Floridians face yet another threat as a tiny little caterpillar roaming around their backyards could cause excruciating pain.
Puss caterpillars are the most venomous caterpillars in the Sunshine State, but look like a tuft of cat hair.
Floridian, Joel Mathis, found one of the creatures climbing up his white fence after Hurricane Milton wrecked havoc on the Southern State.
‘Be very careful picking up debris and/or hand tools that lay in the backyard,’ he wrote to Click Orlando.
Bri Oteri remembers when she was stung by a puss caterpillar in 2019 while attending her son’s sports practice.
‘Morphine didn’t even touch the pain,’ she told Click Orlando at the time. ‘All of a sudden, I couldn’t breathe. I thought I was going to pass out — and then came the pain. In my chest, in my entire right arm, radiating from my wrist all throughout my shoulder.
Puss caterpillars are the most venomous caterpillars in the Sunshine State, but look like a tuft of cat hair
Their fur-like appearance is actually full of stiff hairs that when injected into the body fill with poison, which causes the victim to feel severe levels of pain. The creatures can be hard to spot as they’re typically only 1.2 to 1.4 centimeters long (pictured: caterpillar on a stick)
‘The pain was so excruciating. I was hysterically crying in the hospital, pleading for the doctors and nurses to help me.’
Despite the fact the little insect looks fluffy and harmless, it’s anything but.
Their fur-like body is actually full of stiff hairs that when injected into the body fill with poison, which causes the victim to feel severe levels of pain.
And the creatures can be hard to spot as they’re typically only 1.2 to 1.4 centimeters long, according to BlueCross BlueShield of Vermont (BCBS).
Biologist, Chris Gillette, said the insects typically has ‘dull brown’ fur.
‘It doesn’t look like much,’ he said. ‘Keep an eye out for these guys especially after the hurricane if you’re cleaning up things.’
BCBS say intense pain, swelling, restlessness, nausea and vomiting, fever, muscle cramps, swollen glands, and shock symptoms are signs one may have been stung by a puss caterpillar.
‘If you come into contact with a puss caterpillar, remove the broken-off spines by using cellophane tape or a commercial facial peel, and call your doctor,’ the healthcare organization recommended.