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ARCHIVED - Alfaz del Pi tackles annual pine processionary caterpillar invasion in dog parks
Spraying is being carried out in the Marina Baixa town's seven dog parks
The prickly hairs of the pine processionary caterpillar can prove fatal for pets when the insects drop to the ground, and can cause allergic reactions in people.
As such, a series of preventative measures are carried out to combat the processionary plague in Alfaz del Pi, including the annual spraying of trees at Los Carrascos Landscape and Environmental Interpretation Centre (CIPM) and in the town's seven dog parks located in calles Tritó, Saturn, Tauro and San Pere, along with the Jardín de Alfaz, Escandinavia and Mare Nostrum Forum residential areas.
The council uses a microbiological insecticide which, when applied to the upper part of the tree, kills the caterpillars in their larval stage.
"This treatment is harmless to people and animals and aims to combat the processionary caterpillar before the typical sacks [which denote their presence] are formed in the trees," explained Councillor for Health, Marisa Cortés.
This particular species is typically found in Mediterranean pine forests on which numerous insectivorous animals feed. At the end of the warmer months, a new cycle of the pine processionary begins and from September to November, the caterpillars hatch from the eggs laid in the treetops.
After hatching, the insects go through five larval stages. At the second stage, biological treatments are used to kill the caterpillars before they develop the third stage of prickly and potentially fatal hairs.
Image: Ayuntamiento de Alfaz del Pi
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