Ok Gardeners--HELP!

[DD]

The attack of the webworms hit while I was gone. I've been out there blasting the little suckers with a stream of water to open up the webs so the birds can get at 'em. Any other suggestions...I don't wanna use chemicals..
SJ? NoHall? Mermy?

 

[CastlesOfSand]

Hey DD,
We have them too! This past weekend we cut the limbs that had the webs/worms off of the trees. I was going to try BT, if I can find it to spray the tree for any strays that were left behind.

This is what I read:
The safe, sane—and highly effective—solution is to prune off any ‘bags’ and/or tent-like nests you can reach, and then spray the old original form of Bacillus thuringiensis on the rest of the tree while the caterpillars in question are actively eating (which is right now in most locales for bagworms and Fall webworms). Don’t worry about that panic-inducing name—most people just call this organic pest killer by its initials: “Bt”, with a letter added at the end to indicate what strain or variety it is. There are currently three different Bts, each affecting a different type of insect pest. The one that stops caterpillars—ALL caterpillars, by the way, not just ones that build little homes in your trees—is the kurstaki strain, “BTK”.

I would like to hear other methods as well!

 

[DD]

Man, CoS! You've done your research! I read about the Bt too..will investigate it further. I just hate these things!! They love pecan trees!!

 

[NoHall]

The attack of the webworms hit while I was gone. I've been out there blasting the little suckers with a stream of water to open up the webs so the birds can get at 'em. Any other suggestions...I don't wanna use chemicals..
SJ? NoHall? Mermy?

They're ugly, they're yukky, and they'll eat the leaves of a branch. Other than that, they're harmless. They will not kill your tree, even if they completely strip it (which they won't.) I have them in my pecan trees as we speak and I hardly ever do anything about it.

But if you just can't stand them and don't want to nuke 'em, do as my grandfather did. Cut the branch off and burn it. (If you can't burn it, haul it off somewhere.)

When you prune a tree, take the branch all the way back to a fork, to where it comes off a larger branch, or to the trunk. "Tipping" branches invites disease and/or insect infestation, whereas correct pruning will heal itself.

Be sure your fingers are not in the way when you prune.

 

[NoHall]

Hey DD,
...which is right now in most locales for bagworms and Fall webworms...

On the other hand, if you have bagworms, which are mostly found in evergreen trees (leyland cypress, juniper, arborvitae, cryptomeria, etc.) KILL THEM. I don't care how you do it-- use insecticide or take the batturds out by hand--but don't wait. Unlike tent caterpillars/webworms, they will irreversibly damage your evergreens, and they can kill them in a season.

 

[DD]

They're ugly, they're yukky, and they'll eat the leaves of a branch. Other than that, they're harmless. They will not kill your tree, even if they completely strip it (which they won't.) I have them in my pecan trees as we speak and I hardly ever do anything about it.

But if you just can't stand them and don't want to nuke 'em, do as my grandfather did. Cut the branch off and burn it. (If you can't burn it, haul it off somewhere.)

When you prune a tree, take the branch all the way back to a fork, to where it comes off a larger branch, or to the trunk. "Tipping" branches invites disease and/or insect infestation, whereas correct pruning will heal itself.

Be sure your fingers are not in the way when you prune.

I can't stand them! Did I say I can't stand them? They're awful! I realize they won't kill the tree, but they just generally piss me off. (It doesn't take much these days). I like the burning thing....I'd like for them to suffer.

 

[NoHall]

I can't stand them! Did I say I can't stand them? They're awful! I realize they won't kill the tree, but they just generally piss me off. (It doesn't take much these days). I like the burning thing....I'd like for them to suffer.

Do it, then! We have a burn ban here from May-October, and most of the tents are too high up for me to get, anyway. But my grandfather (who I never actually met) and I fully support your decision to send the squirmy little batturds to hail.

 

[DD]

Do it, then! We have a burn ban here from May-October, and most of the tents are too high up for me to get, anyway. But my grandfather (who I never actually met) and I fully support your decision to send the squirmy little batturds to hail.

Yeah, the height thing is a problem.....I'll let you know how it all comes out!

 

[NoHall]

Yeah, the height thing is a problem.....I'll let you know how it all comes out!

Loophole: Burn 'em at night and call it a bonfire. (If you don't have a total ban that includes bonfires and campfires.)

 

[Miss Kitty]

...omg! Those suckers have been falling out of a pecan tree and one of them fell on ME yesterday!!! Burn baby burn!