Warning as plague of toxic insects descends on UK with hairy caterpillars invading homes
Poisonous caterpillars which cause a rash and vomiting are spreading across Britain. Oak processionary moth hairs poisoned 225 people in 2022, with a warning that worse is to come.
Experts are warning that a poisonous insect which arrived in Britain in 2006 is on the rise.
Oak processionary moth hairs can cause nasty skin rashes, eye and throat irritation, vomiting, dizziness, fever and asthma attacks.
Last year, 225 people were poisoned by the insects – that was four times the 56 in 2021.
When threatened, the 5cm-long moths fire hairs, but these are also carried in the wind.
Southern England has seen the most poisonings since the pests arrived in London on a shipment of trees.
READ MORE: ‘Effective’ methods to keep insects and rodents away from your shed
Don't miss...
Prison inmate found dead in cell after being 'eaten alive by bugs' [ANALYSIS]
Stinking insect dubbed ‘Hitler Bug’ after resemblance to Nazi dictator [ANALYSIS]
'Disgusted' mum's warning after 'finding spider' on Aldi pastry [ANALYSIS]
The Forestry Commission has appealed for sightings of the moths, which have white, tennis-ball-sized nests.
They have also left 121 million oak trees in danger because the insects strip them of leaves, exposing them to drought and other pests.
Once a tree is bare they move, nose-to-tail, to the next — hence their “processionary” name.
The Forestry Commission, which sprays dozens of sites in a bid to kill off the moths, warns people not to approach them or try to remove them.
As a caterpillar, each has about 62,000 hairs, which they can eject.
Hairs that fall to the ground can be active for up to five years.
The moths only live for two to three days in July or August.
The caterpillars are most easily recognised by their distinctive habit of moving about in late spring and early summer in nose-to-tail processions and the fact that they live and feed almost exclusively on oak trees.
