The Town of Rocky Mountain House is stepping in to deal with an infestation of tent caterpillars in trees and parks throughout the community.

Along with creating an unsightly appearance, the caterpillars can destroy foliage and strip leaves, although trees typically recover well following an infestation.

Rocky Mountain House typically sees a return of the pests every decade or so, and communications co-ordinator Laura Button said the town was due for another outbreak.

“They were on the uptick last year, and our parks and grounds crew had been inspecting trees,” she said. “Now they’ve all hatched, so we have a bit of a caterpillar problem.”

To address the issue, crews will begin by blasting the caterpillars with water to remove them from trees. If that fails, crews will treat affected areas using BTK — bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki — a naturally occurring bacterium that is harmless to humans.

As a last resort, insecticide may be used, although Button said it would only be applied in targeted areas.

Residents dealing with tent caterpillars in their own yards can also take steps to manage them. The University of Saskatchewan has released guidelines that include hand-picking caterpillars into a pail containing an inch or two of water, or knocking them out of trees with a strong spray of water.

Residents can also squash the caterpillars or use a broom or shop vacuum to clean up large numbers of them. Dead caterpillars can be composted or bagged and placed in the garbage.