RESIDENTS of Kampung Tebengau Tepi Laut, near Kuala Kedah, had thought that a dreadful attack of black caterpillars on their village in 2016 was behind them.
They remembered that the worm-like creatures did not only look strange, they had also caused severe itchiness on people who touched them.
The problem was only solved after several government agencies took action to exterminate them to prevent their return.
However, after seven years, the caterpillars have now reappeared, bringing fear and trepidation to the residents, many of whom are farmers who grow fruits and vegetables.
The people are worried that their numbers will increase in a short time because it is said that the creatures breed very quickly.
Villager Zalilah Had, 39, first became aware of the caterpillars last Tuesday when she noticed a change in the mangrove trees at a nearby river.
The normally green avicennia, which is known as api-api in Malay because they attract fireflies, had turned brown and withered.
When she and other villagers went closer, they spotted large numbers of caterpillars in the trees.
"We started to worry because day by day, more and more trees were attacked by the caterpillars,” she said during a site visit by Getaran, the Malay-language sister portal of the Vibes.
“We are worried that the 2016 incident will happen again. The situation at the time was very damaging and brought a great deal of problems.”
Fire hazard
Zalilah runs a restaurant near the mangrove trees. “After detecting the presence of the caterpillars, we decided to shut our business. We didn't want our customers complaining," she said.
Recalling the incident in 2016, Zalilah's uncle, Yunus Saad, 59, remembers how the creatures fell on a vehicle and sparked a fire.
"At the time most of the api-api trees in the mangrove area had already died and the caterpillars were everywhere, including in homes.
"The number now is still not as overwhelming as it used to be, but they are numerous enough that it feels like they can increase to the thousands in no time,” he said.
"When there were a lot of caterpillars in the past, they would always fall on vehicles passing through this area.
“If you stopped even for a moment under a tree, you would see that there were many above you," he told Getaran.
Itching and fever
Another resident, Ku Othman Ku Jiwa, 63, said he and his wife had to be admitted to the hospital due to the caterpillars.
"If you touch one, you will start to really itch. And when you scratch the itch, a mark will appear like ringworm,” he said.
“My wife was admitted to the hospital because she developed a fever after being exposed to the creatures.”
The caterpillars have appeared for the first time since 2016.
“I hope the relevant parties will take immediate action to prevent their population from increasing," he said.
Ku Othman said that during the 2016 attack, the caterpillars only vanished after the Kedah Agriculture Department sprayed pesticides.
He said that the trees attacked by the caterpillar were cut down by the Malaysian Civil Defence Force but that did not solve the problem.
"The problem was only solved after the Agriculture Department sprayed the chemicals.
"We hope that the same actions can be taken again to overcome the problem as soon as possible," he said. – The Vibes, November 24, 2023
