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State capital Stuttgart

Fire Department

Oak processionary moth - control

The  Garden, Cemetery and Forestry Office combats oak processionary moths (EPS for short) on urban trees due to the allergic reactions that occur on contact with the caterpillars' hairs. Since 2009, the office has had good success with a two-stage approach to combating the EPS. Every year, between leaf emergence at the end of April and the beginning of May, the treetops of over 2,500 oak trees are sprayed with a 0.5% neem oil solution. The preventative treatment is carried out on trees at risk of infestation. The focus is on oak trees in outdoor areas of schools, kindergartens, swimming pools, sports facilities, streets and green spaces that are highly frequented by people.

The one-off, preventative treatment of the treetops cannot control all the oak processionary caterpillars that occur. The caterpillar nests that appear from mid-May are removed by vacuuming with the aid of a special vacuum cleaner.

The preventative treatment and vacuuming of EPS on municipal trees is coordinated by the  garden, cemetery and forestry department and carried out by specialist companies.

How to contact us:

Service hotline

You have questions? Call us: from any network, without an area code. Authorities number 115: Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. You can usually reach the authorities number 115 at fixed network tariffs and thus free of charge via flat rates. Sign language telephone: Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Explanations and information