It’s that time of year again.
Tent caterpillars are back in Greater Sudbury, but there are a couple of different types.
Luckily experts say the ones that plagued the city last summer are not expected back in big numbers.
This local scientist says there are two different kinds of tent caterpillars here in northern Ontario
Dan Chaput is a staff scientist at Sudbury’s Science North.
"The eastern tent caterpillars tend to form these nests in the crotches of branches, so the wider, broader nests that we see. And they look a little different and they don't have usually the plague proportions that the forest tent caterpillars have. So, the ones we normally see the most of are the forest tent caterpillars." said Chaput.
The forest tent caterpillars were a huge issue last summer all over Sudbury, but the word is, this year won’t be as bad.
This species of moth are on a 12-year cycle, so this year, Chaput says he expects much lower numbers throughout the summer
"The populations were building up, they peaked, I believe, in my opinion, I hope. Then the population starts to crash, and I think a lot of them would have been affected by the really cold winter." said Chaput.
Some people are even devising their own ways of dealing with this annual problem.
Michelle Matthews lives just outside Sudbury and says her house was completely covered in 2017.
"Millions and millions of caterpillars! You could kind of see them coming towards your house and the only way that we could find to get them off is after they cocooned and we were peeling them off by the hand." said Matthews.
But last year, she decided to try something new: duct tape on her outside walls.
"I tried one wall first; the first part of the wall, and it seemed to be working, so I rushed right away to Home Hardware. I bought, probably, about $50 worth of duct tape. And it took me a roll and a half, a few hours later, and they just stayed off the house. They didn't make their way back up." said Matthews.
Scientists like Dan Chaput at Science North say the infestations occur at different times and in different years.
And this year, he expects the caterpillars to be bad in Sault Saint Marie.
Judging by the reactions to a picture posted on the CTV News Northern Ontario Facebook page, the return of these creepy crawlers are not welcome.
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