PORTLAND (AP) – Communities along Casco Bay can expect little relief this year from browntail moths, the troublesome insects that cause rashes, itching and occasional respiratory problems.

Last winter was not cold enough to kill the moth larvae – caterpillars – that gather in communal webs in the tops of trees, said Charlene Donahue, an entomologist with the Maine Forest Service.

“It’s bad, on par with what it’s been in the past few years,” Donahue said of this year’s moth populations.

While scattered infestations have been found as far north as Hancock County, the most severe problem with the moths has been along Casco Bay from Portland to Phippsburg and the islands in the bay.

Androscoggin County and other inland areas have also seen browntails. While winter cold in those areas may have killed some of the caterpillars this year, it didn’t wipe out significant numbers, Donahue said.

“It doesn’t take a whole lot of browntail moths to bother people,” she said.

The hairs of the caterpillars are toxic to humans. The hairs blow around in the breeze as the caterpillars shed their skin seven times in the process of becoming moths, causing rashes, itching and sometimes respiratory problems.

The hairs of the moth, which comes out in July, also carry the toxin.

“I can’t mow the lawn, I can’t sit outside,” said Jamie Broder of Cumberland Foreside. He said children in his neighborhood can’t go out to play in the summer because of the pests.

“It’s a really serious health problem,” Broder said.

The Cumberland Town Council this week rejected a request from by Broder and some of his neighbors for aerial spraying to curb the infestation.

Council Chairman William Stiles said the state does not endorse spraying by plane because too many residents opt out based on concerns about the possible environmental impact of the chemical used. The state says the pests can’t be eradicated with a patchwork spraying approach.

AP-ES-05-12-05 0217EDT