Basildon family under siege from a plague of caterpillars

8:52pm Wednesday 30th May 2012 in Southend

Under attack – The caterpillars on their web, which covers a garden wall Under attack – The caterpillars on their web, which covers a garden wall

A FAMILY say they are frightened to venture outside after their home was encircled by hordes of caterpillars.

The Athertons, of Clayburn Circle, Basildon, have seen hundreds of the creepy-crawlies spinning a sticky, silky web on a tree overhanging their garden.

The web has now started covering garden furniture and walls and the children are frightened to pick up their toys in case they get tangled in the web.

Ami Atherton, 30, said: “My 12-year-old son George came home from school the other day and was too scared to walk down the path because the caterpillars were crawling all over the place.

“We can’t leave the girls’ toys out in the garden because they get absolutely covered in the web, which is hard to wash away.

“It has even got to the stage now where our postman is refusing to deliver our mail. It was my daughter Ellie-Rose’s seventh birthday the other day, so I am sure she has missed out on some birthday cards.

“I have tried to get the council to remove them, but it doesn’t seem to be bothered, even though it is such a pain for us.”

Basildon Council said it was aware of problems being caused by caterpillars in parts of the borough.

A spokesman said: “We have recently been dealing with a number of reports of caterpillar nests, particularly in the west of the borough. Prun- ing out nests has already begun, which helps to solve the problem, and our arboriculture team will start using insecticide next week where necessary.

“We have received an enquiry regarding Clayburn Circle and the team will be dealing with this site within the next week.

“The species of caterpillar is not a health hazard and is not an irritant. However, we would urge residents to report any cases of caterpillars to us.”

Comments(18)

Nebs says...
9:06pm Wed 30 May 12

Have you considered removing them yourself?

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VANGE LES says...
9:36pm Wed 30 May 12

Nebs wrote:
Have you considered removing them yourself?
No way, they're probably council tenants so they would prefer to let someone else do it and pay for it.

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billericay boy says...
9:50pm Wed 30 May 12

I have lots of bugs on my plants do I call the council or should I just buy some bug spray.

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tonyage43 says...
10:17pm Wed 30 May 12

This sounds pretty frightening, I imagine once the caterpillars have encircled your house there's not much you can do. You've only got to walk out of the door and wham......

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A Dermot says...
10:49pm Wed 30 May 12

Next they wil be taking our jobs houses and women

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This Rancid Town says...
1:06am Thu 31 May 12

If you sit there scared long enough you can watch the very pretty, also equally not at all dangerous, butterflies emerge, after all what else are you going to do between signing on sessions?

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v.randy says...
2:37am Thu 31 May 12

'caterpillars on brick'!!!!
People 'under siege'!!!!
Watch out for woodlice,worms and snails while you're at it.
Clearly they have just returned from a grilling on The Jeremy Kyle Show to find a garden behind the back door.
Once you start filling the back garden with matresses and old fridges you'll soon forget about them.Don't forget the additional claims you can make..there has to be some more cash coming your way from the taxpayer..enjoy!!!!!

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al coniston says...
7:37am Thu 31 May 12

the man of the house needs to get off his backside, grow a pair and sort this out - they are non-dangerous caterpillars for goodness sake, not man-eaters. Deal with it and stop expecting other people to do things for you. What next . . . would you like someone to come around and spoon feed you ?

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Lady milly from Billericay says...
8:27am Thu 31 May 12

Whilst it may not be very nice its hardly a siege and non life threatening.


Get a grip compare it to whats happening in Siria that is truly horrendous where men women and children were executed one by one even the children.

Its an insult to reporting to have such a pathetic story even if it is a slow news day at the Echo

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waveydavey says...
8:34am Thu 31 May 12

Yes, caterpillars can be particularly frightening, an I´m not surprised that you´re terrified to venture out the front door.

Seriously, who writes this rubbish??

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Leighdweller says...
8:37am Thu 31 May 12

I have got a lot of gnats in my garden at the moment and my children can't place on the trampoline without me having to apply some insect repellent first.

It's a pain as the kids don't like it and make a fuss. However, they don't like getting bitten either and they react really badly to the bites.

It's ruining my summer.

First it was the weather, and now this.

I have called the council so many times and they refuse to come out to us and serve the gnats with any sort of warning or ask them to move on.

Maybe it's because they are devoting so some time on Caterpillars. Or perhaps Mrs Cole at number 74 is having a problem with slugs..?

Please, Mr Editor, take note of this story and help me reach out to other similarly blighted innocent families. Alone, my voice will not be heard. Together, we can make a difference.

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Barry Bas says...
8:41am Thu 31 May 12

"Ami Atherton, 30, said: “My 12-year-old son George came home from school the other day and was too scared to walk down the path because the caterpillars were crawling all over the place."

He is 12 and scared of caterpillars, has he got a phobia of insects? Surely when you're 12 and you have a 7 year old sister the correct thing to do is to grab a handfull of the caterpillars and chase your sister around the garden with them.

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drofmor1 says...
9:59am Thu 31 May 12

I realise they are only caterpillars and nothing to worry about but did any of you see Sutton road cemetery a couple of years ago when they had an "outbreak" for want of a better word? It was amazing to see-everywhere was covered in caterpillers and webs but you really wouldn't want them over your house. There were millions of them. Unfortunately not many of these could have survived as a massive rain storm came over the next day and washed all the webs away.

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The Cater Wood Creeper says...
4:59pm Thu 31 May 12

Nebs wrote:
Have you considered removing them yourself?
send them back where they came from.....

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muffindamule says...
12:29pm Fri 1 Jun 12

Time can be a great healer so now that the council has become involved........prob
lem solved !

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girlie71 says...
9:45pm Fri 1 Jun 12

i wonder if they are traveller caterpillars ?

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doasilikey says...
5:11pm Sat 2 Jun 12

girlie71 wrote:
i wonder if they are traveller caterpillars ?
That could be the worst type- They'll never get rid of them!

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E-Types says...
2:04am Sun 3 Jun 12

A Dermot wrote:
Next they wil be taking our jobs houses and women
They wont have much problem with the women!

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