Caterpillars invade Houston, Texas

HOUSTON — Many viewers have asked about the furry caterpillars they see in their areas around Houston.

The little white balls of fuzz are called fall moths, and experts say they are harmless to humans and pets.

“I had a few at home. I thought it was like a cotton ball,” Cypress resident Deborah Adams said.

Adams said she noticed when she saw webs on her tree.

“After a while, we started to see these insects grow and the worms started to disappear,” Adams said.

She and her husband were worried.

“See how the leaves die?” » said Adams.

Lauren Davidson, an entomologist at the Cockrell Butterfly Center at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, said not to worry too much.

“If your trees and plants are healthy, they should be able to get through this,” Davidson said.

So why do the leaves under the canvas turn brown?

“When they hatch in the spring, they start to form this web to protect themselves from predators. It’s not really for any other purpose and they then feed on the foliage of the leaves while they’re inside the web ” she said.

And if you want to get rid of them, Davidson said there’s no need to use insect repellent.

“The best thing to do is to break the webbing with a stick or pole if you can reach it. This will dismantle the protective barrier and predators will be able to deal with the caterpillar,” he said. Davidson said.

Again, the expert said the little creatures are everywhere, not just in a specific area. And she said they normally come several times a year. They like to eat the foliage of over 100 different species of trees or shrubs.