durhamregion.com | This Week | Thursday, June 16, 2022 | 4 near Rouge National Urban Park. The city also injected trees with the product TreeAzin, which kills the caterpillars when they eat the leaves. "We had a colder winter which may lessen the impact of the caterpillar," McKay said. The cooler spring might have delayed their hatching, but the caterpillars have been spotted in Pickering, McKay said. "It's an insect that isn't going away," McKay said. "We're never going to eliminate it." Jennifer Smith, the Town of Whitby's manager of operations of parks, fire and operational services, said the town's current focus is on educating residents on how to recognize and reduce the impact of spongy moths. "This education is an essential part of how the town works to minimize this invasive species in our community," Smith said. "We also continually monitor the local spongy moth population in order to evaluate the need for any further action." ABOUT SPONGY MOTHS According to the town's website, the invasive insect was introduced to Ontario in 1969. They range from five to 60 millimetres in length, and are dark and hairy with five pairs of blue dots and six pairs of red dots on the back. They feed on most hardwood trees. Healthy trees can withstand one to several years of severe defoliation by the moth. Under normal circumstances, defoliated trees should regrow their leaves in two to three weeks or by early July, the website said. LAST YEAR'S NIGHTMARE Whitby resident Alex Masur's large property was hit hard last year. "There's billions of them," he said at the time. "At their peak, they were crawling up our house." Some of Masur's trees are now gone, such as the large evergreens. "They devoured those trees within two weeks," he said, but added his apple trees have regenerated. Masur noticed this year the caterpillars have returned but they're small and there don't appear to be as many. "All in all, hopefully we won't have a repeat of last year," he said. "That was scary not only for the trees but for us. These things were everywhere." WHAT CAN YOU DO? According to the Toronto And Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), from May to July, residents can place a burlap band around tree trucks where caterpillars will hide during the heat of the day. They should check bands daily and scrape caterpillars into a container with soapy water for a few days and dispose in the garbage. "You have to manually remove the caterpillars," McKay said. "It doesn't prevent the caterpillars from going up the tree." Those doing this job should wear gloves since caterpillar hairs can cause skin irritation or allergies. Residents can report sightings to the toll-free Invading Species Hotline at 1- 800-563-7711 or e-mail info@invadingspecies.com. Sightings can also be submitted to EDDMaps.org. Visit yourleaf.org for more information. STORY BEHIND THE STORY: With news of spongy moth caterpillar sightings in Durham again this spring, Durhamregion.com looked into what is being done to mitigate the situation. NEWS Continued from page 3 'HOPEFULLY WE WON'T HAVE A REPEAT OF LAST YEAR. THAT WAS SCARY NOT ONLY FOR THE TREES BUT FOR US' SCAN THE CODE to read more Whitby news online. Alex Masur says last year's infestation of Lymantria dispar dispar moths was extreme on his property. Jason Liebregts/Metroland