100+ Year Old Photo Shows Maine Problem Of the Past Now Back to Haunt Us

The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry took to social media on Wednesday with a pretty incredible photo that might fill you with some kind of emotion. Perhaps it'll be creepiness, itchiness, anger, or dread- no matter, it shows a problem that's been a problem before and has come back to be a problem for us Mainers now.

The Maine Department ACF shared a photo from 1910 of a pile of Browntail Caterpillar nests that had been gathered, piled up, and ready for incinerating. It makes you wonder how much ground was covered and how many trees were scaled to get that many winter webs. What doesn't make you wonder is why they were so vigilant to take care of their problem because we know the difficulties of having these invasive species around.

A Moth Mound Like None Other

Take a closer look at the mound of caterpillar webs they were getting ready to destroy!

The post from the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry shares what irradiation efforts looked like when the onset of Browntail started in New England, eluding to our current efforts of the #KnockOutBrowntail campaign happening this month to find and destroy the Browntail winter webs.

Reducing the Impact of Browntail Moth Activity

The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry has a whole section of their website dedicated to information about this invasive species including how to help mitigate the problem pest right now to reduce their effects on humans (rash, respiratory issues) and the environment.

Current Efforts to Mitigate Browntail Problems In Maine

Right now a campaign is underway to educate property owners and hard-hit communities to take on mitigation efforts now before the pest starts getting active in the spring. #KnockOutBrowntail is an effort to inform people what to look for when searching for the caterpillar's winter webs and how to property clip and dispose of the creatures. Check out more about these efforts on the Maine Forest Service webpage about the campaign.