Overview
- Late May inspections at the Waidsee in Weinheim found additional nests, prompting the city to expand a prohibition zone, close the lakeside walking path and hire a specialist firm to remove the caterpillars with the reopening date still unclear.
- Authorities in several states have launched control campaigns as infestations increase, including helicopter‑applied bacterial insecticides over large areas and targeted spraying near kindergartens, sports fields and cemeteries.
- The larvae carry tiny, easily detached hairs that contain the toxin thaumetopoein and can cause skin rashes, eye irritation and asthma‑like breathing problems, so officials advise keeping 10–15 metres away and avoiding any contact with nests.
- Municipal responses vary by site and include mechanical vacuuming of nests, use of nematodes in some cities, specialist removals by contracted firms and area closures while work is carried out to limit public exposure.
- The Federal Environment Agency links the surge to warmer, drier springs that favour the species, officials warn hairs can persist in old nests or on the ground and people should not try to remove nests themselves because the hazard can outlast visible infestations.