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Caterpillar Hordes Crawling Through Manteca Neighborhood

MANTECA (CBS13) — Caterpillars have been marching through a south Manteca neighborhood, giving people here the creeps.

"There were thousands and thousands of them on the street," said Lucy Cook, who says the inching intruders have been showing up for the past week.

There are so many, she's had to scoop them out of her pool so they don't clog the filters. The caterpillars have even put the kibosh on her Cinco de Mayo party plans.

"I canceled it, because I'm afraid for my friends to see them," Cook said, laughing.

These little guys are likely on the hunt for food and won't be around long, say insect experts.

Jenny Stires says so far the caterpillars haven't been dining on her plants, and she hasn't bothered trying to kill them since they die in the pool or become bird food.

"They're coming to invade us? Maybe they will turn into butterflies," Stires said.

Sorry, but these guys are most likely white-lined sphinx moths

Cook said if a moth takeover is next, she'll deal with them in the same way she did the caterpillars this weekend.

"After a while, I just closed my curtains, closed the drapes and I left the house on Sunday. I went shopping.

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