Toxic caterpillars close part of seaside town

Two beachfront areas have been quarantined after thousands of insects were seen crawling on benches

AN INVASION of toxic caterpillars capable of causing harmful rashes and endangering people with asthma has forced the closure of parts of a Devon seaside town – but getting rid of them is being left to the birds.

Officials quarantined two areas of the Budleigh Salterton beachfront after sustained good weather prompted an explosion of brown-tail moth caterpillars.

Locals raised the alarm when they found benches at a popular viewing point and car park “virtually invisible” due to the thousands of insects crawling over them.

A similar outbreak caused a scare on the Isle of Wight in 2010, when residents were advised to wear protective suits in their gardens, however the current infestation is believed to be the first suffered by the Devon town. A spokesman for the council said: “At this larval life stage, any pruning back of foliage would be ineffective and we feel that chemical pest control, which would involve very large doses of harmful chemicals, would not be in the public interest and could potentially do more public harm.

“As the caterpillars are fully grown it will only be a matter of days before they pupate and transform into moths and will no longer be a public issue. The adult moths are eaten by a wide variety of birds and so will not necessarily lead on to more caterpillars next year.”

The caterpillars’ hairs, which can detach and float on the air, can cause allergic reactions similar to a nettle rash.

Residents told The Daily Telegraph that one owner whose pet had strayed into an affected area at Steamer Steps had been forced to use her newspaper to brush off dozens of the insects.

The other cordoned-off area is Lime Kiln car park to the east of the town.

Alan Dent, a cabinet member at East Devon District Council, which is managing the infestation, said: “There have been a lot of worried people who put their hands on the seats and railings without thinking.

“It was alarming to start with because there were so many of them around. They were completely covering the arms of benches.”

The caterpillar of the brown-tail moth has a dotted white line down each side and two very distinctive red dots on the back of its tail. It emerges as the weather gets warmer in May and June.

The easiest time to get rid of them is during the winter when their tent-like nests are visible and can be cut down.

The 2010 outbreak in Newport on the Isle of Wight was attributed at the time to steadily warming average temperatures due to climate change.

The Budleigh Salterton infestation follows warnings in April from the Forestry Commission about toxic Oak processionary moth caterpillars, after nests were spotted in London and the South East.

Alan Jones, who sits on the town council, said most residents agreed that segregating the affected areas was better than exterminating the insects.