Browntail moth caterpillars! Egads, they're ruining the summer. [View all]

[mainer]

It's the most beautiful weather of the year and we can't go outside unless we want to risk scratching our own skin off. Lidocaine cream is sold out across the state. I try to never use pesticides on my property but this is breaking me.

“We are in the midst of an outbreak,” he said.

The caterpillars have tiny poisonous hairs that can remain toxic for as long as three years, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services warned.

After people come in contact with the caterpillar’s hairs, they can develop a red and bumpy rash similar to a reaction to poison ivy that can linger for a few hours to several weeks, the department said. If the hairs are inhaled, some people can develop breathing issues.

There’s no specific treatment for the rash, other than remedies like calamine lotion, the department said.

In Waterville, Maine, a city about 20 miles north of Augusta, the caterpillar infestation has gotten so out of control that the mayor called an emergency meeting of the City Council to declare a public health emergency and order insecticide.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/13/us/maine-browntail-moth-caterpillar.html