SPACE INVADERS
Are we in need of some pest control? Marion McMullen looks at some pesky problems
1 A PLAGUE of toxic caterpillars which can cause severe rashes and asthma has struck the UK. Large numbers of oak processionary moth larvae, left, have already been found in the south east.
The Forestry Commission has been urging people not to touch them and to report their round, white nests.
The caterpillars, which first arrived here in 2005 on imported Dutch trees, destroy oaks as they swarm from tree to tree. 2 EEK! There’s a superbug mouse in the house.
US research suggests house mice may be spreading resistant superbugs that could be lethal to humans in severe cases.
Rodents living in New York City apartments were found to carry E. coli, C. difficile, Shigella and Salmonella bacteria which cause gastrointestinal infections. 3 CLOTH-MUNCHING moths have gone to the top of English Heritage’s pest list following a year-long Operation Cloth Moths survey carried out to help protect historic carpets, tapestries and period clothing.
The survey discovered an “alarmingly high” number of a new species, the pale-backed clothes moth. 4 RATS (below left) were identified by the World Health Organisation in 1933 as mankind’s number one four-legged enemy.
They can transmit typhus, foot-and-mouth and tuberculosis and can carry the rabies virus. Experts are warning new giant super rats immune to conventional poisons could pose a threat. 5 PEST-BUSTERS were called in to take urgent action last year to wipe out a bedbug infestation in Parliament. The blood-sucking parasitic insects were found in the Palace of Westminster and MPs’ offices. They were the latest in a series of Parliamentary pests and more than £100,000 was spent combatting mice, flies, months, pigeons and gulls in 2017. 6 SLUGS and snails headed back to the top of the list of pests detested by British gardeners last year.
It is said snails, below, have to be moved at least 20 metres (65 feet) – around the length of a cricket pitch – to stop them returning to gardens. 7 ANGRY German wasps proved troublemakers in the UK last year and have a nastier sting than the common wasp.
Vespula germanica strike for no reason and have been described as “drunk and out of work” when they no longer need to supply the queen with nectar and start feasting on fermenting fruit. 8 KEEPERS at a Berlin park were surprised to discover Louisiana crawfish, below, in its waters last year. The crustaceans – also known as crayfish and freshwater lobsters – are not native to Germany and are considered pests. Conservationists believe they arrived as a result of people emptying aquariums in the park. 9 BLACK Harlequin ladybirds have been invading the UK in large numbers during hot summers.
This invasive species is originally from Asia and last year people took to social media to report swarms of the bug, above, which preys on native ladybird species. 10 HARRIS hawks Rufus and Pollux are employed to keep pesky pigeons away at Wimbledon.
The official bird scarers can often be seen flying over the stands of Centre Court, chasing away pigeons which can distract the tennis players.