Is OPM a genuine threat to the UK?
There’s a blog on the BBC Gardeners World website where people have written in response to a journalist’s story about how lovely and relatively harmless the oak processionary moth is! Many of the responses were sent from those who have had first-hand experience of the pest abroad. Here are just a few...
“We live in France and these processionary caterpillars (oak and pine varieties) are a real issue for people with children and pets. Inadvertent contact with the caterpillar itself or their nests results in very painful skin irritation and can cause serious breathing difficulties if inhaled. The hairs which contain the chemical responsible are shed several times during the nesting stages and are active for years so don’t touch old abandoned nests”.
“My friend had a small dog die last year from these ‘pretty things’. Sorry to say, if I see them I lop off the branch and burn them”.
“Just seen this blog and I know these caterpillars as I live in Spain – BEWARE! If a dog should sniff one, it is usually fatal or causes immense pain, dogs that try to bite them will bite their own tongues off with the pain, puppies are naturally inquisitive and have to be kept indoors or muzzled when the caterpillars parade. They are blind, and the hairs are triggered by a light sensitive patch, so actual contact is not necessary”
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And finally.....
“They say that the toxic hairs from these caterpillars infect the fruit and veg in our gardens and we are not to eat them. So what about the food crops farmers grow if they are close by to an infestation? I presume that they would become inedible also, therefore causing food shortages, damaging livelihoods and the economy. With London expecting a large influx of people next year for the Olympics it would be wise not to ignore this problem. Our NHS is stretched to the limit as it is, without having to treat unknown numbers of people that may suffer the effects of this poisonous caterpillar, because of the inability of the authorised bodies to decide and put in place a plan of action. On a final note, WHY are native trees of this country being imported? Do we not have good tree growers in Britain! I suspect this decision was down to money again, not common sense. Save a few pounds by importing, then spend millions trying to eradicate the pest and diseases that come with them. I always thought that there were very strict regulations in place to prevent plants entering the country that would cause these problems”.
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