Overview
- Two schools in Bad Wildungen were closed while specialists removed nests after a confirmed infestation that forced on-site lessons to switch to distance or emergency care.
- All twelve Berlin districts have jointly written to the city Senat asking for citywide coordination, reclassification of the pest as a health issue and extra funding as individual district costs climb into the hundreds of thousands of euros.
- Municipal teams are using a mix of measures — nematode sprays applied to tree crowns, mechanical vacuuming with protective crews and thermal disposal of collected caterpillars, plus drone and helicopter applications of biological agents in some regions — each method limited by weather, access and public concerns.
- Health authorities warn the caterpillars carry microscopic hairs that contain the protein thaumetopoein and can cause skin, eye and respiratory reactions, and they advise immediate showering, eye rinsing and washing clothes at 60°C after contact and seeking medical care for serious symptoms.
- The outbreak is part of a northward spread seen since 2019 that experts link to warmer conditions, and the surge has prompted community tools such as a live citizen-reporting map while raising the prospect of a permanent, centrally funded response to ease municipal strain.