As The Worm Turns

My trusty Winnipeg spy tipped me off to the new controvery du printemps. As is often the case with the cyclical nature of the Red River's flood and conquer tendencies, this is projected to be another cankerworm invasion year. A full blown invasion is an awful and disgusting thing. Unable to walk down any city street within 5 blocks of the river.

Sidewalks slimy and slippery with the low hanging goo. Only saving grace is the Dutch Elm Disease which mercifully is killing off the old hardwood, allowing one to walk undisturbed in the dead centre of some city streets. Pray for no traffic. Wondering if in other cities the tree branches move and make munching noises in the dark. That weird wiggly feeling for hours after getting home, wondering if one slipped down the shirt, beneath the bra strap. Or worse.

Running in peaks every 5-6 years, there is nothing grosser than a cankerworm boom year.


Now even Winnipeggers - believe it or not - still often confuse the Canker Worm (see the green loner type to the right)...



with the Tent Caterpillar (the groupthink clique slave herein pictured below)

Now, both kinds of bush munching, tree climbing, cob-webby dripping worm is pretty gross and quite rightfully deserved to be Chemical Alied out of the Kildonans to preserve the hairspray and hoodies of my peeps over at MMC, KE and West K. But the new insecticidal measures announced this week might just be that step too far.



The Winnipeg Sun has recommended that the public move to:

PURCHASE BTK

Citizens seeking to save their plants should purchase a BTK biological pesticide and shoot back. And they're advised not to let the worms' tiny size fool them.
"You're looking at a couple of weeks before they get big," said entomologist Taz Stuart. "As they get bigger, you'll see them hanging from threads."


BTK? Where have we heard that term before.

Nope. Not this guy:










More like THIS guy:

Yeesh. Looks like a tried and true killer alrighty. Leave it to Sam Katz to go with a proven winner. Yay Team!