Humans and pets in Cyprus in serious risk from increased presence of pine caterpillars

[Paphos Life]

Humans and pets in Cyprus are in serious risk from an increased processionary pine caterpillar presence in recent years, Philenews reported on Friday. Because the white hairs that cover the body of this commonly-found insect in Cyprus contain a toxic substance that can cause skin irritation and allergic reactions in both humans and animals. The […]
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Read the article and chat about it below...

[Devil]

Where I live, we have them all around us. Obviously, the aerial spraying is not done where the mist of insecticide would fall on habitations. When the caterpillars descend from the trees in procession, they hunt around to find a hole which they can enter to go from the larval to the pupal stage. It is this hunt that is most dangerous for animals, particularly dogs. In the worst case, dogs have been known to die from their effect, maybe cats as well. If you see a mass of caterpillars on the ground near pine trees, keep well away!

[Kili01]

It's really up to pet owners to keep their domestic pets out of harms way of these caterpillars.
When we lived in Kamares we had a number of huge pine trees and these caterpillars were an annual hazard. Knowing this we kept our dogs on their leads when we passed by on walks.
Luckily the period when the processionary caterpillars were a problem was only a week or two in spring.
Unfortunately, a neighbour's cat must have come into close contact with them, its face was badly affected, despite an operation the poor animal was beyond further help and had to be put down.
Dee

[bromerzz]

Two bird species do in fact include them in their diet. The Great Spotted Cuckoo and the Eurasian Hoopoe which are both migrant breeders on island.