We can’t so we will. Thanks very much Gerald.
If you cannot reach the branches to destroy the nests, then you must advise the Marie local to you. I think it is like ragwort in the UK - you have an obligation to destroy it if it is on your land.
Thanks Christine. I bet your dog isn’t a Jack Russell though! Mine is young & very nosy. I can’t tell you how many wasp stings sh’s had! You are the 5th person I’ve heard about today who has seen the actual caterpillars so another sign of the climate changing.
That’s reassuring anyway. There is a lot of info on Google too.
I am a dog owner, and have processionary moths in our pine tree every yr for the last 13 yrs. To be honest our dog never bothers with them. If the nests are accesible, then cut the nest off and burn. This year I have I guess 30 or more in one tree. Not many birds eat them. I understand great tits do, but I have never seen it, myself.
I saw several lines of them two days ago, very early. I just walk up the line treading on them.
I have wondered about fitting grease bands, as they come down the trunk but as yet have not tried it.
The tree suffers with the attack, but always recovers.
You too Wendy. We are going to the Mairie & to our farmer neighbour. We have a dozen pine trees & we think we need to treat them then remove which is going to cost but the trees are riddled with them & far to high to safely remove. If anyone has knowledge of tree felling costs etc I’d be grateful. We can’t contain our Jack Russell & may have to temporarily rehouse her. She’s only 2 & can’t be constrained. It’s a real worry but getting rid of the root cause so to speak, seems the only way really.
I thought it was going too smoothly!!
We are in Haute Vienne, south of Limoges. It’s also been surprisingly warm here. We are also very concerned about our 3 dogs and are keeping them on the lead in the garden. Last summer my husband got a horrible rash (lasting 3 weeks) after laying on the grass, we had no idea what it was at the time but now realise it must have been caused by these insects. Although we don’t really want to lose the trees, we will consider this as a last resort. Good luck!
Hi Wendy, can I ask where you live? We are in the Lot where it’s very warm at the moment. I’m so worried about our Jack Russell & what started our investigations today is that my husband has developed a rash.
Yours,
Miriam
We are in the same position and noticed several chains of these beasts today. Spent several hours today pouring boiling water over them, scooping them up carefully and burning them. I’ve noticed mention on another post of Foray 48B treatment but don’t know how this works or how to apply it. I gather that the eco-piège traps can be attached to each tree, but was told when visiting last year that this had to be done in about June (I do wish we had followed this up, but we’ve only just moved here permanently). I would also welcome any other advice please!
Between now and January is the time of year to treat chenilles processionnaires in the cocoons in the trees. The rules of usage for Foray 48b. It used to be applied by aeroplane or helicopter, which is now banned. However it can be easily, safely and legally applied using a fogging machine (meet my new baby!) subject to climatic conditions etc.
The previous post (Dec 15, Wendy) you mentioned you were instructed to put the ecopiège on the tree in June. That is way too late in the season as the caterpillars would have already left!
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We had this issue last year in the Gironde, we opted to chop the trees down to be done with the problem permanently. As ours is a holiday home we would not be there at the appropriate times to treat them.
It wasnt cheap as there were 3 big isolated pine trees - we now dont have any pine so hopefully this will be the end of it.
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Then there’s the oak processionnary caterpillar (honestly) a different species completely!