Waterville Declares Public Heath Emergency on Browntail Moth

The browntail moth caterpillar is a little troublemaker. I must not have encountered it yet, or I don't react, but they are everywhere this year. So much so, the city of Waterville, late last week, declared a public health emergency due to the citywide infestation.

In the emergency meeting, the Waterville City Council declared a public health emergency. The city council also gave the city manager the funding to help address the situation with information to residents and find the right company to directly help deal with the caterpillars.

In case you have not heard about the browntail moth caterpillar…they are a pesky bugger. The caterpillars shed hairs that are poisonous and can cause a rash that is like poison ivy.

The City of Waterville is also asking the CDC to declare a public health nuisance…that would allow Waterville more freedom in spending funds to try and address the issue. According to centralmaine.com, there are really four options to deal with the browntail moth caterpillar: cutting the nests out of trees, spraying the foliage, injecting liquid into trees, but that kills moths and other insects, or just cutting trees down.

The story at centralmaine.com also had some suggestions on dealing with the rash...including the use of duct tape. You have to check that out.

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Using March 2019 data from the Social Security Administration, Stacker compiled a list of the most popular names in each of the 50 states and Washington D.C., according to their 2018 SSA rankings. The top five boy names and top five girl names are listed for each state, as well as the number of babies born in 2018 with that name. Historically common names like Michael only made the top five in three states, while the less common name Harper ranks in the top five for 22 states.

Curious what names are trending in your home state? Keep reading to see if your name made the top five -- or to find inspiration for naming your baby.

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