{"id":9509,"date":"2021-06-21T21:07:46","date_gmt":"2021-06-22T01:07:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=9509"},"modified":"2021-09-09T07:14:14","modified_gmt":"2021-09-09T11:14:14","slug":"episode-374-gypsy-moth-caterpillars-thousands-of-them-june-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=9509","title":{"rendered":"EPISODE 374 GYPSY MOTH CATERPILLARS…THOUSANDS OF THEM JUNE 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"
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EPISODE 374      GYPSY MOTH CATERPILLARS\u2026THOUSANDS OF THEM   JUNE 2021<\/div>\n

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alan skeoch<\/div>\n
June 2021<\/div>\n

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MARJORIE SKEOCH GOES TO WAR<\/div>\n

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\u201cALAN,  we are under attack\u2026can\u2019t you do something.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAttack?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThousands\u2026tens of thousands of them\u2026moving down the street\u2026denuding the neighbourhood.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat can I do?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAt the very least you can join me in stamping on them\u2026I have killed hundreds\u2026my shoes are slippery<\/div>\n
with their crushed flesh.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cGood for you, meeting them head on as they come down the street.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cI think they have killed Hubert Lack\u2019s great oaks\u2026and the oaks next to <\/div>\n
him have been stripped bare.\u201d:<\/div>\n
\u201cAncient trees\u2026100, perhaps 200 years old\u2026stripped\u2026get out here and help.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWe have the only oak that has survived.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThey will get it too\u2026unless you start stamping  on them\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYou are fighting a losing war, Marjorie.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cI am not.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThey have outflanked you\u2026invading through the grass\u2026hard to spot.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cOur tree\u2026save our tree\u2026stop your damn talking.\u201d\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNeed helicopter spraying\u2026not done this year.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cGet the wrap around burlap with glue impregnated insulation\u2026seems to stop them a bit.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThousands got over the glue\u2026put defence up too late.\u201d\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat do you want me to do, Marjorie?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cGo get my other shoes\u2026get my rubber boots\u2026help stamping on them.\u201d<\/div>\n

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\u201cDid you know they are dangerous to humans?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYes, if you get those little feathery stickles in your arm a rash will happen.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cDanger to kids?.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYou bet\u2026especially if a child eats one. Serious\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cDamn\u2026there is one coming up my pant leg.\u201d<\/div>\n

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\u201cShake the shrubs\u2026they drop down on filament parachutes.\u201d<\/div>\n

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\u201cAlan, get my flanks\u2026I am dealing with the main onslaught\u2026you get<\/div>\n
the sneaky little devils in the grass.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cToo many, Marjorie.\u201d\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cCoward!\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cI read somewhere that the oak trees are strong enough to survive\u2026to set out<\/div>\n
new leaves when the Gypsy Moths leave the caterpillar stage.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNow isn\u2019t that just like you\u2026to read a book while we are under attack.<\/div>\n
You do not deserve to have our magnificent oak.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThe neighbours are up in arms\u2026calling Stephen Dasko, our councillor.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat is he going to do?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNext year there will be helicopter spraying.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWill there be any trees to spray?<\/div>\n
\u201cI think the oaks will recover.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cTime will tell.  Meanwhile go get my rubber boots\u2026stamping time now.\u201d<\/div>\n

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NOTE: Helicopter spraying of insecticide does some good but not much.<\/div>\n
If insecticide is too strong it will kill too many good bugs\u2026and birds.<\/div>\n
The Gypsy moth has been winning the war with property owners<\/div>\n
since the Moth first got loose in the 1880\u2019s in Massachusetts.  Some<\/div>\n
Gypsy moths, from Europe, escaped from an American laboratory.   Sounds<\/div>\n
chillingly familiar to the Covid 19 virus, dos it not?<\/div>\n
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There have been many reports of children getting rashes from Gypsy moth caterpillars in the recent weeks. Is it dangerous? What are the symptoms and what should you do if you think your child has contracted it? We break down the fast facts to these questions and more below.<\/div>\n