London street under attack by a caterpillar invasion

Emma Sleight
Updated
The London street under attack by a caterpillar invasion
The London street under attack by a caterpillar invasion


A street in south London has been overrun by a plague of caterpillars that has completely covered the cars, walls, pavements and even, in some cases, the residents.

The infestation is three inches deep in some places and residents have found the insects crawling in their hair and clothes.

The first time residents of Warfield Road, Hampton noticed their new creepy-crawly neighbours was when swathes of spooky, white material started appearing in the trees.

Their fascination soon turned to horror, however, when they discovered that the material was in fact caterpillar nests and three weeks later thousands of Bird-cherry ermine caterpillars hatched in the street.

The London street under attack by a caterpillar invasion
The London street under attack by a caterpillar invasion



Trisha Mole, who lives in Warfield Road, told the Daily Mail: "You cannot help but feel they are doing damage to the trees."

One neighbour added: "The trees are completely infested. All the trees are dripping in this white chlorophyll web thing.

"We are picking the caterpillars out of our hair and the kids' hair. It's just not on."

The London street under attack by a caterpillar invasion
The London street under attack by a caterpillar invasion



Brother and sister Charlie and Ava Warren survey their new neighbours on Walton Street, Hampton

The London street under attack by a caterpillar invasion
The London street under attack by a caterpillar invasion


Representatives from Richmond council were quick to respond but one resident said that they seemed to be more worried about the caterpillars than the people actually living in the street.

Richmond Council said there were no safe chemicals that could be used in a public area to permanently remove the caterpillars and confirmed that the caterpillar feeding stage lasted about four weeks.

A council spokesman said: "The caterpillars are totally harmless to humans... However, we are aware that they have caused the local residents distress and we are investigating what other methods could be used to remove them."

The Bird-cherry Ermine moth is entirely harmless and is found across Europe as well as northern and eastern Asia.

They grow up to between 16 to 25mm long and make an extensive web like nest and can strip an entire tree bare during their feeding stage.


This isn't the first time London residents have been plagued by insects. In November 2012, Debra Bratt, from Hartlepool was visiting her younger sister in London and, after booking in for the night at a Travelodge, woke up to discover insects of all different sizes crawling everywhere over the beds.

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