Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
|
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Caterpillars in sac attacking apple tree
Iris Cohen wrote: Much to my horror I discoverd cobweb like "sacs" of caterpillars and their small black eggs in my apple tree. You have tent caterpillars. Spray with an insecticide which is listed for fruit trees. You will probably have to spray several times. Wait until evening when they are in their web and spray it heavily. You can also kill them if you have a blowtorch with a very narrow flame, so you can aim it right at the web without damaging the tree. The occurence of tent caterpillars is very cyclical in nature - some years there are few, if any, tents visble while in other years (like this one), the population seems to be huge and very widespread. Many folks panic at the appearance of these creatures, but they are short-lived and with the exception of very young and vulnerable trees, seldom do any significant damage. Any defoliation will not be permanent - trees releaf very easily. Tent caterpillars do not feed on anything but foliage - your fruit will be unaffected. Recommended treatment is to remove and destroy the nests before the caterpillars emerge or while they are still very young. This is best done very early in the day or late evening, when they regroup at their nests. When mature, they do not return to the nests and control (if required) is done by application of a bio-control, Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis), which affects only caterpillars. If they are mature enough, they stop feeding and Bt is no longer effective, however their damage stage is also over. Birds will take care of a good many, anyway. :-) You DO NOT need to spray with a toxic insecticide. The damage does not warrant it and it will destroy more beneficials than the target species, not to mention mucking up the rest of the environment and rendering your fruit inedible. If your tree is small enough, try hosing them out with a sharp stream of water. It will kill many and the others you can pick and destroy. I have given out this same information so often to clients and nursery customers this season, I should have a recording made - it seems to be the number one topic! pam - gardengal |
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Voles attacking apple tree? | Edible Gardening | |||
Mealy Bugs Attacking Hackberry Tree | Gardening | |||
?? Disease attacking my plum tree?? | Gardening | |||
Caterpillars in sac in apple tree - photo | United Kingdom | |||
caterpillars in a sac in apple tree | United Kingdom |