Possible strategies against the processionary

In this document the possible sustainable and respectful strategies for the control of the processionary are detailed, depending on the state of the biological cycle in which the pest is, and at what time of the year we are:

Adult capture

• • Between June and August.
  • Consists of placing traps and the sex pheromone to capture males
  • It is a strategy that maintains plague pressure at acceptable levels of damage, reduces the population, especially males, but does not eradicate the plague.
  • There are two traps that can be used:

The G trap : it is the one that has historically been used, if you have this trap from other campaigns it is recommended to use this one, since it is a very resistant trap, and only by changing the bag, it is again operational.

• If you do not have Trap g from other years or want to increase the number of traps available, since last year we have also recommended another trap model, the Polillero Funnel , which has the following advantages: which is stronger, harder, more manageable, less cumbersome, and cheaper.

In the tests carried out, it has been appreciated that the differences that occur in the number of catches are not statistically significant, which justifies being able to use both models of traps interchangeably.

With these, it is not possible to make a massive capture for use, since the pheromone is not registered as such, so what we usually do are, apart from monitoring, and captures in specific areas (parks, gardens, etc.), barriers that they stop the penetration of the pest in the areas that we want to protect.

Endotherapy

It is a strategy that is based on the introduction by means of injections through a specially designed team, of phytosanitary product that once in the vascular system of the tree, is redistributed by all the cells of the plant by translocation of the sap . In this way, regardless of the size of the tree (there is a limitation when the trees are very small, since in order to inject the product a hole must be made in the trunk by means of a drill), it is fully protected, once they have been a month or so after the application, since at the moment it is considered that the product is already distributed in all parts of the sample.

In the case of processionary endotherapy, what happens is that the first-stage larvae feed on the needles, which already accumulate the plant protection product and die (we remember that the larvae in their first stages still do not have stinging hairs) . The importance of making the application in due time is paramount, since the effectiveness of the product is proportional to the state of development of the tracks, the larger they are, the more resistant they are to the product.

• • Application time: October and November.
  • Number of injections: One every 30cm perimeter of the pine trunk.
  • The effectiveness of this strategy is total, since, if everything is done well, it eradicates the plague of the treated tree, for this reason this strategy is the one used in public schools whose patios have pines from cities such as Barcelona or Lleida.
  • 100% use is made of the plant protection product since there is no drift or excess material that penetrates into the subsoil. In addition, it is applied through a catheter that allows the liquid to enter but not exit
  • It is intended and authorized only in parks and gardens, with a limited number of individuals

Processionary bag in which the application was made late, so it can be seen by the size of the caterpillars, but despite this, a very good efficiency due to the very high mortality of the processionary larvae that is appreciated.

ECORSE rings

They are rings that are placed around the trunk of the pine in which there are pockets or suspicions that there are processionary caterpillars, which what they do is prevent the caterpillars with stinging hairs, once they have finished their cycle, descend from the pine to be buried by the characteristic processions. It is avoided by putting a belt around the pine with a single opening that leads to a bag that is recommended to be filled with peat or soil, in such a way that they think they have reached the ground, and are buried and pupa to continue their cycle in the that some adults will emerge the following season, and others up to three years later when they go into diapause according to conditions.

There are different sizes of rings depending on the diameter / perimeter of the trunk.

Once the loss of descent of the procession is finished, it is necessary to manipulate the bag where these larvae “have been stored” with gloves, mask and glasses, and eliminate this by burning or burying it. And the following campaign, it is only necessary to replace the bag.

• They are installed between December and January.
• If they are placed in a public place, the ideal is to place them at a high height that cannot be easily accessed, since the bags once buried the procession is full of stinging hairs with the risk that this entails , only when manipulating these.
• Reduces the risk of animals or people coming into contact with caterpillars with stinging hairs.
• Eliminating these larvae reduces part of the population for years to come.
• It does not eliminate the larvae nor does it preclude the risk that there are larvae in the ground because they have fallen from the tree in which they nest.
• It is intended for parks and gardens, or cases where the number of specimens is limited (although we have cases that even in a forest rings have been put on more than 300 trees to protect forest users and their pets (there are an important problem with dogs when they see these processions, and the problem that they generate in the tongue, which many times must be cut or the dog may die because it suffocates with its inflammation)

I include a series of photos with the typical sequence:

Ignacio Torrente Sevillano
Technical engineer Forestry / Ingeniero Técnico Forestal / Forestry Technical Engineer

For more information and inqueries: Mp. +34 658 828 024