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Looks like we are in for another bad year of little monsters. Last year the said the population was so high do to lack of rain, which in turn helps the growing of a certain fungus that grows on the oak bark. So this year we are getting the rain to grow this fungus, and we have twice the amount of these little caterpillars everywhere! Also they are not just sticking to oak leaves to chow down on, oh no! Fifty percent of my garden plants leaves look like swiss cheese. Anybody else having this problem?
Spraying is not an option b/c I would have to get all my connecting neighbors onboard, which will never happen. So for the time being I'm using concentrated garlic juice in a hose end sprayer to keep the damage at bay. Gypsy Moth - How does it damage a tree?
I've lived in CT for 2 years. Last year didn't seem to be a problem. My family in RI have reported horrible infestations and whole trees being defoliated.
I started looking because there is (what I now know as) caterpillar feces all over everything outside. I can hear them chewing and hear their poops dropping. :O They're everywhere.
They come down from the trees during the day (to hide?? where are those predators??). You can infuse strips of burlap with Deltamethrin and wrap them around the tree trunks. They like to hide in burlap and, once the poison is on their many little evil feet, they will eventually die.
I'm going to TSC today and get the Spectracide Stinkbug Killer, and burlap. It's on!
Last edited by hunterseat; 06-10-2017 at 10:20 AM..
I love the fact that any neighbor can stop your property from being sprayed. Of course that doesn't stop you from spraying yourself with any insecticide. Most of the licensed aerial sprayers use BT. But, when you do it yourself; you use whatever works - like Sevin or whatever.
Last year we paid to have our five acres sprayed. Fortunately the neighbors learned their lesson from the last time they shut down the spraying program. This year I have only spotted one caterpillar as of this date and our trees look pretty healthy. Even though aerial spraying is not that cheap; it is still cheaper than paying to get dead trees removed and new ones planted. One very bad year with the moths can kill many trees.
I love the fact that any neighbor can stop your property from being sprayed. Of course that doesn't stop you from spraying yourself with any insecticide. Most of the licensed aerial sprayers use BT. But, when you do it yourself; you use whatever works - like Sevin or whatever.
I only meant that in the sense that you are p**ing in the wind when it comes to your own yard. If the neighbors are not on board, it's only a matter of time til they infest your trees again.
I only meant that in the sense that you are p**ing in the wind when it comes to your own yard. If the neighbors are not on board, it's only a matter of time til they infest your trees again.
Of course; but it does help to spray the lower branches. You could never spray the tops of large trees. I have one of the power sprayers with the fifteen gallon tanks and it does 'help' - it's not perfect.
The BT aerial spraying last year seemed very effective. One group of sprayers out of Georgia did most of our area. It was coordinated by our County.
The previous large infestation many home owners objected and large areas of my County had major damage. I think they learned their lesson.
You both make good points. Thanks for the info. Most of the oaks are not on my property, but the major branch structures are. I'll wrap the five that I have, then I'll have to come up with a game plan when they turn into moths.
You both make good points. Thanks for the info. Most of the oaks are not on my property, but the major branch structures are. I'll wrap the five that I have, then I'll have to come up with a game plan when they turn into moths.
One thing about spraying the bottom leaves is that the moths will never stay in the top of the high trees - they go to where the food is (even if it poisonous). Also the ones going up the trees die before they reach the top.
If you wrap the trees with burlap; unwrap them from time to time. If you have a long handled, stiff bristled, scrub brush all you have to do is clean up you moths - the stiff bristles are not good for their health. I said long handled because Gypsy moths stink when crushed. Either a long handle of wear long sleeve rubber gloves help keep the stink off your skin. Don't stop with your scrub brush on just where you wrapped the burlap; walk your property and use your scrub brush on any low accumulations of the caterpillars. You can also use it on the egg masses. the egg masses are designed by nature to be almost impregnable by weather when untouched. But if you brush them off the trees and into the dirt they do not weather the winter as good. You could brush them off into a cup of kerosene if you wanted to be sure. By the way; the egg masses stink as bad as the caterpillars.
We have ducks and I wish they could climb trees. They love the taste of those stinky moths, eggs and caterpillars. I think that I did read one article that said our native birds were developing a taste for, stink food, Gypsy moths?
I did bust up a bunch of egg masses last year. What I thought interesting; most of which I did find were in the crotches, and crevices of my maples. Do they prefer one tree over another, or was it that I could see them easier on the maples?
I did bust up a bunch of egg masses last year. What I thought interesting; most of which I did find were in the crotches, and crevices of my maples. Do they prefer one tree over another, or was it that I could see them easier on the maples?
Yes; they do prefer one tree over another - but almost nothing is sacred. Maples and Oaks are on their ambrosia list - pines are down there towards the bottom. But when there are major infestations all bets are off - they will eat anything.
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