HOUSTON — Many viewers have reached out asking about furry caterpillars they're seeing in their areas around Houston.
The little white fuzz balls are called fall webworms and experts said they're harmless to humans and pets.
"I have had a couple of them in the house. I thought it was just like a cotton ball," Cypress resident Deborah Adams said.
Adams said she noticed when she saw webs on her tree.
"After a while, we started to see these bugs growing and worms started dropping," Adams said.
She, along with her husband, were concerned.
"See how the leaves are dying?" Adams said.
Lauren Davidson, an Entomologist at the Cockrell Butterfly Center at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, said not to worry too much.
"If your trees are healthy and if your plants are healthy they should be fine getting through it," Davidson said.
So why are the leaves under the web turning brown?
"When they first hatch in the spring, they start forming this web to start protecting themselves from predators. It's not really for another purpose and then they feed on foliage of the leaves while they are inside the webbing," she said.
And if you want to get rid of them, Davidson said there's no need for bug spray.
"The best thing to do is to break apart the webbing using a stick or a pole if you can reach it. That will take apart the protective barrier and predators can take care of the caterpillar," Davidson said.
Again, the expert said the little creatures are everywhere -- not just in a specific area. And she said they normally come several times a year. They enjoy eating the foliage of over 100 different species of trees or shrubs.