain would have no wild or domestic animals around anywhere that had pine trees. As that is not the case, their danger to animals in general is probably exaggerated.
So, the nuisance of processionary caterpillars in Spain should be put into perspective. They are a problem and deserve ‘respect’ – you should keep away from them or remove the nests carefully from your garden when you see them. However, in reality, they remain a minor menace and one that should not disrupt your life in Spain.
There is an excellent article on processionary caterpillars here – which is well worth reading.