Eichenprozessionsspinner
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@mark said in Eichenprozessionsspinner:
OMG!
How did this happen exactly? Were they falling out of the trees or something?
No. These caterpillars have hairs that contain some kind of poison. These hairs are in the air everywhere within 100m around affected trees. All I did (with my daughter) was cycling near affected trees. I didn't see any of the actual caterpillars. Also, these friggin' hairs stay in the area for up to a year after the caterpillars are gone.
My skin on the legs looks very similar to this. Everywhere.
Luckily my daughter isn't as affected since she only joined me for a part of the tour.
I hope these motherfuckers haven't migrated to the US yet.
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No, I was visiting my parents over the weekend and it happened there.
You can't solve this issue by cutting specific trees. These guys have infested a significant percentage of the overall oak population in all of Germany (and other parts of Europe). We are talking about millions of trees. There's nothing that really helps. It's possible to reduce the population locally, with great effort and costs (say, near a kindergarten), but not country-wide. The most promising approach seems to be to make sure their enemies, such as woodpeckers, are plentiful. But that will take many years. The best we can hope for is a really deep winter.
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Sorry Klaus that sounds excruciating.
Lord of the Woodpeckers, Protector of the Realm might be something to start planning for.
I’d call Brenda to run an exploratory committee for you, she could likely divine whether the woodpeckers would come out for you.
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@Klaus said in Eichenprozessionsspinner:
@mark said in Eichenprozessionsspinner:
OMG!
How did this happen exactly? Were they falling out of the trees or something?
No. These caterpillars have hairs that contain some kind of poison. These hairs are in the air everywhere within 100m around affected trees. All I did (with my daughter) was cycling near affected trees. I didn't see any of the actual caterpillars. Also, these friggin' hairs stay in the area for up to a year after the caterpillars are gone.
Cripes! I'd be worried about inhalation, then... Can these things cause anaphylaxis?
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@Catseye3 said in Eichenprozessionsspinner:
I can't remember, Klaus: Is this your first summer in your new house? (I'm thinking it's your second . . . ?) Are the trees on your property?
You see where I'm going.
Those are ok, but this is a saw....
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wow @Klaus I hope that you and your daughter get better soon!!
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God, that looks awful - a lot like Mrs. Phibes run in with poison ivy, where she too ended up on steroids. Hope you're feeling better soon, Klaus.
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Holy crap, Klaus.
I hope this subsides quickly for you, that looks terrible.
