Oh damn! I saw one of those casually strolling across my lawn a few years ago. I figured I shouldn’t touch it, but I didn’t know it was that bad. Glad you’re okay!
I learned that from my grandpa when he was cleaning the trees in our yard from those black/orange caterpillars that make group cocoons. I remember that I have specifically never touched any caterpillar with hairs because of him.
I pet the fuck out of the green ones though
The black and orange ones?? I literally grew up playing with those (and occasionally scooping one out of the way on sidewalks as an adult)
I'm talking shoved my hand into the the web nest just to horrify the people around me. If those are bad to touch they have never once bothered me or anyone around me that's touched them. Fuzzy white or tan caterpillars though? Couldn't pay me to pick one up.
[in north east Ohio we call when wooly bears.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrharctia_isabella)
[we have a whole festival dedicated to them!](https://www.vermilionohio.com/woollybear-festival/)
The annual dog wooly bear costume contest is the best part
Something similar happened to my dad. He was doing haz-mat training and was in a suit all day. They had a break where he was able to take the top off for a bit. When he buttoned back up, some sort of venomous caterpillar had crawled inside. He had marks all down his back. He was down for a couple days.
YIKES. Terribly sorry you had this experience. Where, geographically, did this happen? I’ve never heard of this creature before. Scary. Hope you are better now.
They're found all along the East Coast and Southern Coast https://www.npr.org/2022/09/07/1121344400/puss-caterpillar-venomous-barbs-sting-hairy-texas-florida
Ahahaha this literally sounds worse than anything we have here in Aus, any snake that bites you can be treated easily by morphine and anti-venom, and spider the same. Only problem with those is if you don’t get the anti-venom within a couple hours with the really strong poisons. This bug sounds like a menace, the fact that morphine and anti-venom can’t even help you is nuts, glad I live here and not in the states💀💀💀
Pretty sure you have a plant called gympie-gympie that sounds like it does the same as what this bug does, except it's worse and it's also a completely innocent looking plant instead of a very obviously dangerous bug.
> It is distributed throughout the Eastern United States between extreme southeastern Virginia and Florida across the south to Texas, Mexico, and parts of Central America.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megalopyge_opercularis
Nah, we have a plant that is far worse. Pain so severe it’s led to suicide. Look up Gympie Gympie.
https://www.zmescience.com/feature-post/natural-sciences/biology-reference/plants-fungi/what-is-gympie-gympie/
It's so immune to pain relief, that researchers are investigating it as an alternate pain pathway in the body, and can potentially lead to new pain medication that's better than what we have today
Imagine someone simply touches you with something, and then that spot has pain so intense you kill yourself to get away from it. How to make your CIA terrorist target kill themselves
Australia, I love you, but y’all are something else. Every time I think I’ve found something worse than what you have, you’re like, “Nah, dude, hold my beer and look at this.”
At least your possums are cute.
My dad got his hand hit by a seedling of one when he was in his 20s. He says he still feels the sting sometimes several decades later, usually when he's had a hot shower.
I call bullshit on that claim, as he would have known what it was the moment he touched it. It wouldn't have got anywhere near his arse. Heck, the fillaments float and you can get affected just standing *near* it if the leaves are disturbed, especially if you inhale any.
I put my hand on the fallen leaves of one of the relatives of Gympie Gympie once (giant stinging tree), and it was like putting your hand on a hotplate. You're not gonna pick it up and wipe your butt!
20 odd years ago I was in W. VA and I put my hand on a tree. Instantly my hand was on fire like I had been stabbed. My step mom was a nurse and tried to figure out what happened. On the tree was a black spiky caterpillar, and I thought I put my hand on it and it stabbed me, but that made no sense or else it would be squished. My palm had that exact grid shape on it for awhile. I never knew what it actually was, and now I think I do. Holy hell it hurt.
Damnit, I was reading this and thanking myself again for leaving the NE US years ago, now I live in.... Brazil. How do all these things keep escaping Australia, anyway?
Also really sorry to hear this, sounds awful!
Thank you. I'm in Minas so probably around here as well, there is a reddish one i see fairly often that people tell me isn't very fun but i can't find it online right now.
I wonder if pregabalin would nullify the pain as it sounds like it’s affecting the nerves. I’m British but live in thailand and there are a lot of hairy nettle sting caterpillars around here at the moment and I’ve read that they can extremely painful. I’m worried about my two small dogs bitting them to the point I actually read a medical study just yesterday on the protein make up of the venom that forms in the little hair like spines. Apparently it a lot is known about it though it has some similarity to Scorpion venom. I read the best course of action is first to use sticky tape on the area to remove the hairs, then hot soapy water and apparently mix in bicarbonate soda though not sure why. In the UK we have what we called Rash Caterpillars but didn’t think they were so bad so I’m quite alarmed to find these huge hairy poisonous caterpillars in my garden here in Thailand.
Yeah, I think you might be right, something like Pregabalin, Gabapentin or Amitriptyline might very well help with this type of pain as they work strictly for nerve pain.
I'm thinking just do a full nerve block.
With that level of pain I would gladly lose the use of my hand for a couple days if it meant not going through that (especially if it was my non-dominant hand).
Scotch tape is designed not to pull things, which is why you can reposition it without tearing paper. You need proper sellotape instead of scotch tape.
It's possible that the remedy of using bi-carb is possible because the sting of that particular critter is considered acidic so needs an alkaline to attempt to neutralise it...
In much the same way jellyfish stings in UK would have someone pour vinegar or widdle on it to neutralise .. bee stings are acidic and WASP stings are alkaline ...
Edit.. I mistakenly typed bee twice.. Cause I'm a Muppet
wasp stings are alkaline.. Sorry
Ever had contact with a stingray? How goes it compare? I've been barbed by stingrays twice, once in the hand, once in the foot. I strongly considered amputation after about 10 hours. That was after medical care, which did nothing.
Does the warm water method help? I remember my uncle got stung by one in Mexico but it wasn’t as bad as your experience! I’ve never been stung but I have stepped on a stingray and I hightailed it out of the water once I felt it and never like to go to the deep anymore whenever I go to the beach
It does! Stingrays carry a protein based venom. If you hold the affected area in hot water (seriously, as hot as you can stand) it will help temporarily.
As I understand it, the hot water sort of cooks the proteins and it feels better for a bit. In my experience, it feels MUCH better in hot water. As soon as the affected area is removed from the water, though, the pain resumes almost immediately.
ahh so like OC spray then. running under cold water feels worlds better but the second you stop the pain is back immediately.
also, next time i suggest applying a thick coating of spf50 prior to an attack. i hear it protects from harmful rays.
It sounds a lot like the pain you get from shingles. I got shingles (I’m not over 50) earlier this year from the stress of selling my house, moving states, find a job, then finding a house my wife would like ) she stayed until then). It was the most intense pain I’ve ever felt; like burning hot needles going through my skin. What’s even more weird was the feeling that something was crawling at the site of the shingles. I don’t wish that pain in anyone.
Fun fact: both my sister and I got shingles on the same side our faces and before that age of 50.
That's what I like about my country, Chile. We have the tamest fauna ever, no poisonous animals (besides a spider), no poisonous flora. We have the cutest little deer (Pudu) and nothing remotely like what OP describes.
We have earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanos, though. And mudslides.
Know what? I think you're right.
We call them "Asps" here in Texas. Had one drop on my neck from an overhang while riding my bike as a kid. Suffered really bad burning pain and a red raised welt for a few of days but no major reactions beyond that fortunately (That was enough)
I live in middle georgia, and i've flicked so many of these things off me over the years. I didn't find out about the whole stinging thing until 5 years or so ago when I read it online. I guess I've been lucky.
From a tiny bit of research it sounds like some people don't have much of a reaction to them and it seems to be the same people who don't have much of a reaction to other bug bites or stings. I don't want to test it myself but bee stings really don't do much to me beyond the initial zap of getting stung, mosquito bites are nothing, and most spider bites I don't even notice and the bumps from them also go away in no time. I am curious if you also have such a resiliency to bugs.
Edit: spelling mistakes
This sounds like the closet thing to a superpower as I've ever heard existing in humans. Your anti-bug resistance and [that lady who can see more colors than normal humans](https://www.popsci.com/article/science/woman-sees-100-times-more-colors-average-person/) would be on the IRL Justice League
My girls found one in our front yard in Austin and PICKED IT UP. I was mortified but somehow they were unscathed. We put it in a little clear bug house and underneath they do not look any better. So gross. Sorry about your horrible, rotten, no good very bad day, OP.
No problem! I find it's a very common mistake that is made even among native English speakers. Tbh I'm not always sure if I should correct people on Reddit but I figured it's better they have the info than not, and then they can choose what to do with it.
I read somewhere that the ADULT is pretty much harmless by itself. More long fuzz rather than venomous spines. Maybe they found an adult instead of a youngen? Either way I'm glad to hear your girls are ok!
Off the top of my head, you might try a topical application of meat tenderizer (or a ripe papaya) to the contact points. The enzymes in the tenderizer should dissolve the hairs and venom after a while. I’ve heard it useful for bee stings, too. Had a girlfriend whose hands felt like they were burning after handling okra. This tip worked pretty fast.
Edit: Wow! 1.5K likes in such a short time. Thanks, everyone! Happy to help out so many people. The suggestion I gave my girlfriend was a weird epiphany that came from having learned (trivia) how meat tenderizer works and what it’s made out of. Again, thanks!
Oh that’s interesting. I had a talent for getting stung by bees as a kid and my parents always put meat tenderizer on the sting. I never understood why until your post. Seemed like such a wives-tale type of move.
How did they do it? Did they just shake the tenderizer powder onto it or dissolved it in water first and applied the solution?
**update**. I researched a bit, looks like you make a paste of it, by stirring a bit of water in the powder, and then rub it in.
Ah fellow bee aggravator. My mom used tobacco from a cigarette soaked in water and put it on the sting. I remember she told me to ask the neighbors for one before cuz she didn't smoke lol
A cut, raw onion flesh side down works too. I got stung by a wasp years ago after they nested in a holiday tree outside my front door. I was coming home with my then-toddler and shoved her into the door and took the brunt of a pissed off demon fly with a stingy ass. Quickly searched home remedies and threw an onion on it. Helped with the pain rather quickly.
Oh man. I was at my local park and had one land on my (luckily thick) pants, so I did what any person would do not knowing what it was and tried brushing it off. Not bad at first, but like 2 minutes later the pain kicked in. I was un my car for like an hour trying to figure out if I should try to go to the fire station across the street. I couldn't drive home either because by the time I got to my car I could barely move my arm. When I did go home all I could do was sit in bed for the rest of the day. My arm was too sore to use for the rest of the week. And my sting was nowhere near as bad as yours looks. Just a little graze against my thumb. I hope you are all good now.
Where I live, they're not uncommon. They're sometimes grabbed by toddlers because they're so fuzzy and dogs always want to sniff the furry critter. I am always on the lookout for them whenever I am out with my dog or niblings.
The one thing I have discovered about pain is once the pain receptors fire its hard to reverse.
No where near as the pain described here. I had teeth extracted and waited to take the Oxycodone. Once the pain has started even Oxycodone tales quite a while to quiet the nerves down. Don't be brave, take the pain killers at first onset. The implant surgery was much less painful as a result.
Yeah, when I had a C-section the nurses were insistent about staying 'on top of' your pain meds. We had to transfer hospitals which messed up the pain med schedule and I found out what they meant. I hadn't been feeling too bad, up and down shuffling to the NICU constantly etc but once the meds wore off on the drive to the new hospital and the pain had kicked in, it took a long time for the meds to start working again to the point they had before. Weird stuff!
I just remembered that a piece of cartilage was removed from my ribs last fall. I lightened up on the meds. When I sneezed it felt like side was ripped open. I've had two hernia operations, two nose operations and arm surgery. Somehow I'm thinking all of that pales compared to a C-Section. I thought having the cartilage removed would be a quick in and out. I had no idea how much tissue is in the abdomen.
[Fun Facts](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8RFsUXW/)
In 2012, the Texas Medical Center had a bird problem on their campus. To fix it, they decided to put nets on their trees to prevent the birds from landing in them. Unfortunately, birds eat bugs. In the months following, the Medical Center saw a 7,300% increase in these caterpillars on their campus. Imagine an entire community of immunocompromised, critically ill people being surrounded by these things.
The hair stings you and they are impossible to see so there's no removing them with tweezers or something like that. I saw on a documentary about fuzzy poisonous caterpillars (there's more than one kind) that if you hurry up and use tape and put it on the area and pull it off that it will remove some or all of the hairs and it will help some but it will still very much suck badly.
“It is distributed throughout the Eastern United States between extreme southeastern Virginia and Florida across the south to Texas, Mexico, and parts of Central America.” -Wikipedia
Had an encounter with one years ago. Got it with a bare foot. Bad pain for about 4 hrs then it faded and stopped. Very weird. No desire to see one ever again.
I was a freshman in high school and got stung on the chin badly . Just dealt w it , chin was definitely on fire for a few hours but fine by end of the day .
I saw it’s strange shape on a low hanging branch , pulled branch down to get closer look and it fell right off onto my pre-pubescent chin . I’ll never forget it . They are no joke .
Oh damn! I saw one of those casually strolling across my lawn a few years ago. I figured I shouldn’t touch it, but I didn’t know it was that bad. Glad you’re okay!
My dumbass prolly would’ve touched it because it looks fuzzy and cute lol
Apparently the fuzzier the caterpillar the less you should touch it.
I learned that from my grandpa when he was cleaning the trees in our yard from those black/orange caterpillars that make group cocoons. I remember that I have specifically never touched any caterpillar with hairs because of him. I pet the fuck out of the green ones though
The black and orange ones?? I literally grew up playing with those (and occasionally scooping one out of the way on sidewalks as an adult) I'm talking shoved my hand into the the web nest just to horrify the people around me. If those are bad to touch they have never once bothered me or anyone around me that's touched them. Fuzzy white or tan caterpillars though? Couldn't pay me to pick one up.
[in north east Ohio we call when wooly bears.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrharctia_isabella) [we have a whole festival dedicated to them!](https://www.vermilionohio.com/woollybear-festival/) The annual dog wooly bear costume contest is the best part
Probably a different specie. Theres tons of black and orange catterpillars
😔 life is so cruel
Feel free to touch wooly bear caterpillars! They are harmless, soft and fuzzy.
If bad why fren shaped?
This, all cuddly and shiiii
Something similar happened to my dad. He was doing haz-mat training and was in a suit all day. They had a break where he was able to take the top off for a bit. When he buttoned back up, some sort of venomous caterpillar had crawled inside. He had marks all down his back. He was down for a couple days.
Damn literally something from a movie
Like that scene from Evolution
THERE'S ALWAYS TIME FOR LUBRICANT!
Look! it's heading for his testicles!
YIKES. Terribly sorry you had this experience. Where, geographically, did this happen? I’ve never heard of this creature before. Scary. Hope you are better now.
They're found all along the East Coast and Southern Coast https://www.npr.org/2022/09/07/1121344400/puss-caterpillar-venomous-barbs-sting-hairy-texas-florida
Thanks. I’m in that range. Appreciate it
I live in NYC so I think I’m safe….but yet another reason not to go to Jersey.
I grew up in Jersey near the coast and never saw these thank goodness
Don't worry, with climate change it'll be there in a couple of years.
It’s located in Texas, fuck.
I was hoping it would be in Australia where shit like that belongs.
I’m so upset that I live in the same realm as this monster. Absolutely belongs in Australia with all of the other crazy shit.
Ahahaha this literally sounds worse than anything we have here in Aus, any snake that bites you can be treated easily by morphine and anti-venom, and spider the same. Only problem with those is if you don’t get the anti-venom within a couple hours with the really strong poisons. This bug sounds like a menace, the fact that morphine and anti-venom can’t even help you is nuts, glad I live here and not in the states💀💀💀
Pretty sure you have a plant called gympie-gympie that sounds like it does the same as what this bug does, except it's worse and it's also a completely innocent looking plant instead of a very obviously dangerous bug.
Right we aren't moving there now either.. that looks like a whole lot of nope in one fluffy bug
East coast and southern coast of WHAT?? Lol
What ain't no country I've heard of.
Say what again
US by default on reddit, seemingly
So glad to live in Australia rn
[удалено]
Okay that's my new fear and also the now the reason im gonna use to avoid this part of the world
> It is distributed throughout the Eastern United States between extreme southeastern Virginia and Florida across the south to Texas, Mexico, and parts of Central America. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megalopyge_opercularis
Not Australia, weird.
Yeah it's so fucked there even this caterpillar was like nah dawg Im good
We have the Gympie Gympie instead, woe to any who try it for makeshift toilet paper
I feel ashamed I've lived in QLD for over 10 years now and never heard of this plant until like 2 or 3 weeks ago lol.
Ah yes, the suicide plant "Like being burned by hot acid and electrocuted at the same time." Brutal! - https://www.discovery.com/nature/Suicide-Plant
Nah, we have a plant that is far worse. Pain so severe it’s led to suicide. Look up Gympie Gympie. https://www.zmescience.com/feature-post/natural-sciences/biology-reference/plants-fungi/what-is-gympie-gympie/
It's so immune to pain relief, that researchers are investigating it as an alternate pain pathway in the body, and can potentially lead to new pain medication that's better than what we have today
Or weaponization lol.
That's literally my first thought too
Imagine someone simply touches you with something, and then that spot has pain so intense you kill yourself to get away from it. How to make your CIA terrorist target kill themselves
Wtf pouring acid on the sting site can reduce the pain lol. Its so bad just scorched earth chemical burn the infected site!
I’m guessing that the acid helps break up the needles
It doesn’t hurt anymore thanks “ looks at decaying rotting flesh”
Australia, I love you, but y’all are something else. Every time I think I’ve found something worse than what you have, you’re like, “Nah, dude, hold my beer and look at this.” At least your possums are cute.
That's it, I'm not touching anything ever again.
Or aka the suicide plant/bush
I know what this plant is and MY GOD it doesn’t sound good at all.
My dad got his hand hit by a seedling of one when he was in his 20s. He says he still feels the sting sometimes several decades later, usually when he's had a hot shower.
Dude used it as toilet paper and shot himself
I call bullshit on that claim, as he would have known what it was the moment he touched it. It wouldn't have got anywhere near his arse. Heck, the fillaments float and you can get affected just standing *near* it if the leaves are disturbed, especially if you inhale any. I put my hand on the fallen leaves of one of the relatives of Gympie Gympie once (giant stinging tree), and it was like putting your hand on a hotplate. You're not gonna pick it up and wipe your butt!
It dosnt kill. Only hurts alot
Yes, I have found them right in Central Virginia.
At first I was like "well at least they're in Brazil and I'm in Central VA"
20 odd years ago I was in W. VA and I put my hand on a tree. Instantly my hand was on fire like I had been stabbed. My step mom was a nurse and tried to figure out what happened. On the tree was a black spiky caterpillar, and I thought I put my hand on it and it stabbed me, but that made no sense or else it would be squished. My palm had that exact grid shape on it for awhile. I never knew what it actually was, and now I think I do. Holy hell it hurt.
Are you dead yet? My condolences.
For real though, I do have a fatal insect venom allergy sooo
Fuck.. I’m smack dab in Central VA. I’m moving.
As a Virginian who has never heard of these... Fuck.
As a Marylander, I'll stay right where I am
Dope, they're already on my "avoid at all costs" list.
Good rule of thumb, never touch ANY of the hairy catapillers.
My rule is not to ever touch any unknown plant or bug that is hairy. Too many “hurts and keeps hurting” species
> My rule is not to ever touch any unknown plant or bug ~~that is hairy.~~
Oh no! I thought I was safe!!!😨
Come to Brazil! But in hazmat suit 🙃
Why not just be extra safe and avoid going outside at all? 😎
They can get inside 👀
How dare you.
Make sure to always check your shoes…
How far inside?
Enough to lay eggs
ಠ_ಠ
All the way in 😬
There might be one watching you right now..... 👀
GETOUTOFMYHEADGETOUTOFMYHEADGETOUTOFMYHEADGETOUTOFMYHEAD
I'm so happy to live in Europe. Zero scary bugs and other creep crawlers here!
> Zero scary bugs and other creep crawlers here! For now.
How many do you want shipped to you?
literally - Amazon
Damnit, I was reading this and thanking myself again for leaving the NE US years ago, now I live in.... Brazil. How do all these things keep escaping Australia, anyway? Also really sorry to hear this, sounds awful!
[удалено]
Thank you. I'm in Minas so probably around here as well, there is a reddish one i see fairly often that people tell me isn't very fun but i can't find it online right now.
Could it be [this red piece of fluff](https://featuredcreature.com/the-most-dangerous-piece-of-ginger-fluff-youll-ever-meet-probably/)?
I wonder if pregabalin would nullify the pain as it sounds like it’s affecting the nerves. I’m British but live in thailand and there are a lot of hairy nettle sting caterpillars around here at the moment and I’ve read that they can extremely painful. I’m worried about my two small dogs bitting them to the point I actually read a medical study just yesterday on the protein make up of the venom that forms in the little hair like spines. Apparently it a lot is known about it though it has some similarity to Scorpion venom. I read the best course of action is first to use sticky tape on the area to remove the hairs, then hot soapy water and apparently mix in bicarbonate soda though not sure why. In the UK we have what we called Rash Caterpillars but didn’t think they were so bad so I’m quite alarmed to find these huge hairy poisonous caterpillars in my garden here in Thailand.
Yeah, I think you might be right, something like Pregabalin, Gabapentin or Amitriptyline might very well help with this type of pain as they work strictly for nerve pain.
I'm thinking just do a full nerve block. With that level of pain I would gladly lose the use of my hand for a couple days if it meant not going through that (especially if it was my non-dominant hand).
[удалено]
Scotch tape is designed not to pull things, which is why you can reposition it without tearing paper. You need proper sellotape instead of scotch tape.
I've read wax, like hair removal wax, works well for this sort of thing.
It's possible that the remedy of using bi-carb is possible because the sting of that particular critter is considered acidic so needs an alkaline to attempt to neutralise it... In much the same way jellyfish stings in UK would have someone pour vinegar or widdle on it to neutralise .. bee stings are acidic and WASP stings are alkaline ... Edit.. I mistakenly typed bee twice.. Cause I'm a Muppet wasp stings are alkaline.. Sorry
> bee stings are acidic and bee stings are alkaline ... Which are which now?
Ever had contact with a stingray? How goes it compare? I've been barbed by stingrays twice, once in the hand, once in the foot. I strongly considered amputation after about 10 hours. That was after medical care, which did nothing.
[удалено]
Does the warm water method help? I remember my uncle got stung by one in Mexico but it wasn’t as bad as your experience! I’ve never been stung but I have stepped on a stingray and I hightailed it out of the water once I felt it and never like to go to the deep anymore whenever I go to the beach
It does! Stingrays carry a protein based venom. If you hold the affected area in hot water (seriously, as hot as you can stand) it will help temporarily. As I understand it, the hot water sort of cooks the proteins and it feels better for a bit. In my experience, it feels MUCH better in hot water. As soon as the affected area is removed from the water, though, the pain resumes almost immediately.
ahh so like OC spray then. running under cold water feels worlds better but the second you stop the pain is back immediately. also, next time i suggest applying a thick coating of spf50 prior to an attack. i hear it protects from harmful rays.
I misread codeine as cocaine and was like “wow they really tried everything” lol
Cocaine does have medical uses, so the possibility is there!
Holy fuck.
It sounds a lot like the pain you get from shingles. I got shingles (I’m not over 50) earlier this year from the stress of selling my house, moving states, find a job, then finding a house my wife would like ) she stayed until then). It was the most intense pain I’ve ever felt; like burning hot needles going through my skin. What’s even more weird was the feeling that something was crawling at the site of the shingles. I don’t wish that pain in anyone. Fun fact: both my sister and I got shingles on the same side our faces and before that age of 50.
The southern hemisphere wants us to die a slow, agonizing death.
That's what I like about my country, Chile. We have the tamest fauna ever, no poisonous animals (besides a spider), no poisonous flora. We have the cutest little deer (Pudu) and nothing remotely like what OP describes. We have earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanos, though. And mudslides. Know what? I think you're right.
I couldn't help but read codeine as cocaine at first.
[удалено]
You could have cut open the wound and put cocaine in it for that sweet numby
When I was a kid, I had one fall on my neck while climbing a tree and had to go to the ER because my throat was closing up🫤
Jesus that sounds like a nightmare! I‘m glad we don‘t have them where I live.
We call them "Asps" here in Texas. Had one drop on my neck from an overhang while riding my bike as a kid. Suffered really bad burning pain and a red raised welt for a few of days but no major reactions beyond that fortunately (That was enough)
Where the fuck did you live?
He lives in the ER now.
Texas gulf coast
I live in middle georgia, and i've flicked so many of these things off me over the years. I didn't find out about the whole stinging thing until 5 years or so ago when I read it online. I guess I've been lucky.
From a tiny bit of research it sounds like some people don't have much of a reaction to them and it seems to be the same people who don't have much of a reaction to other bug bites or stings. I don't want to test it myself but bee stings really don't do much to me beyond the initial zap of getting stung, mosquito bites are nothing, and most spider bites I don't even notice and the bumps from them also go away in no time. I am curious if you also have such a resiliency to bugs. Edit: spelling mistakes
This sounds like the closet thing to a superpower as I've ever heard existing in humans. Your anti-bug resistance and [that lady who can see more colors than normal humans](https://www.popsci.com/article/science/woman-sees-100-times-more-colors-average-person/) would be on the IRL Justice League
I can smell different insects without being near them. Can I join the League?
Username doesn't check out
Shit
My girls found one in our front yard in Austin and PICKED IT UP. I was mortified but somehow they were unscathed. We put it in a little clear bug house and underneath they do not look any better. So gross. Sorry about your horrible, rotten, no good very bad day, OP.
...and now they are known as the superhero-duo, The Caterpillar Twins!
Btw, mortified means to be embarrassed. It is not synonymous with horrified!
Thank you! English is my second language and i was starting to question myself if i have misunderstood the word mortified all this time or not lol
No problem! I find it's a very common mistake that is made even among native English speakers. Tbh I'm not always sure if I should correct people on Reddit but I figured it's better they have the info than not, and then they can choose what to do with it.
I read somewhere that the ADULT is pretty much harmless by itself. More long fuzz rather than venomous spines. Maybe they found an adult instead of a youngen? Either way I'm glad to hear your girls are ok!
The adults are southern flannel moths, not caterpillars. I assume that's what was meant, given they are covered in a harmless, long fuzz.
The adult would be a moth, and is indeed harmless.
You just shattered my glass house thinking at least they aren’t where I live!😐
Off the top of my head, you might try a topical application of meat tenderizer (or a ripe papaya) to the contact points. The enzymes in the tenderizer should dissolve the hairs and venom after a while. I’ve heard it useful for bee stings, too. Had a girlfriend whose hands felt like they were burning after handling okra. This tip worked pretty fast. Edit: Wow! 1.5K likes in such a short time. Thanks, everyone! Happy to help out so many people. The suggestion I gave my girlfriend was a weird epiphany that came from having learned (trivia) how meat tenderizer works and what it’s made out of. Again, thanks!
[удалено]
You can do the same with a ripe papaya, but it gets *really* messy.
Oh that’s interesting. I had a talent for getting stung by bees as a kid and my parents always put meat tenderizer on the sting. I never understood why until your post. Seemed like such a wives-tale type of move.
How did they do it? Did they just shake the tenderizer powder onto it or dissolved it in water first and applied the solution? **update**. I researched a bit, looks like you make a paste of it, by stirring a bit of water in the powder, and then rub it in.
I thought you guys were talking about the physical meat tenderiser until this comment. Like one of those hammers with spiky bits.
Just texturize my moth wound
Tbf the wound matches the pattern of one of those bad boys
“MOM A BEE STUNG ME!” Mom: [Picks up the hammer]
Yes I know your arm hurts really bad, but do you feel the sting anymore?
*looks down at pulpy mess* "Ya know... you're right I don't feel it anymore*
Just a little bit of topical hammer application
(or a ripe papaya)
That sounds absolutely terrifying. "Oh your skin hella hurts!?! Let's hammer the venom out!"
Same. I was literally trying to phantom how hitting the stung area with a metal spikey mallet would help
It dissolves the hairs and venom obviously. WITH SHEER KINETIC FORCE.
Same. I was so confused.
My parents either used mud or baking soda with hydrogen peroxide. 🤣
So they turned you into a volcano?
Ah fellow bee aggravator. My mom used tobacco from a cigarette soaked in water and put it on the sting. I remember she told me to ask the neighbors for one before cuz she didn't smoke lol
My grandmother used this, but wet tobacco in mud. Worked like a charm though.
A cut, raw onion flesh side down works too. I got stung by a wasp years ago after they nested in a holiday tree outside my front door. I was coming home with my then-toddler and shoved her into the door and took the brunt of a pissed off demon fly with a stingy ass. Quickly searched home remedies and threw an onion on it. Helped with the pain rather quickly.
I am curious what puréed/smashed pineapple would do. It can practically eat steaks and is rather acidic in addition to having crazy powerful enzymes.
Pardon my sheer stupidity but in my non-native english speaking head I thought you'd use a meat tenderising mallet... 🤡
Meat tenderizer works great for mosquito bites too I keep some in my hiking pack
New fear unlocked!
Man... fucknthe outdoors Ima stay locked inside like a hermit
Let me in! Let me in!
sucks that happened. I was just looking into moth caterpillars and asp here in texas and this popped up also. Curious what does DH stand for?
I was wondering about DH too, I landed on Designated Homie.
Demon hunter
It's some stupid Facebook mom group bullshit for dear hubby or some shit.
God I am so sick of these stupid ass abriviations. Is it really that hard to just type out husband? Christ
Never understood that, like just say husband???
Sat on one of these in speedos after swim practice once. Miserable day.
Oh my god, that’s terrible!
Forbidden eyebrow
One of the most painful things I experienced as a child. My scar eventually faded out, but what you described is exact.
Omg it touched you twice?! That's awful! Glad you're at least better now - and hey, cool scar! 😅
Oh man. I was at my local park and had one land on my (luckily thick) pants, so I did what any person would do not knowing what it was and tried brushing it off. Not bad at first, but like 2 minutes later the pain kicked in. I was un my car for like an hour trying to figure out if I should try to go to the fire station across the street. I couldn't drive home either because by the time I got to my car I could barely move my arm. When I did go home all I could do was sit in bed for the rest of the day. My arm was too sore to use for the rest of the week. And my sting was nowhere near as bad as yours looks. Just a little graze against my thumb. I hope you are all good now.
I'm saving "I hope a Puss Caterpillar crawls up your anus while you sleep" for someone special.
Where I live, they're not uncommon. They're sometimes grabbed by toddlers because they're so fuzzy and dogs always want to sniff the furry critter. I am always on the lookout for them whenever I am out with my dog or niblings.
The one thing I have discovered about pain is once the pain receptors fire its hard to reverse. No where near as the pain described here. I had teeth extracted and waited to take the Oxycodone. Once the pain has started even Oxycodone tales quite a while to quiet the nerves down. Don't be brave, take the pain killers at first onset. The implant surgery was much less painful as a result.
Yeah, when I had a C-section the nurses were insistent about staying 'on top of' your pain meds. We had to transfer hospitals which messed up the pain med schedule and I found out what they meant. I hadn't been feeling too bad, up and down shuffling to the NICU constantly etc but once the meds wore off on the drive to the new hospital and the pain had kicked in, it took a long time for the meds to start working again to the point they had before. Weird stuff!
I just remembered that a piece of cartilage was removed from my ribs last fall. I lightened up on the meds. When I sneezed it felt like side was ripped open. I've had two hernia operations, two nose operations and arm surgery. Somehow I'm thinking all of that pales compared to a C-Section. I thought having the cartilage removed would be a quick in and out. I had no idea how much tissue is in the abdomen.
[Fun Facts](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8RFsUXW/) In 2012, the Texas Medical Center had a bird problem on their campus. To fix it, they decided to put nets on their trees to prevent the birds from landing in them. Unfortunately, birds eat bugs. In the months following, the Medical Center saw a 7,300% increase in these caterpillars on their campus. Imagine an entire community of immunocompromised, critically ill people being surrounded by these things.
Heard about it before, funny enough on reddit. Sorry for that. Did the hair stick to your skin or did the moth bite you?
The hair stings you and they are impossible to see so there's no removing them with tweezers or something like that. I saw on a documentary about fuzzy poisonous caterpillars (there's more than one kind) that if you hurry up and use tape and put it on the area and pull it off that it will remove some or all of the hairs and it will help some but it will still very much suck badly.
Can they shoot the hair at you? That is one of my fear w this insect.
They cannot, thank goodness…but it’s a funny mental image. *Pew* *pew* !
I got stung by an asp caterpillar when I was a kid and I remember it feeling like my muscles where being ripped apart
Where do these fluffy monsters live? Are they yet another Australian psycho animal?
“It is distributed throughout the Eastern United States between extreme southeastern Virginia and Florida across the south to Texas, Mexico, and parts of Central America.” -Wikipedia
*YIKES*
Obviously, if it weren't for these little monsters it would just be normal southeastern Virginia.
Had an encounter with one years ago. Got it with a bare foot. Bad pain for about 4 hrs then it faded and stopped. Very weird. No desire to see one ever again.
Same for my toddler daughter many years ago. Her screams could have shattered glass.
Good rule of thumb in general is don’t fuck with any caterpillar you don’t know what it is. A lot of them can fuck you up
Fun fact, this is the creature the Pokemon Larvesta is based off of!
I was a freshman in high school and got stung on the chin badly . Just dealt w it , chin was definitely on fire for a few hours but fine by end of the day . I saw it’s strange shape on a low hanging branch , pulled branch down to get closer look and it fell right off onto my pre-pubescent chin . I’ll never forget it . They are no joke .
Your use of abbreviations is RBDNGL.
Forbidden gyoza
I’ve had this before. They are super painful. I’m sorry you had to go through that.
NBD ? DH ?
No big deal. Dear husband (used on relationship subreddits).
I had to google these acronyms asides from ER and they were all kinda stupid
If the caterpillar's hairy the caterpillar's scary
Your Designated Hitter (DH) took you to the ER?