Durban - Morningside residents are battling a caterpillar infestation which has seen some developing rashes, sores and other ailments.
Residents are demanding that trees where the caterpillars are be cut down and the Avondale area be cordoned off to prevent cars and people entering the caterpillar-infested area.
Residents claim they have been using creams and allergy medication to treat the sores, allegedly caused by the caterpillar infestation.
When The Mercury team visited the area yesterday to speak to the residents, they witnessed caterpillar-infested trees.
Contacted for comment, eThekwini Municipality said it was addressing the problem, describing the caterpillar infestation as a seasonal occurrence.
Rene Louise, a resident in one of the complexes near Avondale Road, said her family has been affected, with some developing sores and lumps due to the caterpillar problem.
“In the middle of April, we noticed that my husband and two children had red itchy lumps.
“I initially thought that it was caused by mosquito bites, but I was concerned as the more you scratched, the worse it spread over the entire body.
“We weren’t sure what was causing it but when other residents started talking about it on the WhatsApp group, showing similar symptoms, we realised that it was the caterpillars that were causing it.”
Louise said it was painful to see her son suffering from an allergic reaction in his eye.
“My son was in so much pain from the allergic reaction that caused lumps and swelling near his eye.
“We had to invest in antihistamine tablets and creams to cope with lumps and itchiness. I looked at the trees in Avondale and it was horrible to see the number of caterpillars there.
“We are calling upon the municipality to do something about it and if they can’t resolve the situation, we need to cut these trees down.”
A supervisor in one of the buildings, who wanted to remain anonymous, said one of the reasons they were worried was that the caterpillars were coming into their houses.
“Residents can’t sit on their balconies because of the caterpillars coming into their homes. When we dry our clothes we also find caterpillars on them. Residents are fed up spending money on medication.”
He warned that if nothing was done the residents would resort to drastic measures. “We have met the municipality and they have said that cutting the trees is not an option.
“They say that they are going to explore different ways to treat the trees. This doesn’t help us as we are faced with this situation every day. Some residents are threatening to burn the trees to resolve the situation. We just want this situation to be resolved.”
Municipal spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said the city had received complaints about the infestation from residents.
“We have sent teams on different occasions to investigate. The aforementioned (incident) is a seasonal occurrence that is a part of nature.
“We have informed residents that these caterpillars will pupate into a moth and eventually fly away. Coming into contact with the moth can irritate the skin slightly.
“We ask residents to be cautious when in the vicinity. In the meantime, we are exploring ways of addressing the concerns raised by residents without harming the trees or the caterpillars.”