It seems the worst of the tent caterpillars is coming to an end in Regina.
The City of Regina has fielded about 450 calls regarding the bugs over the last few weeks.
“What my staff are telling me is that they’re actually starting to see the number of calls going down now,” Russell Eirich, manager of forestry, pest control and horticulture for the City of Regina, told the CJME Morning Show Tuesday. “People are starting to see the end in their own yards and we’re still spraying for what’s left, but it’s starting to go down.”
The city started spraying for tent caterpillars and cankerworms on May 24. Cankerworm spraying was based on counts, while spraying for tent caterpillars was based on complaints received from residents.
Eirich said residents wanting to get rid of the worms themselves have a few options. They can either spray the tent caterpillars with BTK spray or simply squish the bugs using rubber gloves.
Tent caterpillars turn into moths, and Eirich said they should start to pupate in the next week or so.
Much of southern Saskatchewan has been dealing with high numbers of tent caterpillars this year. Pictures shared on social media have shown outbreaks in Estevan, Esterhazy and Kenosee.