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According to the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, this is the time of year citizens can help eradicate browntail caterpillars in trees that are accessible. Browntail caterpillars cause a rash like poison ivy and are spreading across larger areas of the state. Contact with caterpillar hairs can cause severe reactions for some individuals.
The caterpillars spend the winter webbed in silken-wrapped leaves on the tips of branches of oak and apple trees. State entomologists say NOW is the time to look for the bright white silk tying a few leaves to the TIPS of your apple, crab apple, plum and oak tree branches.
If you see a web CLIP IT OUT and destroy the web by dropping it in a bucket of soapy water, do not just leave it on the ground. The webs can be found regularly from the New Hampshire border to Waldoboro, and inland to Turner and Waterville. They are worst along the coast from Falmouth to Bristol. The moths have been seen all the way to Kingfield, Millinocket and Topsfield on the New Brunswick border.
For More Information: Contact the Maine Forest Service (207) 287-2431 or your local University of Maine Cooperative Extension Office.
