Poisonous caterpillars shadow London Olympics

The caterpillars first appeared in Britain in 2006 being on a batch of oak trees imported from Holland, reported The Mail on Tuesday 1 May. 

The newspaper also reported that in case oak trees in East London suffer an infestation, the London Olympics Games could be adversely affected as millions of spectators could come into contact with the insects. 

The spectators can also be affected if they do not come into direct contact with the insects. Each caterpillar is covered in 63,000 poisonous hairs and these hairs can blow off in the wind causing painful skin, vomiting, dizziness, and fever. 

Experts have said that it is almost impossible to eradicate the caterpillars saying “You can slow them down but we will never find them all. They will always keep increasing.” 

“We use spray to keep them at bay but even the nest removals at Kew don’t totally control oak processionary moths,” said Tony Kirkham, head of the arboretum at Kew Gardens. 

The Mail also reported that officials in Belgium used the army in order to deal with a similar situation. However, British officials have no such plans. 

 

SOURCE: http://www.presstv.ir