Eichenprozessionsspinner
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Sorry to hear. Was the damage to your trees or to yourself/family?
Here's a Google Images page of pix of this ugly thing. https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=ALeKk02exB6Sdd92z0nL1HeDS3DHOaBB8A:1593367779130&source=univ&tbm=isch&q=Oak+processionary+spinner&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiLuOLDjaXqAhUglHIEHePiCnIQiR56BAgTEBA&biw=1366&bih=625
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Here's what NIH says: "Treatment: Under a local therapy with a medium potent corticosteroid cream and a non-sedating orally administered antihistamine, all skin lesions as well as itching disappeared within 1 week. All skin lesions healed without scars." Which you probably know by now.
Here's what the thing looks like. Big EW.
Success is measured by your discipline and inner peace. – Mike Ditka
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@Catseye3 said in Eichenprozessionsspinner:
medium potent corticosteroid cream and a non-sedating orally administered antihistamine
It's still hell even with loads of corticosteroids and antihistaminika. I'm considering voluntary artificial coma for the next three weeks.
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I keep warning people against leaving the house for any reason ever. There is no margin in it. Do not be fooled by the people who want to convince you to join the mob insanity of getting out of the house and doing stuff. Nothing good comes of it. Sorry you're going through that Klaus.
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Can't find any alternative treatment. Getting lots of notes about what you're already doing like, "but these may not always be effective". Yeah, no kidding.
A couple of years ago I got caught by something I think was chiggers, but I've never been sure. It was as you say the purest hell, so I know something about what y'all are going through. I didn't know about antihistamine, so I suffered it without any kind of aid. I nearly went mad.
But I found that ICE provided some relief. You might try that.
This thing that got me, I redd on the Net about a guy who had it on his arms; he poked the lesions open with an ice pick and poured gasoline in them. That's how crazy it makes you.
Not that I'd ever do such a thing, but I actually entertained the idea for a second or two.
Good luck. Try the ice.
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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!!
