Our area has an issue with Tent Caterpillars. An announcement was just made:
"Those few sunny warm days we had last week must have queued the hatching of these tent caterpillars. I spotted a few groups just emerging from their eggs on an apple tree I was pruning in the Skagit Valley, near Mount Vernon. I’m sure they’ve emerged in Seattle as well, as it’s almost a climate zone warmer there."
"Tent caterpillars just emerging from eggs on an apple twig (the branch is about pinky finger diameter). They are just beginning to spin a silken mat for protection.
Tent caterpillars (Malacosoma sp.) feed on Rosaceae family plants (apple, plum, cherry, crabapple, etc.) as well as several other trees such as alder, ash, and willow. They are most noticeable in the late spring and early summer."
What to look for and what one woman has already found.
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.The best control I've found for them is high pressure water to knock the webs away, the birds will then mop up.
glennlab
Level 10
Jan 7, 2023
5
Seems simpler, doesn't it?
@LucyLoohoo In realty, often not so easy. They don't die easily and the best recipe is to cut off the branch, wrap it in a black plastic bag and set it out in the sun.
@LucyLoohoo Since they are more or less a native pest to my area, we have many natural predators, you just have to remove the webs they use for protection. If they don't have enough natural predators, you may have to resort to more drastic measures. I prefer natural when it works, when it doesn't I go full on Monsanto on the pests.
@glennlab Does Monsanto wind up in the food chain????
@LucyLoohoo Not the way I use it. Ornamentals only. and monitor all the weather conditions for use.
@glennlab Thanks, Glenn!