Note: I sprayed Sevin on the trunk from the base to 2 ft high on 17 March, on 19 Mar I noticed the first silk bags forming. Most of the silk bags are 12-25 ft high.
Hardiness Zone: 7a
Scott from Hollywood, MD
Eastern Tent caterpillar larvae feed on the leaves of most deciduous trees and shrubs, but especially crab apples, aspens and wild cherry trees. In the past few years, caterpillar numbers have been high in your area. Thankfully, these population explosions are cyclical, and native parasites will eventually bring numbers back under control.
One idea for getting rid of the sacks high up in your tree is to wind them onto a broomstick with nails projecting from it. This is best done in the morning when the caterpillars are inside their tents. Where you can reach, you can also prune and burn the infested branches. Another, (microbial) method of control is spraying Bacillus thuringiensis var.kurstaki, also known as (BTK).
One way to prevent future infestations is by attracting native parasitic flies and wasps. This can be done by growing small, flowering herbs like Queen Anne's lace, catnip, and wildflowers around your garden and near the base of your tree.
Here's a great link for more information specific to your area.
Good luck!
Ellen
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We had tent caterpillars on our fruit trees. If left alone they will strip all of the leaves off. I put in a small spray bottle 25% water and 75% vegetable oil.
We live in southern Ontario, Canada, and tent caterpillars are a big problem. We always had them on our few fruit trees until I read somewhere of a cheap way to discourage them.
One way to get rid of these caterpillars is to simply crush them. This method is outlined in this video. He's doing it with gloves on, which would be a little gross.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I am in Washington state and there are caterpillars everywhere right now. They are orange and black and about an inch long. You can see their nests all over my trees and when you look closely at the nests there are between 10 to hundreds of caterpillars in each one. These things are going to devour everything. Anyone know how to get rid of them? I believe these are called tent caterpillars.
I'm not really sure of a fool proof method, but there are sprays you can get. They are tent caterpillars. They usually affect fruit trees, especially cherry and a few years ago Seattle did some heavy spraying trying to get rid of them.
Try diazanon or malathion, fixes that problem.
Hardiness Zone: 6a
Nancy from Margate, NJ
A: Nancy,
The can easily dislodge the caterpillar tent from the tree. Blast it off with a garden hose or use a broom to knock it down. Once the nest falls to the ground how you dispose of it is up to you. The caterpillars will have a hard time returning to the tree and are more likely to succumb to the voracious appetites of nearby birds then make it back to safety. The best time to destroy the tent is right around dawn or dusk.
To further protect your tree from migrating caterpillars, construct a barrier band around the trunk made of duct tape, tin foil or tar paper and coat it generously with a greasy substance like Vaseline. Don't apply the grease directly to the tree bark. The band should be in the shade or you may risk killing the bark and cambium that is underneath. Check the barrier daily and add more grease if necessary. Remove it as soon as the caterpillar cycle appears over (you see individual cocoons being formed in other people's trees).
Good Luck!
Ellen
That sounds like bag worm.
The best and easiest way is to simply put a match,candle up to it and set it on fire. it sounds crazy bur it works and doesn't hurt the tree!! The "bag" catches on fire and then goes out as soon as the "bag" is gone. You can have a hose nearby if you want to be extra careful.
It sounds like web worm. Just take a broom or something and pull it out of the tree. The tree should be fine. That is what they taught us at Clemson. Good Luck...
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We have tent caterpillars in our crab tree and its to high to cut down, we also have them all over the back yard. I can't even sit out there. How do we kill them and do they last all summer?
