Hairy/Itchy Caterpillars?

Hello! Has anyone had any experience with hairy/itchy caterpillars? When their hairs come in contact with the skin, it causes an itching/burning sensation and inflammation...

I'm in the process of assessing my site and found that I have quite a few inhabiting a certain area.

Just wanted to see if there are others who have come across the same critters and possible solutions to keep them away from the site.

Thanks!

Hi Jorge! Welcome to permies!

There absolutely are some caterpillars that make people itch. What climate/location are you, that might help narrow them down. What color are they? How big? etc. The more you can tell us, the better chance we have of identifying your itchy bugs!

:D

Pearl Sutton wrote:Hi Jorge! Welcome to permies!

There absolutely are some caterpillars that make people itch. What climate/location are you, that might help narrow them down. What color are they? How big? etc. The more you can tell us, the better chance we have of identifying your itchy bugs!

:D

Thank you Pearl! My site is located in tropical Philippines. They're dark colored and looked similar to this

That hairy/itchy caterpillar will probably turn into some kind of moth.

Butterfly caterpillars can be spiny or spiky and usually colorful.

Here is a Wikipedia about caterpillars that some might find interesting:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caterpillar

so Dr Google tells me they're known as higad there in the Philippines, not sure if that is a generic term for all stinging caterpillars or a specific type. I found an old school announcement explaining what to do if you have a reaction to them which you might find useful. https://2012.ateneo.edu/high-school/news/features/skin-irritation-caterpillar/higad-bristles

So I live in Brazil, where we also have various types of similar stinging caterpillars. Some of them can cause liver failure and people have died, but it's generally where there are large clusters of them someone (usually an orchard worker) has fallen into. It is a fact of life of living here in my region, but I don't really worry other than taking some basic precautions.

They move, obviously, because the moths fly around. So where you see some this season, you may not see them next season. When people move here they learn very quickly to stay on paths, be careful climbing trees, and not brush through leaves and vines. I always wear long sleeves and preferably gloves and a neck kerchief when working in the garden, that is the best way to avoid problems. If I find some of the really bad ones I will try to remove them from high traffic areas where someone is like to brush against them, but I don't worry, there really isn't much I can do about them because they're everywhere. the birds seem to enjoy eating them and i make sure to attract lots of birds into my yard.

The moths that these caterpillars turn into, at least here, also have itch-causing properties, so be careful picking them up!