‘Caterpillar hell’ threatened as invaders on the march inland

For the past five years browntail moths have caused havoc on isolated Spurn Point, where the crew of Humber Lifeboat lives.

But in recent times their distinctive cobweb-like nests have been spotted in villages across Holderness, as far inland as Leconfield and on the outskirts of Hull. The caterpillars carry up to two million fine spiked and barbed hairs. Not only are the hairs toxic, but they also break off and blow in the wind, causing irritations to skin and eyes in humans and even asthmatic reactions.

Coxswain Dave Steenvoorden said: “When they started at Spurn Point there were just a few nests, then the second year it was 100-fold, then 1000-fold.

“My advice is spray them as quickly as possible with the strongest insecticide that you can. The best time to get them is when they are in their nests, but it is too late now, they are on the march,” he added.

After eating their way through their main food source, buckthorn bushes, last year, the problem seemed to drop off. But they were back again in force. He said: “We don’t put washing out from now until the end of July because the hairs get in the washing. Just be vigilant because they crawl all over the buildings. Their favourite food is anything which has thorn on the end – buckthorn, hawthorn.”

Outer Humber officer for Yorkshire Wildlife Trust Andrew Gibson said it was still worth cutting out or burning nests as the caterpillars still gather round the “tents” on cold days. He said: “They’ve been found in elm, sycamore and willow. They have an ability to change their food plant, but whether these new food plants will sustain the population explosion we have seen on Spurn is yet to be seen.”