Worms....

[LongIslandPiney]

According to Entimologists this is gonna be a bad season for inchworms and caterpillars. I couldn't imagine it being any worse than last year, when it was impossible to go into the woods for a good part of June, unless you liked picking off 50 or more of the little loopers and hearing the sound of "rain" in the woods as the worms poo.
(05/19/06) BAITING HOLLOW - Entomologists are warning Long Islanders of an upcoming bug invasion that could threaten entire wooded areas.

Experts say gypsy moth and inchworm caterpillars can be devastating to trees, and they expect the dry spring to bring millions of them to the area. There will be so many, they say, that residents will actually be able to hear them chewing. Officials say tent caterpillars will also be abundant in the coming months.
Cornell Cooperative Extension says there are several non-chemical ways to stop the pests. The group recommends putting duct tape around the tree, sticky side out, so the caterpillars stick to it. Other options include shooting them with a garden hose and putting out a birdfeeder to attract their natural enemies.


I have seen alot of tent caterpillars. There are loads of tents, here are 2 photos I took of them out in the Riverhead area. They are doing a number on the oaks.

 

[uuglypher]

Cornell Cooperative Extension says there are several non-chemical ways to stop the pests. The group recommends putting duct tape around the tree, sticky side out, so the caterpillars stick to it. Other options include shooting them with a garden hose and putting out a birdfeeder to attract their natural enemies.

In the 80's we had some terrible gypsy moth devastation in upstate New York and northeast Pennsylvania. When populations are low to moderate they concentrate on maples, oaks, and elms (those that are left...), but when the infestation is heavy there seems to be no tree that is safe from their insatiable appetites. I lived in the Finger Lakes region of NY and I had severe damage to many maples and oaks, and almost lost several beautiful specimen trees of larch (tamarack), spruce, and pines, as well as had some severely damaged walnuts, ashes, and willows (which I had been told were "immune" to the damned beasties). Then I learned about the duct tape trick and every year thereafter in early spring I put a good wide wrap (about 18 inches wide) of duct tape (sticky side out) at breast height around the trunk of every tree I valued on my property. A couple of years I had to replace the tape when it got so full of stuck larvae that they could crawl past the tape barrier on the bodies of their brethren. The same tape technique worked well to protect the same trees during several subsequent years of moderate to heavy infestation. The only trees it didn't help were those that had foliage contact with unprotected trees.

The damned things got so numerous that their feces dropping from above sounded like a gentle rain thru the forest canopy. The second year we had them I discovered that I had developed a severe skin allergy to gypsy moth larva shit ! Any time I was in the woods I had to wear a wide-brimmed hat and long sleeves or I'd have a new crop of itching pustules all over any exposed skin that had been shat upon by the damned moth larvae.

As for putting out bird feeders to attract birds to the area...? Any birds attracted to a feeder full of seed during a heavy gypsy moth caterpillar invasion have already proven that they've no appetite for the damned pests! Feed the birds if you like, but don't kid yourself that those same birds play any role in caterpillar control! The birds that like to eat'em are alredy up there eatin'em!

Dave

 

[Badfish740]

As long as it hasn't been particularly dry out for a while you can burn them which takes care of the tent and the little nasties inside. My Grandfather would use a long pole with a rag soaked in kerosene on the end. Works like a charm.

 

[Sue Gremlin]

Woogh. That's a scary thought in the Pines.

BT spraying is a good thing.

 

[woodjin]

I was out in the woods today and alot of inch worms and tent catapillers. I remember burning them also, with kerosine. Works well in your yard but no point in doing that in the woods.

Jeff

 

[Badfish740]

Woogh. That's a scary thought in the Pines.

BT spraying is a good thing.

LOL...yeah just in the backyard. We don't go around buring caterpillar nests in Wharton for fun!

 

[NJSnakeMan]

There are TONS of tent catapillars over in my area (atlantic Couty) near Brigantine, and lots i saw over in Mays Landing. No inch worms though.

 

[Krloucks]

The damned things got so numerous that their feces dropping from above sounded like a gentle rain thru the forest canopy.

I remember that infestation well. One of my most memorable moments, though not pleasant, was hiking the APT in Pennsylvania and wishing I had a hat!

 

[foofoo]

i gottem real bad at my summer cabin in the poconos. the sound of black rain (POO) ! i make sure not to paint anything , or clean anything too much till there done poopin .

 

[Sue Gremlin]

Well, they're here. We were near, um, I'd say Washington yesterday, when we stopped in an area that had a lot of chestnut trees. The gentle poop rain was apparent, and when we looked up, we could see that the trees had been totally devastated. The leaves that remained looked like swiss cheese.

 

[jokerman]

I at least wish they ate ticks and chiggers!

 

[uuglypher]

I at least wish they ate ticks and chiggers!

Be careful what you hope for. I spent some time in Texas in the 70s and then lived there thru the 90s. In the 70s ticks/chiggers were horrendous in the east Texas woodlands, But then a new creature was accidentally introduced that has knocked the tick and chigger population down to tolerable level Those new critters are ...FIRE ANTS! Trouble is, they have knocked the hell out of many ground-nesting and low-nesting birds as well as many egglaying reptiles.

Dave

 

[Bluerain]

Nasty inch worms

I live on the North Shore and I have a Maple Tree that has been total eaten. How do we get rid of these inch worms. will they damage my house??????????
Help Bluerain

 

[Bluerain]

I know what you mean, I have a maple tree total gone.